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New Deal on Apprentices
The Journal April 15 2009
A NEW service aimed at strengthening and driving forward a major expansion of Apprenticeships has been launched.
The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) went live on April 1, taking over accountability for apprenticeships from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) which has managed them since 2001.
The NAS will operate nationally and regionally and has responsibility for implementing the Government’s policy on increasing Apprenticeships, including achieving targets.
Extra measures are being brought in to encourage more employers to offer high quality Apprenticeships. These include a pilot wage subsidy for small businesses, a field force to support employers who recruit Apprentices and a drive to increase Apprenticeships in the public sector.
The NAS offers one central point of contact for employers who want to offer an Apprenticeship and for individuals seeking a position.
Support will include a National Apprenticeship Vacancy Matching Service, open to employers, training providers, potential Apprentices, parents and guardians and people who provide advice and guidance.
The service will include a web system with the latest facts, updates and alerts on Apprenticeships, as well as success stories, job details, sector information and a free recruitment service for employers. The system will also track and record the progress of Apprenticeship applications.
A young woman from Tyne and Wear has become the first person in the North East to secure a job with the help of the vacancy matching system. Kayley Huntley, 17, of Bridekirk in Washington, is delighted to have landed her dream job at New World Nursery in Washington. Taking up her role as a nursery assistant, Kayley joins a team of 10 who cater for the everyday needs of children from a few months old to five.
As well as her work duties, Kayley is working towards an NVQ level 2 in children’s care, learning and development, with help from Zodiac Training Ltd. She said: “I regularly look after my nephew, so I’ve always wanted to work with children.
“I came across the national Apprenticeship vacancy matching system when I was looking on the internet. It was just so easy to use.
“I typed in the career that I was interested in, along with my postcode, and a number of options in my local area popped up. My application was sent off electronically and before long I was called to go for an interview at New World Nursery.
“There are loads of opportunities out there for people like me. I have already told all my friends that this is the best way to look for a job with training.”
Regional director of National Apprenticeship Service North East, John Wayman, said: “Although there is a lot of great practice already happening, up until now there hasn’t been a central, co-ordinated national system for bringing together employers with suitable vacancies and potential Apprentices.
“The fact that the Apprenticeship programme is to have its own dedicated service is testament to the role it continues to play in increasing UK skills. The target is to have four million apprenticeship places available in England by 2020. This means that one in five employers will offer Apprenticeships, compared to one in fifteen at the moment.”
There are more than 180 Apprenticeship frameworks in 80 industry sectors, and the North East is the joint top region in the country for Apprenticeship achievement rates.
New figures show success rates for LSC Apprenticeship programmes in the region have risen by 7% in a year, from 59% in 2006-7 to 66% in 2007-8.
People we have worked with
The service delivered by Zodiac Training has been fantastic. Zodiac has provided courses for many of our employees over the past nine years and we will certainly continue to work with them in the future. I have levels two and three in NVQ customer service and administration so I know how valuable these courses are to my members of staff.
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