National Apprenticeship Week: Trainee schemes back in business

After a sad decline, apprenticeships are enjoying a huge revival with a key role in training the workforce of tomorrow.

This week is National Apprenticeship Week which will see five days of championing apprenticeships and the positive impact that they have on young people, businesses and the wider economy.

There has never been a better time to employ an apprentice.

Hiring apprentices helps businesses to grow their own talent by developing a motivated, skilled and highly qualified workforce.

The National Apprenticeship Service provides dedicated support to employers offering free, expert advice and support to those looking to recruit apprentices for the first time, or expand their existing apprenticeship programmes.

Since 2010, two million apprenticeships have been created nationally covering 170 industries including aerospace, fashion, broadcast media and finance.

The Government has the ambition to create one million more.

One hundred years ago the most common apprenticeship was dressmaking, followed by engineering. Now it was health and social care.

And the Express & Star has been playing its part. Eighteen months ago we launched the Ladder for the Black Country – a call to businesses of all sizes to take on an apprentice to address the region's high levels of youth unemployment.

The Ladder for Staffordshire followed, as did the Ladder of Shropshire run by our sister paper the Shropshire Star.

Backed by the Duke of York, it has created hundreds of apprenticeships with more than 100 firms taking part.

National Apprenticeship Week targets small and medium-sized businesses highlighting the support which is available and why offering an apprenticeship is easier than they may think.

After leaving school, like many others, I made the standard decision to study a degree where I subsequently ended up at Sheffield Hallam studying Marketing and Advertising.

With no burning passionate or interest for the subject, it wasn't really a surprise when I dropped out around eight months later.

Sadly, the university life clearly was not for me and I sulked back to where I started with an added bonus of £15,000+ debt.

Three months into a zero hour contracted job working behind the bar at my local, I saw the position advertised for an Apprentice Reporter at the Express & Star and thought I'd try my luck by submitting an application.

Weeks later, after several interviews and various different tests, I was delighted to be offered the job.

Now, 18 months later, I have just completed my course and have been humbled to secure a full time position at the paper.

The apprenticeship gave me a second chance in my career.

I had a good education and I'm grateful of that but I can't help but look back and feel as if I was pushed into going to university. After A Levels, my school were almost offering support for uni enrolment or you were on your own.

Apprenticeships give you the opportunity to study for a qualification and learn on the job at the same at time.

Not only are they beneficial in terms of cost and gaining experience, but it's actually pretty fun and stimulating a lot of the time too.

Even though getting thrown in the deep end is absolutely terrifying at first, it's the best way to learn and it's crazy how quickly you learn and pick things up. And, like me, you may even get to meet the Chuckle Brothers.

Earning while you learn is obviously a bonus too and gaining day-to-day experience, whether its a carpentry or accounting apprenticeship is essential.

And, once you're qualified, you're set with the knowledge and bundles of experience to put you on the right track to make a significant leap in progressing in your career.

The campaign also aims to bust myths and misconceptions about apprenticeships by showing that they are not low-paid, low-skilled jobs.

Some of the opportunities showcased include Jaguar Land Rover, Goldman Sachs and Cadbury.

The number of people starting higher apprenticeships that deliver the technical skills the UK economy vitally needs has grown significantly. Across England there were 19,800 starts on higher apprenticeships in 2014 to 2015, an increase of 115 per cent on the previous year.

The government is working with employers and further education providers to help more businesses make apprentices part of their growth strategy and through the new apprenticeship levy, will be doubling in cash terms the annual level of spending on apprenticeships between 2010 to 2011 and 2019 to 2020 to £2.5 billion.

Skills Minister Nick Boles said: "We want to give all young people a chance to make the most of their talents and create a better life for themselves. That's exactly why we are committed to creating three million apprenticeships by 2020.

"Businesses and colleges should be congratulated for helping apprenticeships move from strength to strength. I am hugely proud of the success we have achieved together and look forward to even more young people getting the chance to work hard and get on.

"At the heart of the apprenticeship drive is the principle that no one better understands the skills employers need than employers themselves. Employers have been given the power to develop new apprenticeships, which clearly and simply set out what an apprentice must learn. There are now more than 1,300 employers involved in developing new apprenticeships as part of the successful Trailblazer initiative."

Director of the National Apprenticeship Service Sue Husband said: "The Prime Minister is committed to three million apprenticeship starts by 2020. Good quality apprenticeships offer a fantastic way for many young people to earn as they learn whilst providing employers with the skills they need for their business.

"Both employers and their apprentices have a great opportunity to step into the spotlight during National Apprenticeship Week, to help show how an apprenticeship really can take you anywhere. National Apprenticeship Week will celebrate how apprenticeships can help individuals and businesses achieve their ambition of 'rising to the top'."

An impressive 84 per cent of employers say they are satisfied with the apprenticeships with almost nine in 10 of every employer that takes on an apprentice reports benefits to their business.

With 70 per cent reporting that apprenticeships improved their productivity or the quality of their product or service.

The National Audit Office estimates that for every pound of government investment in apprenticeships, the economy gets £18 back. And the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills estimates the return on investment to be even higher, at £28 for every pound of government investment.

The was £1.566 billion spent by the government on apprentices making a contribution of £34 billion to the UK economy las year.

To find out more, go to www.ladderfortheblackcountry.co.uk or www.apprenticeships.gov.uk