Young people to fore in apprenticeship week (From Daily Echo)

Young people to fore in apprenticeship week

12:22pm Monday 11th March 2013 in News By Sian Davies, Senior News Reporter

APPRENTICESHIPS will take centre stage this week as businesses and colleges promote their value in a week-long awareness campaign.

Beginning today, National Apprenticeship Week is being backed by a number of local businesses in a bid to get more young people into training and employment.

It comes as a report released by the Centre for Economics and Business Research estimates 3.8 million people will complete an apprenticeship in the next decade, contributing £3.4 billion to the UK economy.

Southampton’s City College will transform its on-site Job Shop into an Apprenticeship Zone where experts will be on hand all week for existing students to drop in and find out more about how apprenticeships work and current opportunities that are available.

The college is also working with local employers by running a competition, supported by Leadbitter, for students studying carpentry, painting and decorating and brickwork.

Lindsey Noble, principal and CEO of City College, said: “A common misconception of apprenticeships is that they are only for traditional or trade areas, such as electrics, plumbing and construction.

“While there are a lot of popular opportunities in these areas, there are actually hundreds of different types of apprenticeships on offer and we work with a wide range of employers to provide apprentices for lots of local industries and employment situations.

Small employers are particularly encouraged to come forward to find out more about having an apprentice.”

The Daily Echo Jobs Fair being held on Thursday will also provide a platform for scores of businesses and colleges promoting apprenticeships.

Winchester City Council is backing the awareness week with activities and events involving its own 11 apprentices and celebrating their work.

Three apprentices will take part in job swaps with senior managers, including chief executive Simon Eden, with each shadowing the other for half a day.

Cllr Stephen Godfrey, Winchester City Council’s portfolio holder for finance and administration, said: “I am pleased to support National Apprentice Week which highlights the benefits that an apprentice scheme brings both for those taking part and for us as an employer.”

Young people in the Marchwood area will be given the opportunity to sample a day in the life of a construction apprentice.

The taster sessions are being offered to Year 11 school pupils who will be looking to take their first steps on the career ladder. The Construction Taster sessions are the result of a partnership between CITBConstructionSkills and Brockenhurst College Marchwood Training Centre – which is providing the workshops for the event, taking place on Wednesday.