Sector Focus
BMet champions Apprentice Levy
A Birmingham college has welcomed the forthcoming Apprenticeship Levy as a boost to beating the skills shortage in the region. The Levy is being introduced
from 6 April, although only employers whose salary bill adds up to more than £3m will pay it. However, it also includes funding
initiatives which employers can take advantage of if they take on new apprentices, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The overall aim is to increase the
number of apprentices that UK employers take on each year. Birmingham College BMet
believes that the Levy will help businesses to ‘up-skill’ their existing staff and will also encourage local firms and organisations to review their recruitment strategies. Rebecca Hayes, director of sales
at BMet College, said: “The region’s business community sees the Apprenticeship Levy as a way to solve skills shortages, with concerns raised about levels of understanding of the challenges and opportunities ahead. “With a thriving economy and a
growing skills gap, businesses have a prerogative to improve the skills and education of our population.”
Skills
Local employability skills scheme deserves a medal
A Birmingham University professor is helping to equip school leavers with the key skills they need to be successful as they enter the world of work. The Meet, Eat, Drink and Learn
(MEDaL) programme, sponsored by Burton-based hospitality company Punch, is a series of innovative employability skills workshops, designed and developed by Professor Jo Andrews from Sutton Coldfield. Twenty-two pupils from Paget
High School in Branston, aged 16 and 17, are currently benefitting from weekly sessions, designed to equip them with vital life skills including communication and presentation, team building and team leadership, managing projects and events, support with constructing a personal statement, writing a distinctive CV and interviewing for success. The weekly sessions take place
at Punch’s managed pub the Blacksmiths Arms in Branston. The scheme has also received the backing of Sir Michael Parkinson and his son Nick Parkinson whose
Back row, from left: Professor Jo Andrews, Ben Pedley and Husan Hussain (both Paget High School), and Chamber chief executive Paul Faulkner, who presented the MEDaL certificates. Front, from left: Paget High School students Grace Blackshaw, Anya Hollingsworth, Alisha Jean-Baptiste and Usman Ghana
pub, The Royal Oak, Maidenhead, provided a function room for a MEDaL training session. Professor Andrews said: “It
should not be assumed that young people are always ‘work ready’ when they leave school. The MEDaL
programme has therefore been designed to provide the core, essential skills for that first venture into the world of work. These are the skills that every employer would welcome seeing in a new recruit to their organisation.”
We specialise in delivering high quality training and qualifications in the Childcare sector. Our programmes range from Study Programmes, Traineeships to Apprenticeships. We are an approved GCSE English and Maths centre and these can also be taken alongside our other programmes. Whilst undertaking any training with us, learners are placed within real work environments in order to gain valuable vocational experience.
Interview sessions held weekly!
Kick start your career in childcare today
www.crackerjacktraining.com Or call: 0121 454 2043
58 CHAMBERLINK March 2017
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