Apprenticeships vital to businesses and the local economy

Alliance Learning are calling on employers to reap the business benefits that apprenticeship training can bring to their organisation.

One of the largest independent training providers in the North West, Alliance Learning are funded by the Greater Manchester Learning Skills Council to recruit and train young people through Government funded apprenticeship programmes across a wide range of sectors.

Around 250,000 apprentices are currently working for businesses in England and the government is committing more than £1bn to make apprenticeships a mainstream option for 16-18 year olds and to ensure that an apprenticeship place is available for all qualified young people by 2013, with significant growth in apprenticeships for older learners.

As a learning provider for the Greater Manchester LSC, Alliance Learning are helping to increase employer involvement in apprenticeship training by alerting organisations to the benefits apprentices can bring to their business.

Steve Whitehead, CEO of Alliance Learning, started his working life as an apprentice cabinet maker and believes apprenticeships provide the skills organisations need to grow. Steve comments:

“Apprenticeships bring huge benefits to businesses. By addressing skills gaps directly, they can make an organisation more effective, productive and competitive, forming the foundations for future growth and helping to develop the skill set of the local workforce.“

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Steve continues: “Traditionally Apprenticeships have only been available for people between the ages of 16-24, but this is no longer the case, we can offer them to everyone over the age of 16. This is particularly great news for people that have perhaps been working in an industry for some years but have no associated qualifications and it obviously gives businesses the opportunity to develop the skills of their workforce through this route.”