National Apprenticeship Week 2016 will run from 14 to 18 March 2016.
The event is co-ordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service and is designed to celebrate apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy.
The National Apprenticeship Service provides a dedicated service to employers, offering free expert advice and support to those looking to recruit apprentices or take on a trainee for the first time, or expand their existing programmes.
So what are the objectives of the week?
The objective of National Apprenticeship Week 2016 is to increase awareness and take-up of apprenticeships and traineeships by:
- Promoting small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) apprenticeships – highlighting the support available and why offering an apprenticeship or traineeship is easier than small businesses may think.
- Celebrating apprenticeships, especially higher and degree apprenticeships, by focussing on the positive economic impact and showing how they offer a new work-based route into professions that have traditionally been the preserve of graduates.
Last year’s week aimed to encourage more small and medium sized businesses to take on apprentices and promote the range and breadth of apprenticeships on offer, including those at higher level and within blue chip companies. Successes included another 200 businesses joining the Trailblazer programme to design high quality apprenticeships and also the launch of degree apprenticeships. Throughout the week a record-breaking 23,000 apprenticeship vacancies were pledged and the ambition for National Apprenticeship Week 2016 will be to better this.
The theme of this years scheme
The overarching theme for the National Apprenticeship Week 2016 is ‘Rise to the top!’, focusing on progression and opportunity as a way to showcase the rich and diverse apprenticeship offer, from traineeships right through to higher and degree apprenticeships.
This is a great opportunity for businesses to recruit and develop the skills that their organisations will need in the future.
