Apprenticeships on the up in Worcestershire (From Bromsgrove Advertiser)
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Apprenticeships on the up in Worcestershire
10:30am Saturday 16th February 2013 in Local
Apprenticeships on the up in Worcestershire
NEW figures show that there was a rise in apprenticeships in the region last year.
There were 5,670 apprenticeship starts in Worcestershire during the academic year 2011/12 – representing a growth of 14.7 per cent from the previous year.
The West Midlands, as a region, registered 60,470 apprenticeship starts.
David Way, chief executive of the National Apprenticeship Service, said: “I am pleased that new data confirms that apprenticeships overall are increasingly popular.”
Government funding is available to help local companies take on an apprentice.
Through the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers of 16 to 24-year-olds, businesses who choose to grow their business through apprenticeships can access funding of £1,500.
The grant is open to organisations employing up to 1,000 people, who have never employed an apprentice before, or have not recruited one in the past 12 months.
Mr Way added: “Apprenticeships come with a guarantee of quality, giving young people a job with training, and are proven to deliver a significant return on investment, so this really is a win-win initiative for employers.
“There has never been a better time to recruit an apprentice, so I hope more organisations will look at how they can benefit from this grant over the coming 12 months.”
Comments(5)
Doesitmakesense??
says...
7:24pm Sat 16 Feb 13
.nhs.uk
CJH
says...
12:35am Sun 17 Feb 13
stevoe wrote:Apprenticeships used to last seven years until you qualified as a journeyman craftsman, and you were indentured to your employer for that time. It was often not much more than legalised slavery for some, even though they had a trade at the end of it. Three years was a 20th century development, and Doesitmakesense is absolutely correct, there is no reason for many apprenticeships to last three years. Why should they? Now, you can be an apprentice (ie a learner or beginner) for more than the traditional industrial trades; administration, IT, sales, etc. They are still not well paid, but serve the purpose of getting experience and training, which hopefully leads to a better job. If you look through job adverts for even junior positions now, many say 'experience required'. How do you get that experience if you are just starting off in the job market? I'm afraid that exam qualifications just aren't enough now. It's an employers market. Don't devalue modern apprenticeships please, God knows it's hard enough for kids getting their first job as it is.
How many of these are 'real' apprenticeships? A real apprenticeship should last at least three years, yet the government often includes courses lasting three months.
stevoe
says...
1:05pm Sun 17 Feb 13
I don't want to devalue training; we need more of it. But it does need to be properly recognised.
Too often I have heard our current government trumpet the number of 'apprenticeships' which give a false impression of what is really happening.
I recognise that my viewpoint could be a generational thing, but I work with young people at college and with young criminal offenders and they are not seduced or fooled that some of the training they are offered is of the same value that was previously available.
CJH
says...
3:47pm Sun 17 Feb 13
stevoe says...
7:11pm Sat 16 Feb 13