Somerset College

An Ambassador network aiming to promote apprenticeships throughout the South West, met recently at Somerset College in Taunton, to help generate ways of reaching new employers.

The Apprenticeship Ambassador Network, an employer-led organisation supported by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), includes major employers ranging from FTSE 100 Index company Serco to Falmouth-based Pendennis Shipyard Ltd, North Bristol NHS Trust and Kawasaki Precision Machinery UK Ltd of Plymouth.

“Only six per cent of employers in the South West are engaged in apprenticeships; the Network aims to help grow that and support the NAS and partners in Apprenticeship development,” said Mark Howard, Head of Employer Accounts (SW) at the NAS.

“We are optimistic that together with partners and providers, we will engage at least ten per cent of South West employers by the end of the year.”
 
Somerset College, whose principal Rachel Davies represents the Association of Colleges as a member of the Network, hosted the event at its sustainable construction centre Genesis.

Members agreed a range of measures from hosting employer workshops to promoting Apprenticeships among their own supply chains, to help boost employer involvement in apprenticeships.

Recent figures from the National Apprenticeship Service show that:
• There were 443,000 Apprenticeship starts in England during 2010 (36% increase in numbers from previous year)
• 48,000 of these starts were in the South West
• Over 100,000 employers in over 160,000 workplaces in England offer Apprenticeships
• 12,000 employers in the South West employ Apprentices (65% of these are SMEs)

Caption: Members of the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network at the recent Apprenticeship Ambassador Network held at the Genesis Centre, Somerset College in Taunton.