ADVERTORIAL
APPRENTICESHIPS AT THE FOREFRONT OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY Ahead of National Apprenticeships Week, the team at Barnsley College share with unLTD how apprenticeships allow young people to develop their potential and enter the workforce earlier – and look ahead to their own events during the week, too As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the labour market, job prospects for young people aged 16-24 remain an increasing cause for concern, whilst the Office for National Statistics reports that the national economy faces a record-breaking jobs crisis.[1] Analysis by the Institute of Fiscal Studies[2] reinforces this fact, painting a bleak picture for several groups within society who are hardest hit by sector shut downs during the pandemic. Those aged under 25
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are 2.5 times more likely to work in a shut down sector than other employees, whilst low skilled, low earners are seven times as likely as high earners to work in such a sector. To support the nation’s economic recovery from the pandemic, the Government launched its ‘Plan For Jobs’[3] in July 2020. This acknowledged that these groups are amongst the hardest hit and promotes a raft of initiatives and incentives to protect them from long-term unemployment. An investment
of £1.6 billion is aimed at scaling up employment support schemes, training and apprenticeships, to help society’s most vulnerable onto the career ladder. Last month’s ‘Skills for Jobs’[4] white paper puts even greater emphasis onto the conversation around skills, strategic support to employers and co-developing future technical education; the green economy and the levelling up agenda. Until the end of March, employers may be awarded
funding of £2,000 for hiring new apprentices aged 16-24 years, or £1,500 for those aged 25 and older. This is in addition to the existing £1,000 grant that can be obtained by employers who hire an apprentice aged 16-18 years, or those under 25 years who have an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) or are in local authority care. Apprenticeships allow young people to develop their potential and enter the workforce earlier, whilst employers benefit from access to the next generation of
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