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Government Doubles Apprenticeships Commitment
Dated: 28/10/2008
Ministers today called for urgent action from the public sector to increase apprenticeship numbers during the global downturn. They argue that this is key if more people are to get the jobs they want in tougher times.
Over 1,000 apprentices will work in central government departments and agencies this academic year, more than double the original target, Skills Secretary John Denham and Schools Secretary Ed Balls announced today - but they call for a further expansion.
In January 2008, civil service employers committed to expanding the number of apprenticeship places available in the public sector with 500 new apprentices beginning their training in government departments and agencies from September this year through a pathfinder, co-ordinated by their sector skills council, Government Skills.
The new apprentices span sixteen government departments, including: the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills; the Department for Children, Schools and Families; the Department for Work and Pensions and the Ministry of Justice.
Already over 100 employees have begun their apprenticeships in the civil service covering a range of jobs from the traditional – such as engineering – to the less traditional, for example, working as immigration officers, in Ministers’ offices and as driving test examiners. Many of the apprenticeships will include a qualification in business administration, IT, team-leading and customer service. The Ministry of Justice and UK Border Agency have committed to 350 and 180 apprenticeship places respectively.
The increase in civil service apprenticeships is backed by Government moves to use the power of public contracts to ensure the firms that benefit from them ensure they train and skill more staff.
At a specially convened summit in central London today, Ministers will also call on public sector leaders from organisations such as councils and NHS Trusts to follow the private sector’s example and grasp the opportunities offered by apprenticeships to improve the skills of new recruits and their existing workforce. They will argue that in the current economic climate it is even more important than ever before that the number of public sector apprentices keep pace with those in the private sector.
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