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National Apprenticeship Week Follows on from JobFest
National Apprenticeship Week follows hot on heels of JobFest showcasing employment and training opportunities for young people.
Swindon is playing its full part in National Apprenticeship Week, following on from JobFest, with businesses, public service employers and recruitment advisors showcasing the enormous array of employment opportunities available to people in Swindon.
National Apprenticeship Week celebrates its 10th anniversary this week, giving Swindon employers and people looking at career options the chance to pinpoint apprenticeship opportunities and the advantages they offer.
Supported by Swindon Borough Council, National Apprenticeship Week and JobFest are both aimed at giving people insight into the employment and training opportunities available.
Swindon JobFest, in the iconic setting of the STEAM Museum, was a major careers event which gave young people aged 16 - 24 a superb opportunity to meet a wide range of employers from varying sectors, and learn about the wealth of different career and apprenticeship opportunities now available to them. Some 65 businesses and 13 health and social care employers attended to provide information and career advice. The Skills Funding Agency provided vital sponsorship to help make the event possible.
National Apprenticeship Week, meanwhile, is focusing on the opportunities offered by apprenticeships across a huge range of careers and skills. Billed as the ‘Ladder of Opportunity!’ it looks at the progression routes of apprenticeships, from traineeships through to Higher and Degree level apprenticeships. The achievements of apprentices over the last decade are being celebrated throughout the week.
Apprenticeships – Key Facts
- Apprenticeships are available in more than 170 industries covering over 1,500 job roles from advertising to youth work and from environmental engineering to legal
- Qualifications go from entry level all the way up to Degree level
- You earn a salary while you are training and gaining experience in a real work environment
- Apprenticeship are for people of all ages and career stages
- There are up to 28,000 vacancies available across England on the apprenticeships.gov.uk website right now – look at www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship
Cllr Garry Perkins, Lead Member for Economy, Regeneration and Skills, said: “JobFest was a resounding success and National Apprenticeship Week will be building on it. It’s a really welcome initiative and a great opportunity for Swindon’s employers and trainers to get alongside potential apprentices and show them what the benefits are. One of our Council priorities is to secure the ‘Right skills and right jobs in the right places’ and the Apprenticeship Growth Plan aims to do just that: support businesses in developing a skills and talent pipeline through apprenticeships to enable economic growth, addressing the skill gaps enabling all young people and adults to benefit from skills development and job opportunities.
“We’re aiming to have over 10,000 apprentice-starts in Swindon by 2020, and I’m sure the Borough’s almost 7,000 businesses will be fully involved in helping achieve that”.
Apprenticeships in Swindon
1,920 apprentices were recruited in Swindon in 2015-16, a 7.3 % increase on the previous year (significantly higher than the national average). This ranked Swindon Borough the 21st Local Authority with the biggest increase from the previous year across all Local Authorities, and 3rd in the South West. The Council is fully committed to strengthening and growing its apprenticeship offering, reflecting one of its Pledges: to increase the number of businesses employing young people in the borough as an apprentice to 20%.
Swindon initiatives connected with National Apprenticeship Week 2017 include:
- An Apprenticeships Open Evening at Phoenix Building at Swindon College on Thursday 9 March from 4 – 7 pm (contact (01793) 498208/491591 or email [email protected] for more information)
- An Apprenticeships Info Evening for Y10/11s at New College Swindon on Tuesday 14 March from 5.30 – 7.30 pm (booking essential)
- People wanting to know more about apprenticeships should check out National Apprenticeship Week, Total Guide to apprenticeships and Your Options at 16. Parents are encouraged to get onto the getingofar.gov.uk/parents for apprenticeship-guidance.
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