Government drive by Department of Education for more London apprentices
Girl apprentice recruited in London for a career in engineering - Credit: Dept of Ed
A new campaign by the Department for Education is urging small companies to take on apprentices.
It has been launched today by Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Robert Halfon, aimed at better understanding of apprenticeships in industry.
One example in east London being flagged up in the campaign is Blue Engineering in Shoreditch.
Apprenticeships were first tried at the company in 2012, in a programme that has expanded since then with its rising business, the company reveals. Past and present apprentices now account for almost half the Blue Engineering workforce.
But Whitehall is concerned that almost three-quarters of other small and medium enterprises are “yet to be convinced of the merits of apprenticeships”.
You may also want to watch:
So the campaign aims to challenge perceptions and has funding available to help pay salaries for paid learning.
Apprentices taken on since 2012 in London reached 46,000, just over half of them women, with most companies reporting how placings had improved productivity.
Most Read
- 1 Ethnic communities not taking up Covid jabs, Tower Hamlets Mayor warns
- 2 'Racist consultation' protest rejected on Tower Hamlets street closures as Labour sticks to its manifesto
- 3 Airbnb house party violence leaves police officer with broken finger
- 4 Council fined for Alexia Walenkaki's playground death in Mile End and says sorry to family
- 5 Streets around proposed Chinese embassy building could be renamed after persecuted Muslims
- 6 Police hunt after stabbing in Cable Street: One man hurt
- 7 Police raid cannabis factory near Liverpool Street station: 2 arrests
- 8 No injuries but 20 rescued as firefighters tackle Limehouse blaze
- 9 Teenager found dead in Victoria Park
Some 24,200 employers took on apprentices in London last year alone.
Latest estimates released last today are that 200,000 apprentices are expected to be recruited by small firms up and down the country in the next 12 months.