Apprenticeships in Hampshire & Isle of Wight
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ApprenticeshipsWe in Hampshirework & Isle ofbetter Wight Visual identity guidelines: Apprenticeships together Welcome to the ALPHI Apprenticeships newsletter. We hope you will be inspired by the success of these young people and the benefits employers have gained through Apprenticeships. Why do employers value apprenticeships? Apprentices train to nationally recognised standards • 81% said that employing Apprentices generated while they deliver the skills needed in business. higher overall productivity for their company. The training can be tailored to business needs to • 66% said that an Apprenticeship programme made improve employee performance and motivation, them more competitive in their industry. while helping to ensure high productivity and the • 92% said that their Apprenticeship programme competitiveness of organisations. better motivated staff and increased job satisfaction. The Learning and Skills Council recently surveyed • 74% said that apprentices tended to be more businesses throughout the UK on benefits of hiring an loyal, remaining at their company longer than apprentice (Populus January 2009). Of those surveyed: non-apprentices. Making things happen Spring/Summer 2010 Visit apprenticeships.org.uk or call 08000 150 600 Features and benefits of and Skills Council and with the new National Introduction Apprenticeships to employers Apprenticeship Service (NAS), to the extent and apprentices that the LSC and NAS now recognises this group as the key route for communication continued... The most frequently cited benefits by with the workbased learning network. employers are that Apprenticeships: In addition, the group has a strong How are Apprenticeships funded? • help to retain employees; relationship with the National Association The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funds • improve the performance of existing staff; of Learning Providers through ALP Southeast. the training costs for Apprenticeships, • enable staff to obtain a recognised through a training provider. The amount of The role of ALPHI is to support learning qualification; funding provided by the LSC depends on the providers in all areas of its operation in age of the apprentice and the framework they • combat the impact of an ageing workforce; order to create a self-developing, are enrolled on. • help instill company values and good self-managing network. practice amongst employees; Costs to the employer when How can ALPHI Support Employers? • reduce training costs and help in sourcing employing an apprentice The network members work across a wide good quality training providers • Employers need to pay the apprentice’s range of sectors, offering Apprenticeships (Source: Mercia Research and Strategy wages and any other related contributions, and other learning programmes which can April 2006) such as National Insurance. support businesses. • They need to provide staff time to support What is the Association of Learning By working through the network you can the apprentice in the workplace, and to Providers (ALPHI)? be assured that you will be working with liaise with the training provider. The Association of Learning Providers professional learning providers who offer • The apprentice will need time off to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight is a group quality learning programmes. attend courses or training within normal of learning providers (colleges and private All the members of the ALPHI network are working hours. companies) who have come together to experts in their field and will identify the best • Employers are required to ensure full-time form a network. In Hampshire and the Isle programmes to support your business needs. of Wight learning providers have developed employed apprentices receive at least £95 Jo Sellars ALPHI as a voluntary membership association. per week on starting work-based learning. Alphi coordinator It is strongly recommended apprentices The network members deliver learning across receive incremental rises based on a wide range of sectors. This group has a very competence, achievement and productivity strong membership and has developed an to the organisation. excellent relationship with the local Learning which then pointed me towards SETA organisation in order to fill this gap. Getting the (Southampton Engineering Training Association) right tradesmen, trained in a way that is tailored as a provider for the apprenticeship. for their company, with the skills they need is really important. Matt Cross Describe a typical day for you now. Hiring tradesmen can be extremely expensive, What sort of responsibilities do you have and it is more beneficial to develop them and what projects are you involved in? yourself with the right skills for a future We spoke to Matt, a former Apprentice, I completed my apprenticeship a little while in the organisation. who works at PTF Engineering in ago and I am actually no longer working on my Would you recommend an tools. The knowledge and experience I gained Chandler’s Ford, about his experiences apprenticeship to others? Why? allowed me to develop quickly and I now work of an apprenticeship. on project management and estimation. Yes! An apprenticeship really sets you up for your life. My apprenticeship gave me the Why did you choose an apprenticeship? We look at job drawings and customer specifications to calculate what materials will skills I needed and the potential to earn well. At school, apprenticeships weren’t really men- be required, how long a job will take, what it In some ways it would have been more tioned as an option so I did A levels at Barton will cost and how to organise it. Having had beneficial for me to have gone straight to Peveril College. I enjoyed the experience, but practical experience on customer’s sites the apprenticeship after school, rather than was left wondering what to do next. I was installing projects as an Apprentice really to college, as it really prepared me for work. offered a place at Portsmouth University to helps me now I am in the office planning them! Call 023 8077 1908 or visit study engineering, but felt I was in danger of www.seta-training.co.uk spending another 3 years listening to lectures Why do you think your employer invests and not developing the level of skills or in recruiting and training apprentices? opportunities for employment I really PTF Engineering has an ageing workforce, about wanted. So I investigated apprenticeships half of whom are due to retire in the next ten on the internet and found the ECITB years! I think apprenticeships are the best way (Engineering Construction Industry) website, to get young blood coming through into the Apprentice takes active step into into it now it would really help me go forward and learn.” business world with Catch22 Catch22 put Zoë in touch with Shirrell Heath-based Active Wealth, which provides Zoë Tee and Ken Bannister at Active Wealth independent financial planning services to A Catch22 learner has exploded the myth person into a skilled employee, and also personal and business clients and was looking allows you to work with them for a year that apprenticeships are only for ‘blue for help with marketing. before deciding whether to make a full collar’ or non-academic career paths. Zoë, a former pupil of Wildern School, then commitment.” Zoë Tee has swapped an art degree course at completed a four-week trial as the first stage “For the apprentice it is a chance to train, university for a marketing apprenticeship at of a full apprenticeship combining at-work develop skills and gain qualifications on the the independent financial advice company NVQ training, day-release study for technical job. Zoë is learning about how small businesses Active Wealth Ltd. certificates at the John Pounds Centre in run including the importance of accuracy in The 18-year-old left Fareham College in Portsmouth, and regular visits from a business financial advice and how to think on her feet.” summer 2009 with a BTEC diploma in art and trainer to support both her and Active Wealth. “It is quite a different environment from design and had an undergraduate place lined Zoë’s work at Active Wealth includes database working in a large corporate. The financial up at Bournemouth University. management and other promotional, services sector is very varied – no two clients Instead she has chosen to start a career in marketing and administrative functions. need or require the same advice so we can financial services through an apprenticeship “This has given me a real head start,” make her role enjoyable and diverse.” in business and administration. said Zoë. “I am already working in a place Jacqui Lawrence, Head of Catch22 South East Zoë, from Hedge End, said: “I had lots of time where I am getting the experience of what is Training, said “Zoë’s example showed the to think after I left college and I decided that involved in giving financial planning and attraction of the apprenticeship route even I didn’t want to do art but keep it as a hobby. investment advice to people. It is really where university is an option.” Art is a very hard industry to get into. interesting. I have done stuff that I wouldn’t She said: “Even for someone leaving college On top of that, the idea of going to university have thought about before. I like challenging with strong qualifications, the current and paying fees and accommodation costs myself and I’m quite a fast learner.” economic climate can be daunting. was just giving me more and more stress. Ken Bannister, Director of Active Wealth, Apprenticeships offer the chance to earn “I first found out about Catch22 on the already knew the value that apprenticeships while you learn, gaining experience and internet. I went for a meeting with them and offer employers. In his earlier career he was qualifications at the same time. They allow talked about what I wanted to do and we an apprentice electronics engineer. young people to follow dynamic career paths looked at what I was matched to.