Business leaders campaign for apprenticeships
Business leaders from across the West Midlands are joining forces with the government to encourage more employers to take on apprentices. Richard Harpin, chief executive of Walsall-based HomeServe, said that he aimed to make up 20 per cent of his workforce from apprenticeships by 2013. Karen Woodward from the National Apprenticeship Service in the West Midlands told Insider that being backed by high-profile brands such as HomeServe and the Coventry-based British Chambers of Commerce would further influence the campaign.
She said: “Businesses take messages from other businesses – especially high profile ones – better than from anyone else.”
To draw attention to the cause, business leaders from across the country wrote an open letter to a national newspaper to promote the hiring of apprentices.
The letter in the Financial Times reads: "Business is a competitive environment. Rarely does the entire business community come together passionately over one specific topic. Apprenticeships are an exception. We all, as leaders in business, support apprenticeships, and 85,000 of us have made a personal commitment to them – by employing apprentices in our own companies.
"The spending review recently announced funding for an extra 75,000 apprenticeship places and today we have joined forces to urge other employers to consider how apprenticeships could help their businesses. With 200 types of apprenticeship available at three different levels, they are an excellent way to help staff progress while building their essential skills. And government contributes towards the training costs.
"We know that apprenticeships provide people with enhanced employment opportunities, and are a great way to learn. Supporting the growth of this programme will build a great legacy and ensure that we all support the business leaders of tomorrow."
Other signatures on the letter included David Frost, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce; Colin Willman, of the Federation of Small Businesses; Sir Roy Gardner, chairman of the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network and Dragons' Den star Peter Jones.
Woodward said that the additional 75,000 placements would be primarily given to “non traditional” apprentices.
“A lot of companies have quite an old-fashioned view of apprentices – the 16 to 18 year old taking a placement in engineering, perhaps, or manufacturing. While this is an option, there are more than 200 different placements available”, she said. “We also know that people a lot older than 18 or 19 have been affected by the downturn, and perhaps lost their jobs. These placements will be dedicated to helping them find a job, and maybe a new career path.”
HomeServe’s chief executive Harpin said that he was “a great believer” in running effective, long term apprenticeship schemes.
He added: “As we know from working with the National Apprenticeship Service, increasingly businesses are developing effective programmes, aiding company productivity, competitiveness and reducing staff turnover. Over the next three years we are dedicating £1m to our schemes with 20 per cent of the company workforce coming from apprenticeships by 2013.
”There has never been a more crucial time for employers in the West Midlands to engage with apprenticeships. They are vital to the future success of the region’s businesses and to the local economy.”
