For more information on apprenticeships at West Suffolk College contact Phil Stittle at phil.stittle@wsc.ac.uk or www.wsc.ac.uk Scrutton Bland have extensive experience in working with educational organisations across East Anglia and the South East specifically advising boards on audit and accounts, tax and insurance and risk management. If you would like to find out more about any of these services please contact Sharon Gravener at sharon.gravener@scruttonbland. co.uk or 01473 267000.
“Numbers for both vacancies and applicants have soared,” continues Phil. “In 2014/15 we had 127 applications for construction apprenticeships and in 15/16 we have had 647 applications, a massive rise. Vacancies for construction apprenticeships are also following suit, with 31 vacancies being advertised in 14/15 and 53 being advertised in 15/16. We actually enrolled 183 construction apprentices in 15/16 compared to 127 in 14/15 and we continue to encourage the construction industry to advertise any vacancies on the National Apprenticeship Service website. All of our vacancies always have a good number of applications and we are always looking for employers to get in touch with us to engage with our full time learners. This will then allow our learners to be in a good position to either progress to an apprenticeship or to direct employment in the industry.”
will also change, so that a single awarding body or consortium is used, rather than the current market which sees awarding bodies competing with each other. In East Anglia apprenticeships have been promoted via the New Anglia Enterprise Adviser Network, which sees a senior business person in a company connecting with a local school. This face-to-face approach where employers actually meet students is a great way of explaining why apprenticeships may be the right option for some. So for learners, educators and employers it appears that apprenticeships are one of the best options to get people into the right areas of work for them, a view borne out by Phil Stittle, Director of Business Development at West Suffolk College: “We are seeing ever growing numbers overall for apprenticeships as it seems both employers and applicants are understanding their value.”
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