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SKILLS AND APPRENTICESHIPS
NURTURING YOUNG TALENT IS THE KEY TO FUTURE SUCCESS
By Dr Michele Lawty-Jones, director of the Lancashire Skills and Employment Hub
Each year Lancashire businesses show their commitment to growing and nurturing their talent base by engaging in apprenticeships.
As a county we have a strong track record in growing talent through apprenticeship programmes, which have evolved and expanded to include a variety of occupational areas and levels.
Each year there are between 10,500 and 11,000 apprenticeship starts. This includes new recruits, and existing employees who are upskilling through apprenticeships.
The system offers a wide range of opportunities, going far beyond the traditional technical apprenticeships of the past.
From traditional pathways, such as engineering and construction trades, to more recent additions such as paralegal and cyber security professionals – there are apprenticeships designed to grow and nurture talent across a whole range of different occupations.
Apprentices can engage in the development of intermediate skills at Level 2, right up to masters at Level 7.
In Lancashire we continue to see a slight decrease in Level 2 opportunities, and growth in higher level and degree equivalent apprenticeships, Levels 4 to 7, with the latter now accounting for over a third of apprenticeship starts in the county. The number has doubled since 2017/18 with 3,500 apprenticeship starts in 2022/23.
We are also seeing greater engagement from females in higher and degree level apprenticeships, with almost 2,000 starts last year.
In terms of subject areas, there is growth in a range of higher level and degree subject areas including health, public services and care, as well as engineering and digital and cyber pathways – aligning with demands in the local labour market.
As with last year, just over half of apprenticeship starts were people aged 16- 24, while almost 5,000 were over the age of 25 when they started, demonstrating that an apprenticeship can be undertaken at any age.
Although apprenticeships can be undertaken at any time, we would like to highlight the ‘Early Connect’ pilot in Lancashire, which provides significant opportunity for employers to raise the visibility of their business and apprenticeship opportunities and attract college and sixth form leavers.
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