Apprenticeships are coming into their own. Again.
For many years the concept of the apprenticeship was largely lost, but it has been resurgent in recent times and the pandemic has added even more impetus to get involved – both young people and employers.
Pertemps has been a keen advocate of the Apprenticeship Levy Transfer, investing more than £2 million so far which has been used across multiple sectors including social care, hospitality and the building professions.
The 2021 Pertemps/CBI Employment Trends Survey shows that young people accounted for nearly two-thirds of job losses in the year following the start of the pandemic but, 12 months after that, youth unemployment levels had fallen below pre-pandemic levels.
This evidences the strong entry level hiring intentions of businesses across the UK and apprenticeships are playing an increasingly important role in that. Ongoing concerns about labour shortages are leading to more businesses working with recruitment partners and making long term recruitment strategies.
Access to skills is seen a key threat to competitiveness so what better way to begin stocking your skills pipeline than to look to apprenticeships, build real skills in young people for the years ahead.
One in ten firms intend to use the Kickstart Scheme to create additional jobs for young people. It’s encouraging to know that businesses are still favouring apprenticeships and traineeships, while continuing to make use of the Government’s Kickstart Scheme.
I’m proud to say that at Pertemps, we are committed to helping young people get the skills they need to tackle the challenges of the future. So far through the Apprenticeship Levy Transfer, we have supported 32 businesses within the West Midlands.
Apprenticeships are a great way in giving young people their first step into employment and for helping those furthest from the jobs market. Up-skilling is going to be vitally important moving forward, not just for young people, but for many people across all kinds of industries and sectors. Within the current climate, it is crucial that businesses and employees commit to learning and development to ensure they have the skills to adapt.
At Pertemps, we offer opportunities that provide valuable employability skills and work experience, making CVs stand out and employers take notice. We are also spearheading an initiative at one of our major clients where they aim to recruit 100 apprenticeships this year.
I’m really proud Pertemps are contributing towards improving the opportunities for, and helping, young people by giving them their first step into employment, particularly helping those furthest from the job market. In the process, we are supporting the Government’s Levelling Up Agenda as well as producing candidates with a fresh set of skills to succeed in the workplace of the future – which will look different to what it does now.
