Advice on apprenticeships available at York drop-in session

 Young people will be able to find out more about apprenticeships, vacancies and alternative routes to higher education at an event on Thursday 11 February.

Breadmaker apprentice

Advisers will be on hand to speak to young people, parents and carers at the Castlegate Centre between 4pm and 7pm and offer careers advice, including information on apprenticeships.

In York there are currently a wide variety of Apprenticeship vacancies being advertised covering; business and finance, hospitality, lab technicians, construction, creative and cultural, digital marketing and social media, engineering, I.T, health and many more.
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York’s apprentices celebrated at graduation event

Hundreds of York apprentices and apprentice employers were celebrated at last night’s graduation ceremony (Thursday 19 November) which took place at the Royal York Hotel.

The fifth York Apprenticeship Graduation, co-ordinated by York Apprenticeship Hub, saw over 100 apprentices recognised for completing their Apprenticeship.

Apprentices were joined at the high-profile ceremony by over 200 friends, family, employers and training providers. Other guests at the event included The National Apprenticeship Service, York and North Yorkshire Enterprise Partnership, The Guilds and the Civic Party.
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Rise in number of apprenticeships in York

 Breadmaker apprentice

City of York Council has welcomed figures showing a 30 percent increase in the number of people starting apprenticeships in the past year making it the UK’s sixth top-performing local authority.

Figures released by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills have shown that 1,690  York residents have started an apprenticeship in the last year (2014/15), 390 more than the last academic year.

The statistics also show York to be one of the highest performing local authorities for Apprenticeship growth amongst businesses with York ranking sixth out of 151 at full Local Authority level, meaning it is in the top four per cent of Local Authorities.

The figures also showed that around 20 percent of this growth in apprenticeships was generated by the council-led York Apprenticeship Hub which helps small businesses new to apprenticeships, supporting them through the process and helping them find the training provider and right person for the job.
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Apprentices across York invited to graduate

York’s apprentices are being invited to a graduation ceremony to celebrate and showcase their work across the city next month.

ApprenticeshipThe fifth annual York Apprentice Graduation Ceremony, organised by the York Apprenticeship Hub at City of York Council, is taking place on Thursday 19 November at the Royal York Hotel between 7.30pm and 8.45pm and young people are being encouraged to register their attendance.

This event is a celebration of the achievements of apprentices across the city and also highlights the benefits to businesses of recruiting and training apprentices. Each apprentice will be awarded a certificate by The Guilds of York as part of a formal ceremony to which family and friends are invited to reflect on the successes and hard work over the course of their apprenticeships.

Over 1,000 apprentices who have completed their apprenticeship training and qualification between August 2014 and September 2015 are eligible to graduate and employers are encouraged to register their own, eligible apprentices by emailing York.apprenticeships@york.gov.uk.

After the success of last year’s awards, this year’s event will also announce the winners of prizes for the categories of:

  • Apprentice of the year (aged 16 – 24)
  • Apprentice of the year (aged 25+)
  • Small employer of the year
  • Large employer of the year.

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Increased Funding to help local businesses hire apprentices

ApprenticeshipSmall and Medium Sized businesses across York are being invited to apply for a grant to help them hire an apprentice and grow their business.

Following an announcement from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) businesses in York can now benefit from a local grant of up to £2,000 thanks to the LEP’s Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE). The aim of the grant is to support businesses and help them recruit young people, aged 16-24, into employment and help them start their career.

The new LEP Apprenticeship Grant replaces the national apprenticeship grant incentive for businesses in West Yorkshire and York as agreed in the first stage devolution agreement with government in March 2015. Funding for businesses will be available until 31 December.
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City of York Council is inviting businesses to apply to exhibit for free at the fourth York Apprenticeship Recruitment Event on Tuesday 18 August.

Apprentice event 18th Aug 2015

 

The city’s recruitment event in March this year was hugely successful, attracting over 500 young people and parents looking for information on Apprenticeships and Apprenticeship vacancies across the city and businesses are being urged to book their free space. The event helped many employers including Nestlé, Portakabin, Purenet, Riccall Care, Your Bike Shed and Network Rail meet with aspiring young people to fill their apprenticeship positions.

The recruitment event, which takes place at West Offices between 4.30pm and 7.30pm on 18 August, comes after students across the city have received their A Level results and takes place the same week that GCSE results are published.

The event offers businesses the chance to speak to young people about employment opportunities and also looks to highlight both the business benefits of hiring apprentices and the individual benefits of pursuing an Apprenticeship job with training. 
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York in national top 5% of apprenticeship take-up

ApprenticeshipLatest Government figures put York in the top 5% of English local authorities for apprenticeship take-up.

They also set the city in the top 10% of local authorities for keeping young people in education or training after Year 11.

Official figures from the Skills Funding Agency and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published earlier this month, show that over the past nine months, the increase in the percentage of York residents starting apprenticeships is in England’s top 5% when compared to all other local authorities.

Government data published on 2 July 2015showed that in the nine months up to April 2015, 1,340 York residents started an apprenticeship compared to 1,300 in the previous twelve months. In York there is a well-established network of training providers delivering high quality training for apprentices. A key lead co-ordinating role is played by the York Apprenticeship Hub based at the council.

For school leavers, the figures show that of all York’s Year 11 students leaving school in summer 2014, 97.4% were continuing their education and training. This puts York in the top 10% of local authorities in England for retaining young people in education or training.

The detail shows that nearly 90% of all post-16 school leavers in 2014 continued with their education at a college or a school sixth form, which puts York in the top 10% of local authorities in England. A further 6.4% of school leavers took up employment with integrated training and/or apprenticeships while only 2% were not in education, employment and training (NEET).
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Creative Apprenticeships and Internships “gets a boost”

In National Apprenticeship Week, City of York Council is calling on businesses to apply for funding to create Apprenticeship and Internships across the city.

Businesses in the creative and cultural sector still have the opportunity to benefit from the funding and recruitment service offered by City of York Council and could receive up to £3500 to fund an apprentice and £2500 to fund an intern.

Following a £185,000 loss on the Grand Departy last year, the Council is now offering apprenticeships in "event management"

Following a £185,000 loss on the Grand Departy last year, the Council is now offering apprenticeships in “event management”

In October 2014 City of York Council announced that it received funding of £90,750 to help businesses create opportunities for young people in the creative and cultural sector and there is still time for businesses to apply.

The funding, from Arts Council England and administered by Creative & Cultural Skills, will be used to help create 40 new job opportunities for young people aged 16-24, who are keen to get their first step on the career ladder and support the growth of creative and cultural organisations in the city. Funding will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis and all jobs must start by 31 March 2016.

Roles that could be created could include opportunities in; Event Management, Arts Administration, Technical Theatre, Archives and Library, Marketing and Stage Management, as well as functions such as administration, finance and catering.

Current organisations who have signed up to the scheme include: York Theatre Royal, Jorvik Viking Centre, Explore York Libraries and Archives and other small independent theatre groups, galleries and arts organisations. For more information on the programme contact Becky Solomon, Business Engagement Assistant on becky.solomon@york.gov.uk or call 01904 554341.

Young people invited to attend third York Apprenticeship Recruitment Event

Employers from across the city will be showcasing high quality Apprenticeship vacancies at City of York Council’s third Apprenticeship Recruitment Event.

As part of National Apprenticeship Week, which seeks to promote Apprenticeships to both young people and businesses, City of York Council will host an event to promote the wide range of Apprenticeship vacancies across the city.

The event, held on Thursday 12 March between 4.30pm and 7.30pm at West Offices, will see young people aged 16-24 and their parents have the chance to meet with recruiting employers and existing apprenticesas well as find out about alternative routes to Level 3 qualifications and university.

A range of employers and training providers will be promoting over 200 Apprenticeship vacancies covering business and finance, construction, digital marketing, engineering, I.T, health, childcare and more. Employers at the event include City of York Council, the NHS, Nestlé, PureNet, the Armed Services, Portakabin, Volkswagen, Hyder, Network Rail, York Medical Group and many more.

Connexions advisors will be also be available at the event to offer support with next level options, including Apprenticeships, plus 1:1 CV and Job Application sessions.

For more information on the event click

Liberal Democrats in government are proud to have delivered more than two million apprenticeships in this Parliament.

Parliamentary candidate for Oxford West and Abingdon, Layla Moran visited apprentices and employers to hear about how apprenticeships are helping young people and businesses in Kidlington.

Watch the video below to hear from Adam Marsh of ACE Training and Paige McConville, the two millionth apprentice.

Apprentice video

 

LibDem apprentice campaign hits £2 million as new York event announced

 Liberal Democrats in government are proud to have delivered more than two million apprenticeships in this Parliament.

Watch the video below to hear from Adam Marsh of ACE Training and Paige McConville, the two millionth apprentice.

Meanwhile the York Council is reminding businesses that there is still time to apply to exhibit at the third York Apprenticeship Recruitment Event on Thursday 12 March.

The city’s first two recruitment events in 2014 were successful, attracting over 300 young people and parents looking for information on Apprenticeships and Apprenticeship vacancies across the city. Last year’s events helped many employers such as Nestlé, Haxby Group Pharmacy, Burn & Co Solicitors, BHP Insurance and the NHS meet with aspiring young people who could fill their positions.

The event, which takes place at West Offices between 4.30pm and 7.30pm, will be held during National Apprenticeship Week and looks to highlight both the business benefits of hiring apprentices and the individual benefits of pursuing an Apprenticeship job with training.

The third York Apprenticeship Recruitment Event will look to match talented young people to apprentice vacancies across the city, with a focus on A level and Diploma students looking for an alternative career progression route to University.

A number of businesses have already signed up for the March event but there is still space to exhibit for free for businesses across the city to promote Apprenticeship vacancies. For more information or to book a space, contact Melody Hardcastle, the event organiser on 01904 553013 or email york.apprenticeships@york.gov.uk.

Businesses who want to grow by hiring an apprentice and don’t know where to start, can contact the Leeds City Region funded and Council-led York Apprenticeship Brokerage Service on 07943 593449 or email york.apprenticeships@york.gov.uk for more information.