Special Event marks National Apprenticeship Week 11-15 March

Devon County Council is calling on small and medium-sized businesses to think about the benefits of offering an apprenticeship.

The Council is organising a special event at Sandy Park in Exeter on Tuesday 12 March to bring young people and potential employers together.

Businesses are being encouraged to sign up to the event to see how they could get involved and maybe find a suitable apprentice for their organisation.

The day starts with a Business Breakfast between 8-9am for those considering taking on apprentices to find out more information.

In addition, grants of £2,000 are on offer to businesses which register for the day. The National Apprenticeship Service has a grant scheme offering £1500 to businesses, with an additional £500 from Devon County Council for those attending the event.

Pupils in years 10, 11, 12 and 13 from all of Devon’s schools have been invited to the day and many will be coming along with their teachers or parents to find out more about apprenticeships, skills and employment.

All the Devon colleges will be on hand to answer questions plus a range of training providers and employers providing interactive demos and talks throughout the day.

Leader of Devon County Council, John Hart says; “For many young people, apprenticeships can be their first step into employment and it’s important we support and help them in this process. By providing apprenticeships, businesses are making a valuable contribution to Devon’s future work force and subsequently helping to raise skills in the county. This is something we are very much behind at Devon County Council so I am very pleased to be supporting this initiative and I would encourage organisations and young people to come along and find out more.”

Changes in the law mean that this year, children in England will be required to stay in education or training until they are 17.

This is an interim step in government policy to have pupils continue in some form of education or training to the age of 18 which will take effect for school leavers from 2015.

The change will not mean that pupils will have to stay in the classroom but they will have to continue to receive training.

The changes have been introduced because the Government estimates that currently there are some 189,500 young people aged between 16 and 18 who are not in education, employment or training.