FEATURE: Week to highlight apprenticeships

Apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on businesses and the wider community will be celebrated later this month.

National Apprenticeship Week will be held from March 14-18 and will see a variety of activity aimed at increasing awareness and take-up of apprenticeships and traineeships by:
lPromoting small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) apprenticeships
lhighlighting the support available and why offering an apprenticeship or traineeship is easier than small businessesmay think.
lCelebrating apprenticeships, especially higher and degree apprenticeships, by focussing on the positive economic impact and showing how they offer a new work-based route into professions that have traditionally been the preserve of graduates.
The overarching theme for the National Apprenticeship Week 2016 is “Rise to the top!” focusing on progression and opportunity as a way to showcase the rich and diverse apprenticeship offer, from traineeships right through to higher and degree apprenticeships.
Apprenticeships offer a variety of benefits to the economy, employers and the learner, including:
lThe government invested £1,559,771 in apprenticeships during the 2014/15 academic year;
lApprenticeship participation now stands at a record level: 871,800 funded apprentices in 2014/15;
lEmployers say that qualified apprentices are 15% more employable than those with other qualifications;
l89 per cent of employers reported that apprenticeships helped their business improve the quality of their product or service.
lThose completing a higher apprenticeship could see increased earnings of an estimated £150,000 over their lifetime.