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Published: 10 March 2015
Category: News
National Apprenticeship Week runs this week from 9th to 13th of March, and it is celebrating apprenticeships and the very positive effect they can have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy. By James Hunt:
Consider – in 100 years of apprenticeships, the most common were in 1914 and 2014! So apprenticeships are continuing to thrive in the UK, but the drive is on to improve this further, with Government and many organisations seeing apprenticeships as an excellent way of providing a good, useful education and as a route to employment for many young (and sometimes not so young) people.
“Every young person has the talent and potential to succeed and, since 2010, over two million young people have set out to achieve their dreams through an apprenticeship.” So said Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister.
“National Apprenticeship Week,” he continued, “gives us an opportunity to recognise the incredible achievements of these apprentices. It also enables us to thank the thousands of British employers giving them this chance to earn and learn. And inspire more young people, businesses and organisations to get involved.”
Some apprenticeship facts
To listen to and see Nick Clegg on National Apprenticeship Week, please use the first link to the video at the bottom of this web page, but first, some facts:
- Apprenticeships are now available in over 170 industries including aerospace, fashion, broadcast media and finance – with 1,500 job roles available
- In 1914, most apprentices started work aged 15 to 17, compared with 19 to 24 today
- 100 years ago, the most common apprenticeship was dressmaking, followed by engineering
- Women now take up 55% of apprenticeships
- 19% of advanced apprentices progress to higher education
- Higher apprenticeships are available in 40 subjects
- 90% of apprentices stay in employment after finishing their apprenticeship (including 2% self-employed)
- 71% of apprentices stay with the same employer
- There were 1.4 million online applications in 2012 to 2013
- More than 850,000 people have been earning and learning on an apprenticeship in 2013 to 2014
- Up to 25,000 apprenticeship vacancies available online at any one time
- 100 years ago an apprentice could be summoned to court for being ‘idle’ or having a ‘bad attitude’
- There has never been a better time to employ an apprentice, or start an apprenticeship.
- If you’re a small business, you may get a £1500 grant to help cover the cost of starting a new apprentice aged 16 to 24 years old.
To learn still more, including more apprenticeship facts, please use the second link at the bottom of this web page.
Voltimum training partner involvement
Throughout this year’s National Apprenticeship Week, Voltimum Training Partner JTL is hosting and organising a range of events to promote and highlight work-based learning opportunities. As one of the country’s leading providers, JTL says that it understands how useful they can be to help young people get the start their career needs.
Work-based learning also offers employers of any size an excellent opportunity to expand their businesses, says JTL, taking on new staff and having the chance to mould them into the fully-fledged professionals that the building services engineering trades need.
One of JTL’s initiatives this week is for Newey & Eyre customers. At branches of the wholesaler across England and Wales, they will be treated to a sponsored breakfast, while receiving information on apprenticeship developments in the industry, as well as useful advice on further training and development in the electrical profession. To learn more, please use the third link at the bottom of this web page.
Big apprenticeship drive by the EDA
The Electrical Distributors’ Association (EDA) is becoming a major apprentice training provider, not just in the electrical sector, but also in the UK as a whole. For example, the organisation’s apprenticeship programme is currently growing at such a pace that it is now in a position to ask for its own Government-funded recognised Apprenticeship Framework.
The EDA’s ‘Placed’ Apprenticeship training programme is delivered in partnership with an Apprenticeship Training Agency (ATA). This, called EDA Apprenticeships Plus’ is exclusive to the EDA. The ATA manages everything - recruitment, pre-screening, and presenting a shortlist of potential apprentices to its electrical wholesaler member business unit managers.
The ATA also employs the apprentice and sources the funding for his or her training (typically from £3,500 to £12,000 depending on the qualification). The apprentice is then ‘placed’ in the EDA member’s business to follow a twelve-month NVQ level 2 qualification.
The take-up of EDA apprentices grew by a massive 58% in 2014 but an astonishing increase came following the input of the EDA’s training ‘Ambassadors’ when year on year growth in November, December and January was 250%. The EDA hopes that these young people will successfully integrate into the companies concerned, achieve their NVQs, and then be offered permanent positions in the industry.
So apprentices – and National Apprenticeship Week - are highly important in providing the next generation of highly trained young people for the UK electrical sector.