students get the support and guidance to make the best application – that is a talent pool of more than 18,000 young people!
This pilot builds on work with partners, including the Lancashire Careers Hub and the Lancashire Work Based Learning Forum, to raise the profile of apprenticeships from the age of 13.
To encourage engagement, Lancashire County Council has extended its Young Apprenticeship Grant programme and is currently offering £3,000 incentives, via the Skills Hub, for small to medium sized employers – those with fewer than 250 employees – keen to recruit younger apprentices.
Michele Lawty-Jones
The Lancashire Skills and Employment Hub, in partnership with the Lancashire Work Based Learning Forum and The Lancashire Colleges, is working with the Department for Education on the Early Connect pilot.
It provides significant opportunities for employers to raise the visibility of their business, apprenticeship opportunities and attract college and sixth form leavers.
The population of 16-to18-year-olds has been increasing over the last six years but Lancashire apprenticeship starts, for this age group, remains at approximately 3,000 a year. The latest information for 2023/24 shows a fall of four per cent from the prior year.
Although apprenticeships can be undertaken at any time, the pilot has identified that young people have a greater awareness of apprenticeship pathways for their chosen careers and are actively looking for opportunities from October to April that offer a summer start.
Working with schools and sixth forms we are ensuring opportunities are promoted and that
Advice and guidance is available to discuss business needs and to identify suitable standards and find out about local providers. There is also an opportunity to access funds for apprenticeships training via the Lancashire Levy Transfer Network, where larger Lancashire employers are transferring unspent levy to local employers to reduce costs.
So, how do you get involved? If you are already recruiting apprentices, ensure that your apprenticeship vacancies are being advertised via the digital apprenticeship service – assuring your vacancies will feature on the ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ search engine and automatically pull through to UCAS and other job boards.
If you are new to apprenticeships, or haven’t recruited for a period of time, register for the Lancashire Skills Pledge and the ‘Take on an Apprentice’ pledge.
You will receive a call to help you understand funding and costs, navigate the system, provide impartial advice on standards, providers and help you to target the right audience:
https://www.lancashireskillshub.
co.uk/lancashire-skills-pledge/
THE CHANGING SKILLS LANDSCAPE
Last summer saw the launch of a new body created by the government to bring together what it described as the “fractured” skills landscape” and to create a “shared national ambition to boost the nation’s skills”.
Skills England aims to bring together central and local government, businesses, training providers and unions to meet the skills needs of the next decade across all regions.
It will also provide “strategic oversight” of the post-16 skills system, aligned to the government’s Industrial Strategy.
The new organisation was launched against a backdrop which showed that between 2017 and 2022 skills shortages in the country doubled to more than half a million, and now account for 36 per cent of job vacancies.
In a statement announcing the creation of Skills England, the government said: “Supporting local areas to develop the skilled workforces they need – in particular across construction and healthcare – is fundamental to the government’s mission to raise growth sustainably.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer added: “Our skills system is in a mess, which is why we
are transforming our approach to meet skills needs over the coming decades.
“They will help to deliver our number one mission as a government, to kickstart economic growth, by opening up new opportunities for young people and enabling British businesses to recruit more home-grown talent.
“From construction to IT, healthcare to engineering, our success as a country depends on delivering highly skilled workforces for the long-term. Skills England will put in place the framework needed to achieve that goal while reducing our reliance on workers from overseas.”
The organisation’s work included identifying the training for which the growth and skills levy will be accessible. The government describes that as “an important reform”, giving businesses more flexibility to spend levy funds on training for the skills they need, something which employers have long been calling for.
The government is also working to simplify and devolve adult education budgets to mayoral combined authorities to ensure that they can address their adult skills needs directly and support growth in their areas.
LANCASHIREBUSINES SV
IEW.CO.UK
Paul Hannant Project Co-ordinator Lancashire Apprenticeship Service
CASH BOOST OFFER TO RECRUIT
YOUNG EMPLOYEES Businesses in the county are being offered £3,000 for recruiting young Apprentices through the Lancashire Skills Hub.
The opportunity is being funded by Lancashire County Council with £300,000 allocated to cover 100 grants to businesses who have not taken on an apprentice in the last two years and employ fewer than 250.
The Skills Hub also offers free guidance, support and impartial advice to assist your business in how apprenticeships can be utilised to their greatest benefit for the whole workforce, current and future.
Skills Pledge
The world of employment is forever changing, whether it be vocational training, the changing labour market, skills shortages or the introduction of new technology.
The Skills Pledge is a method of reaching out to a wealth of support and advice and answers key questions for bosses.
• How do I engage with my local school/college to attract my next apprentices?
• Can I link up to offer work placements so I can offer real-life experience to students?
• What training is available to upskill my existing workforce.
• How do I reach those that wouldn’t consider applying for a job with us?
Answers to these and more, are within easy reach by signing up to one or more pledges at the links below.
And, as a Skills Pledge Employer, you get recognition for the great work you already do for your employees.
Join over 265 Lancashire businesses and sign up to the Skills Pledge by filling in the form at
www.lancashireskillshub.co.uk/ pledge-account/register/ Or email:
lancsskillshub@lancashireskillshub.co.uk
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IN VIEW
APPRENTICSHIPS
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