Member Article

Apprenticeships contribute £5 billion to the North West’s economy

Research reveals that apprenticeships contributed £5 billion to the North West’s economy in 2014 and £34 billion to the UK economy as a whole.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research’s report found that for every £1 spent on apprenticeships, the national economy gained £21.

It also predicted that if the upward trend in apprentice recruitment continues, the national economy could be set to gain £50 billion by 2025 and £101 billion by 2050.

Since 2010, two million people have started an apprenticeship in England in over 170 industries including aerospace, fashion, broadcast media and finance.

The North West has the highest number of participating apprentices of any region in the UK with 143,810 apprentices participating in 2012/13, 15% of the UK total.

The research was commissioned to celebrate 100 years of apprenticeships from 1914 to 2014.

Director of apprenticeships at the National Apprenticeship Service, Sue Husband, said: “The employers of yesterday, like those of today, recognised the value of apprenticeships in equipping people with the skills businesses required.

“Today our apprentices enjoy quality apprenticeship frameworks, their training is funded by the government and employers, their tools are provided, they have access to higher education, and they receive further support from employers through mentoring.

“We urge employers to take stock of what has been achieved in the last century and to consider how apprenticeships could contribute to their business and the wider economy in the years to come.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophia Taha .