| Business organisations
have welcomed plans, announced in the
March Budget, to increase the number of
apprenticeships over the next four years.
Chancellor George Osborne said there would
by £180 million for up to 50,000 extra
apprenticeships over the next four years.
They include 40,000 places to support
young employed people, particularly as
they move on from work experience
programmes.
The government will also support
business consortia with grants to set up
and main advanced and higher
apprenticeship schemes, creating a further
10,000 apprenticeships.
Research has shown that 80 per cent of
those who employ apprentices agree that
they make the workplace more productive.
The Federation of Small Businesses said
that with almost seven in ten existing
apprenticeships currently taking place
within small firms, the extra places were
a “significant development for the small
business community and young people alike”
while the British Retail Consortium –
representing a sector that employs a
million under-25s – said that the
government was “right to support
apprenticeships”.
Currently, there are more than 85,000
employers offering apprenticeships in
England in 130,000 locations and in 200
job roles.
LINK:
National Apprenticeship Service |
