OVER 20,000 NEW APPRENTICE JOBS PLEDGED FOR NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP WEE
Friday, 07 March 2014 14:53More Traineeships also announced by leading employers
Even more people will get an opportunity to earn while they learn, after more than 20,000 new Apprenticeships have been pledged by employers as part of National Apprenticeship Week [1].
From Lloyds Banking Group committing to hiring 5,000 apprentices, Greene King and Whitbread pledging 2,000 a piece and EE, Mitchells & Butlers and Starbucks each announcing 1,000 vacancies, announcements have been made by hundreds of businesses around the country.
And it’s not just big corporates that are showing their commitment to Apprenticeships – 47% of the employers creating new Apprenticeships are small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Smaller organisations announcing plans to take on apprentices include Cambridgeshire retailer Crafting Time, Kent web designers Interactive Red, London charity Lives not Knives, Grimsby electrical contractors HYBRiD, Oldham construction firm Emanuel Whittaker and Penzance customer services company TR18 Contact.
Other companies that have pledged new Apprenticeships include BT, ITV, Network Rail, Be Wiser Insurance, Central Bedfordshire Council, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Ashtead Plant Hire, Southend Citizen Advice Bureau and Virgin Media. Meanwhile, Capita Personal Independence Payment have pledged to make five per cent of its non-healthcare workforce apprentices and launched a drive to hire more disabled young people onto Apprenticeships.
And National Apprenticeship Week has also seen a boost to the new Traineeships, which give young people the work preparation training, English, maths and work experience they need to get an Apprenticeship or other job.
Employers including the BBC and Port of Tilbury have pledged to give more young people Traineeships – as have Liverpool Football Club through a partnership with Myerscough College. Meanwhile, Westminster Kingsway College has launched a new Parliamentary Traineeship programme so 16-23 year olds can get a chance to gain experience in the corridors of power.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "The Government is putting an end to the damaging divide between vocational and academic learning. We are committing the biggest ever investment in Apprenticeships and are on track to create two million Apprenticeships over the course of this Parliament.
"The resounding success of this year’s National Apprenticeship week demonstrates that apprenticeships are deservedly becoming more popular with business of all sizes. Apprentices already contribute £1.8 billion to the economy and with these further commitments, thousands more people will now be able to get the practical skills they need to build careers and help firms grow.”
Today’s announcement follows new research revealing that nearly half (44%) of employers intend to take on one or more apprentice in the next five years [2]. And research from the Association of Accounting Technicians revealed that apprentices delivered around £1.8bn of net economic benefits to UK organisations in the last year [3].
The Week has also seen the Prime Minister announce the government’s commitment to creating two million Apprenticeships over the lifetime of the current Parliament. David Cameron also announced the next round of Trailblazer employers; 29 new groups of employers who will lead the transformation of Apprenticeships. The new trailblazers, spanning sectors from accountancy to aviation, nursing to retail, include small businesses and sector specialists as well as some big names such as Tata Steel, John Lewis, British Airways and BMW [4].
Other announcements during the Week included the launch of new Higher, degree level, Apprenticeships in Space Engineering and Nursing. And to help bring more SME employers on board, further support has been announced including a new online mentoring service, Apprenticemakers. Meanwhile, the AvLive feed of vacancies which training providers and partners can use to promote Apprenticeship vacancies has been upgraded following a successful six-month testing period.
Visit apprenticeships.org.uk or https://bitly.com/Traineeships2014 for more information.
Employers pledging Apprenticeships:
The Centre for Mineral Products Professional Development
A.P. Broome Landscapes Limited
Accord Group
Adatis Consulting Ltd
ADI
Affinity Sutton
Ageing in Great Britain CIC
Aim High Training Solutions Ltd
Anchor
Anglian Water
Aon
Aquafax
Ashtead Plant Hire
Atkins
Atos
aVida Care Ltd
Babcock International
Babcock International
Balfour Beatty
Barlows (UK) Ltd
Barratt Developments PLC
Be Training Academy Ltd
Be Wiser Insurance
Becton Dickinson UK Ltd
Belvior Lettings
Benslow Music Trust
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
Blackpool Council
Bolton Council
Boots
Bradleys Estate Agents
Brent Council
Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival
British Airways
Brooklyn House
Brunelcare
BT plc
Bury Council
Capita Talent Partnerships
Carlisle City Council
Carlisle City Council
Casgo Connections Ltd
Caterpillar
Central Bedfordshire Council
Central Training Academy
Centro
Chartered Institute of Legal Executives
Cheeky Munkey
Cheshire West and Chester Council
Chevron Traffic Management
Claremont PR
Clarkson Evans
Clocktower
Compass Group UK & Ireland
Covea Insurance
Crafting Time Ltd
Cumbria County Council
Dale Power Solutions Ltd
Danbro
Dance East
Dataflow Peripherals
Days Lettings
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
Defence Support International
DEG Signal Ltd
Derby Homes
Derry Building Services
DKFS Training Ltd
e2v
EE
Emanuel Whittaker
Enable
esg.
Everton in the Community
Farmfoods Limited
Fisher Management
Frankie and Benny's
Fujitsu
Full Circle Learning
Futures Housing Group
Gestamp Tallent Ltd
Ginger Nut Media
Gist Limited
Glotech
Greene King
GSK
GSM England Retail UK
Hailey Hall School
Hayward Tyler Limited
HBP Systems Ltd
Henley College Coventry
Heritage Foundation
Hertfordshire County Council
Hopwood Hall College
HYBRiD (Grimsby) Ltd
IBM UK Ltd
IMPACT Apprenticeships
Interactive Red
ITV
J Murphy & Sons Ltd
James Paget University Hospital
Kingswood
KLM UK Engineering Limited
KMF
Kruger Associates Ltd
Kustom Clothing
La Bote
Lafarge Tarmac
Laing O'Rourke
Lakefield Foods
Lancashire County Council
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Learning Unlimited
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Leicester City Council
LIVES NOT KNIVES
Lloyds Banking Group
Lucy Glyn Support Services Ltd
Mainstay Group Ltd
Mayor of London
McCann Manchester
Meroncourt
Merseylink CJV
Milton Keynes Service Partnership LLP
Mitchells & Butlers
Morecare Ltd
MPR Music Production
National Sales Academy
Nemco
Network Rail
New Charter Housing Trust Group
New Wolsey Theatre
Next Retail Ltd
NG Bailey
Nominet
Nomura International PLC
Norbert Dentressangle
North Hertfordshire College
North Hertfordshire District Council
North Lincolnshire Homes
Northumberland County Council
Not Going to Uni
Nottingham City Council
Nyama
O2
Paneltex Limited
Paxman Landscapes Uk Ltd
PHOENIX Medical Supplies Ltd/ Rowlands Pharmacy
Pinnacle Support
Pixel by pixel
Plymouth Apprenticeship Company
Plymouth City Council
Portmill Surgery
Pursuit Training
Quite Great Limited
Redrow Homes
Reed NCFE
Richard Ward Hair & Metrospa
RNLI
Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
Rotherham NHS
Rugged & Tough Ltd
Sanctuary Personnel
Santander UK
Sarah Hodge Hairdressing Group
Scientifica Ltd
SCWS Limited
Selco Trade Centres
Sequence
Serco Vocational Services
Severn Trent Water
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHSFT
Silver Trowel Ltd
Skill-serve Training Ltd
Smiths Row
South Glos Council
South Staffordshire and Shropshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Southampton Solent University
Southend CAB
southwest trains
Stafford College
Starbucks Coffee Company
Stronghold International
Stronghold International Ltd
Syngenta
TCA Lifting Ltd
TES2000 LTD
Thames Water Utilities Limited
The apprentice agency
The College of West Anglia
The Flying Music Company Limited
The ITP
The Juice Academy
The Manufacturing Technology Centre
The Red Lion
The Sanctuary Group
The Social Resource Centre Ltd
The Walton Centre FT NHS
The Way Ahead Training & Consultancy Ltd
Thompson and First Choice
Timico Ltd
TMB Patterns Limited
TNT Post
TR18Contact
Trade and Discount Signs
Transport for London
Transport for London
Travelodge
UKFast
United Utilities
Virgin Media
Walsall Works programme
Walter Smith Fine Foods Ltd
Warren Services
Warwickshire County Council
Way ahead Care
way Homecare
West Notts College
Wheatfield Surgery
Whitbread
William Hill
WSP
York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Yorkshire Housing
YPO
