Poole council is considering expanding the number of its apprentice schemes but no details have been provided as it is still in its early stage.
Apprenticeships seem to grow in Bournemouth and Poole in the wake of a new round of funding announced by David Cameron.
Bournemouth and Poole College, has its own apprenticeship programme. Andrew Thomas, head of work based learning, said: “We are getting a lot of enquiries and we are getting a record number of applications. It is more challenging to get employers willing to come on board at this time because of the economic downturn. The government has launched an incentive to pay small firms £1,500 to hire their first young apprentices.”
Bournemouth council, which has been running apprentice schemes over many years, already saw its value. Councillor Barry Goldbart said: “Apprenticeships became very unfashionable in England but now the trend has come to a full circle. We came up with this idea many years ago and it works very well. To many students, apprenticeships are something that they can work through far better than solely formal education and they thrive when they become apprentices in all different fields.”
Kerry Isom, who has been trained through the apprentice scheme, has won Johnston Paint Young Painter of the Year award twice in 2010 and 2011. This year, she has been nominated for Bournemouth’s Apprentice of the Year.
Harry Smith, a student in his final year, gives his opinion to the apprenticeship: “I think someone may be better trained by such a scheme and have a better chance to find a job, but I don’t think it works for everyone.”
Related article:
Cameron: We’ll work with business to fund degree level Apprenticeships
Picture: Wikipedia
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