College emphasises value of Apprenticeships

18/10/2011

Apprentices from Central Sussex College pictured during National Apprenticeship Week with the Apprentice's Tim Campbell and Lord Young

Trends in the Gatwick Diamond suggest that apprenticeships are still a very relevant route to upskilling the workforce, despite a survey published this month which suggests only one in five companies have taken on an apprentice in the past year.

Gill Timlett, Apprenticeship Team Manager in the College's Employer Services team, also added that the quality of candidates coming into apprenticeships through Central Sussex College's Job Shop is much higher than perceived by the respondents of the British Chamber of Commerce's (BCC) Quarterly Economic Survey in which almost 50% said they were concerned about the quality of potential job candidates nationally.

The 6,000 employers who took part in the survey also felt that apprenticeships were not tailored to the needs of their business. In the past few years Central Sussex College has supported apprentices on the Ford Masters Apprenticeship Programme, and currently supports several at West Sussex County Council. Through working with employers the College has also identified and responded to niche markets in areas such as Sign Making and works with many small companies to develop new talent.

Gill Timlett explains: "Currently we're funding more than 700 apprentices in organisations across Sussex, from hair salons to telecommunications companies, so we're pretty confident that the apprenticeship framework is still very relevant and cost-effective - even more important in these challenging economic times. In fact, another survey undertaken in 2009* suggests that 81% of employers claim apprentices help them to improve productivity and become more competitive."

In many cases the cost of training an apprentice is part or fully funded by the government, and a typical apprentice takes between one and two years to complete their training.

Despite more than 20% of people aged 16 to 24 being out of work (the actual figure stands at just under one million), the College's Job Shop is currently advertising a range of apprenticeship vacancies for companies in Sussex, offering local people the chance to develop skills in a variety of areas such as customer service, catering and engineering.

Job Shop Manager Jane Williams says: "The fact that our Job Shop is so busy - with an average of 15 apprenticeship vacancies being filled per month - speaks volumes about local industry's views on apprenticeships. With support from the College our apprentices gain vocational qualifications and transferable skills in areas such as IT, numeracy and communication, which make them an excellent addition to any workforce."

Director of Kall Kwik Crawley and Brighton Barry Cool took on an apprentice in 2009 through the College's Job Shop, who has since been promoted to assistant manager. He said: "The benefits of having an apprentice are two-fold. Not only did we acquire an enthusiastic new member of staff, but by helping her achieve her goals we were constantly ensuring the business was meeting its goals and improving too. The course could be tailored to give her the skills she needed in the workplace."

To advertise an apprenticeship vacancy through the College's Job Shop click here, or to find out about any of its vacancies, call 0845 155 0043 (press 4) or view the group's facebook page, below.