National Apprenticeship Week: Trainee schemes are key to growth say business bosses

Bosses in the region say the right people and skills are eight times more important to expansion than access to finance.

The research has been released as part of National Apprenticeship Week and found businesses place apprentices at the heart of their plans and rank hiring the right staff as the most important factor in helping them grow.

The research also showed that West Midlands managers hiring apprentices were three times more likely to believe the company would expand rapidly, than those that do not.

Nearly half of managers in growing West Midlands firms felt that hiring the right staff or having employees with the right skills was the most important factor in realising the company's ambitions.

The independent research for the Skills Funding Agency found that the right people and skills are eight times more important to businesses when it comes to expansion than access to finance.

Top companies announcing major commitments to apprenticeships, including Starbucks, Prezzo, Fortnum and Mason, Deloitte, Greene King, BT and Addleshaw Goddard, and Tarmac.

There have been 315,800 apprenticeships started in the West Midlands since 2010 and more than 27,000 new apprentice jobs have been pledged so far this week.

Emma Reynolds, Wolverhampton North East MP, marked National Apprenticeship Week by visiting UTC Aerospace in Wolverhampton today to meet with local apprentices at the firm.

National Apprenticeship Week is designed to celebrate apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy. Emma was meeting the apprentices employed at UTC to learn about their experiences on the scheme and discuss their future aspirations after they finish their apprenticeship.

Prior to the visit, Emma said "I am delighted to be visiting UTC to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week. I am looking forward to seeing at first-hand the work the apprentices do, and the contribution they make to the company. Apprenticeships provide young people with valuable skills, and this training cannot be replicated within a classroom."

The Express & Star runs its own apprenticeship campaigns, the Ladder for the Black Country and Ladder for Staffordshire.

Around 1,000 apprenticeships have been created with more than 200 firms.

The scheme is a partnership with training provider Performance Through People (PTP), the Vine Trust, and the Black Country Chamber of Commerce.

Chancellor George Osborne, the Prime Minister David Cameron, and former Bank of England governor Mervyn King have been among those to herald the campaigns.

To find out more, go to www.ladder fortheblackcountry.co.uk, call 03332 409 699 or apprenticeships.gov.uk