National Apprenticeship Week 2012 takes place between 6 and 10 February and it serves as a timely reminder that apprentices are good for your business.
National Apprenticeship Week is all about raising the profile amongst employers, individuals, teachers, parents and the media and everyone with an interest in apprenticeships is encouraged to get involved. Ultimately, the aim is to ensure high quality apprenticeships continue to be used and valued by young people and UK businesses.
APPRENTICES INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY
- 80 percent of those who employ apprentices agree that they make the workplace more productive
- Apprentices are loyal and hardworking and help businesses grow
- 88 percent of employers who employ apprentices believe that apprenticeships lead to a more motivated and satisfied workforce
- 83 percent of employers who employ apprentices rely on their apprenticeships programme to provide the skilled workers that they need for the future
- 81 percent of consumers would prefer to use a company that employs apprentices
- The training for 16-18 year old apprentices is fully funded by the Government. In addition, businesses registered with CITB-ConstructionSkills can claim up to £9,000 in grants towards the cost of employing an apprentice regardless of the apprentice’s age.
IMPROVING THE IMAGE OF CONSTRUCTION
There are now over 200 different types of apprenticeship frameworks, covering more than 1,200 different job roles in a range of industry sectors, from engineering to boat building, veterinary nursing to accountancy. However, construction has a well-established apprenticeship tradition and apprenticeships are considered the recognised route into the industry. Apprenticeships help to improve the perception of the industry by demonstrating the level of skill involved in learning a craft. They also help to raise standards in the industry by ensuring the workforce has a nationally recognised qualification. Skills competitions such as SkillBuild and WorldSkills are especially good at celebrating the high standard of skills in construction and helping to attract the right young people into the sector. At WorldSkills London 2011, the world’s largest international skills competition, three former UK apprentices won gold medals in bricklaying, stonemasonry and plumbing.
WHY THE FMB GETS INVOLVED
Involvement in National Apprenticeship Week demonstrates that the FMB is committed to supporting a successful and prosperous future for the construction industry, as well as increasing valuable employment opportunities for today’s young people. The profile of apprenticeships is on the rise, but unsurprisingly the slowdown in the construction industry has had an impact on the number apprenticeship opportunities. The FMB believes that more still needs to be done to support firms that invest in the future workforce by taking on and training apprentices. After all, history has shown that businesses that continue to train throughout a recession survive and thrive.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
FMB Regional Directors are participating in National Apprenticeship Week 2012 by becoming an ‘apprentice for a day’ to highlight the value of apprenticeships and increase the profile of the FMB.
In the run up to National Apprenticeship Week, Regional Directors have been identifying members with a business that currently employ one or more apprentices to teach them some practical skills as they step into the shoes of an apprentice for the day!
This is an excellent opportunity for some positive publicity and supports the FMB’s position that training is important for the future of individual businesses and the wider industry.
If you think you could turn your Regional Director into an apprentice for just one day, contact them at:
Tel: 0121 421 2241
Email: MACE@fmb.org.uk
APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR AWARD
During National Apprenticeship Week, we will be promoting our Master Builder of the Year Awards ‘Apprentice of the Year’ category. If you have an apprentice who could follow in Patrick’s shoes, please nominate them.
INFORMATION
Find out more about National Apprenticeship Week 2012 by visiting: www.apprenticeships.org.uk
