Partner Article

Apprentice boost welcomed

THE Government’s decision to allocate £200m of new funding to support apprenticeships despite swingeing cuts in other areas has been welcomed by the North East Apprenticeship Company (NEAC).

NEAC, which is tasked with increasing the number of young people taking up apprenticeships across the region, says the move is good news at a time of economic uncertainty and sends a clear signal of support for apprenticeships by the new coalition government.

The exact details of the £200m funding package, and how much of it will be heading to the North East region, are still unknown but Paul Champion, managing director of NEAC says that the Government clearly wants to protect 16 - 19 year old education including apprenticeships.

“Despite tough times, the Government sees that apprenticeships are a vital part of the economy, meeting the training needs of employers and helping them to up skill for the future as we emerge from recession.

“The additional investment has got to be seen as a positive move and should help to safeguard apprenticeships for the immediate future.

“However, we will be pressing for more details, particularly greater clarification about how much money will be heading towards the North East.”

The NEAC has a regional brief to reduce youth unemployment, tackling the skills gap and creating more than 1,000 new apprentice jobs in the next two years, particularly among small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .