5:00pm Monday 25th January 2010
By Mike Pryce
CONSTRUCTION apprentices in Worcestershire who were laid off during the economic downturn could be taken on again.
ConstructionSkills, the UK’s sector skills council for construction, has extended its scheme to take on construction apprentices as part of the apprenticeship matching service.
That means even more employers in Worcestershire are now eligible to receive £1,000 for taking on an apprentice who has lost their previous position due to the recession.
The offer is open for all apprentices who have completed college induction training, registered for their framework with Construction Awards Alliance or other approved bodies, or completed a period of site training to allow a collection of work-based evidence. Mick O’Flynn, apprenticeship manager for ConstructionSkills in Worcestershire, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to open up this offer to a far wider audience. The apprenticeship matching service team has already found new placements for more than a third of apprentices who have been laid-off.
“There are more we can help but we really do need the support of employers.
“The money is there and we want employers across Worcestershire to access it. Taking on an apprentice could be the best investment they make in 2010.”
ConstructionSkills launched the apprenticeship matching service early last year to help employers retain their apprentices or, when this was not possible, match displaced apprentices with employers in the area.
The scheme was initiated in response to the high numbers of young apprentices in the West Midlands being made unemployed as a direct result of the tough economic conditions endured by the construction industry.
In order to encourage even more employers in Worcestershire to take on apprentices, ConstructionSkills and the National Apprenticeship Service have decided to extend the original funding which was available to employers for taking on a displaced apprentice.
Previously, only those employers who had taken on an apprentice in the last 12 months of their training could receive the extra money. All displaced apprentices have been put on a national register in a co-ordinated attempt to find new work placements for apprentices who cannot continue training with their original employer.
For more information on the apprenticeship programme visit cskills.org.
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