A UK university is supporting the Government’s new Education Bill, which unveiled in the recent Queen’s Speech, aims to upskill the nation’s workforce.
York St John University has launched a campaign to encourage more employers to adopt apprenticeship schemes ahead of the Government’s incentive payments deadline on 30th September 2021 where “employers will receive £3,000 for new apprentices of any age who join their organisation.”
The university is keen to promote the other benefits for businesses that take part, where employers can gain a readymade and upskilled talent pipeline “as employees develop their skills and apply their learning back in the workplace” while apprentices are financially empowered to “earn as they learn.”
This campaign follows a number of successful apprenticeship programmes that were launched by the university including the ‘Senior Leaders Apprenticeship‘ which is designed to upskill team leaders and managers where recent pass rates reached 100%.
There’s also a ‘Data Science Degree Apprenticeship‘ where uptake grew nationally as courses moved online during the pandemic, suggesting that online learning is a more accessible choice for many budding apprentices, where compatibility with additional responsibilities could be a factor.
Businesses partnering with the university include multinational paints firm AkzoNobel, private medical cover company Benenden Health, pharma-firm Covance, and water utility company United Utilities.
Bethany Greenbank, Internal and External Communications Officer at United Utilities said: “Working with York St John on the apprenticeship schemes over the past year has been enormously beneficial to us as a business, but more importantly it has also given our team the right skillsets. Our dedicated apprentice has come on in leaps and bounds since starting their degree and we hope to enrol further colleagues down the line.”
Dr. Brendan Paddison, Associate Dean at York St John University added: “The challenges facing employers during last year’s lockdown were all too apparent and training and upskilling are now seen as a priority. Announcements in the Queen’s Speech around upskilling the nation’s workforce show the priority the Government is giving this area as a means to get the UK economy back on track.
“Adult skills have never been more important. We are extremely proud of the successes achieved last year by our degree apprentices, despite the disruption brought by the pandemic, so we would urge more businesses in the region to come forward as we can help devise the perfect apprenticeship programme for them.”
Apprenticeship courses are suitable for A Level students and above and allow apprentices to gain a degree or level 7 qualification. Businesses interested in enrolling members of their workforce in the apprenticeship programme can contact the team at apprenticeships@yorksj.ac.uk.
