Skills Archives - Page 38 of 58

Apprentice employer incentive payments extended

by Clair Mooney | 13 Dec, 2021 | Skills

The government’s offer of up to £4,000 for each apprentice a company employs has been extended at least until the end of March 2022.

In addition, CITB is still paying training grants to cover travel and accommodation, as well as training fees, for the apprentices while they are at college if they have to travel and stay away.

Cash incentives for firms were introduced as part of the national Plan for Jobs initiative in July 2020. They are worth up to £3,000 on top of the £1,000 already available if you take on an apprentice aged 16-18, or under 25 if they have an education, health and care plan, or have been in the care of their local authority.

The payment can be spent on anything to support a company’s costs. It does NOT have to be repaid.

The incentives were originally available until September this year, but now the government has extended it so companies can continue to benefit into 2022. Applications for the cash open on 11 January 2022.

A Plan for Jobs progress report says more than 85,000 apprentices have been hired under the incentive payments scheme so far, with 75% of those taken on being under 25.

From 11 January you will be able to apply for the payment of £3,000 for apprentices that start with you any time from 1 October 2021 to 31 January 2022. You have to get the application in before 15 May 2022.

To apply for the payment you need to create an account on the Government’s dedicated Apprenticeships Portal (click here to go to that). Once your account is set up, you can make your claim.

You can read more about the offer on the Construction Leadership Council’s Talentview website here.

Skills Hub

The Skills Hub brings together details of courses specific to the finishes and interiors sector, making accessing and booking training quick and easy. In addition, it provides information on sector careers, apprenticeships and funding, as well as access to e-learning, CPD and other training.

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Employers and drylining experts needed to help develop traineeship

by Clair Mooney | 9 Dec, 2021 | Drylining, Skills

CITB has started work on a Traineeship for Drylining occupations and need support from employers and subject matter experts. The next development meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 15 December starting at 13:00 to get involved please email alexandra.lee@citb.co.uk

What’s a Traineeship
A traineeship is a skills development programme that includes a work experience placement. Traineeships help prepare young people aged 16 to 24, or 25 with an education, health and care plan, for employment or an apprenticeship. Traineeships must include at least 70 hours of work experience placement. They can last from 6 weeks up to 1 year, but most last less than 6 months. Employers can offer a work experience placement to a trainee. They will work with a training provider to design the workplace element of the programme. Traineeships are introductory courses to attract individuals, at risk of becoming long term unemployed, into employment the training should be broad and provide as much variety as possible with the work experience placement focused on a specialism.

The training provider will assess the needs of the trainee. Trainees may need pre-employment training before starting their work experience placement. Employers will then work with the training provider to plan and agree:

the length of the work experience placement
the days the trainee works
how the programme will be delivered

Traineeships are flexible. Employers can change the programme as they go to make sure they and the trainee get the most out of it.

Employers must provide:

a safe, meaningful and high-quality work experience placement
a minimum of 70 hours of work experience placement over the duration of the traineeship (if the trainee claims benefits, the placement cannot last longer than 240 hours)
constructive feedback and advice to the trainee
an interview for an apprenticeship or job in their organisation at the end of the traineeship if one is available
an exit interview at the end of the traineeship with meaningful written feedback if no job is available

Offering a work experience placement gives employers the chance to:

get to know and work with a young person to see if they’re right for an apprenticeship or job in their business
design a programme that suits the needs of the trainee and their business
develop current employees’ experience in training and mentoring
recruit new talent for their business
claim an employer incentive of £1,000 when a work experience placement of over 70 hours has been completed

Employers who make new work experience placement opportunities available may be eligible for an incentive payment of £1,000 per trainee. They can claim this incentive for up to 10 learners per region. Employers decide how to use the money. You can view more guidance on employer incentive payments and how to claim them.

Traineeships are funded by the government. Traineeships are free to the employer, but they may choose to support trainees with expenses such as transport and meals. If you are interested in offering a work experience placement for a traineeship:

Contact the National Apprenticeship Service to register your interest and to ask for advice and support on traineeships. They can help you set up a traineeship and advertise it on Find a traineeship.
Partner with a training provider who will help you to design a traineeship that will meet your business needs. They will also advertise the work experience placement for you.
Agree with the trainee and your training provider exactly what each of you expects from the traineeship.

George Swann FIS Skills and Training Lead says “Traineeships are part of the Governments Plans for Jobs; approximately 60% to 70% of people on construction training course delivered by FE do not enter the construction industry. By providing more variety in the college element, introducing individuals to the wide range of careers available, Dry Lining Fixer Boarder and Finisher, Ceiling and Partitions Fixer, Plasterer solid and fibrous something should hook their interest and the work experience placement will put them in the work environment and show what the occupational specialism is about. It’s worth employers giving this a try as addressing the labour shortages is all about home grow talent and if you find capable individuals, well enough said. I encourage all employers and subject matter experts to get involved with the development work of CITB the more variety finishes, and interiors Traineeships have the greater the exposure of the fantastic opportunities this sector has to offer and more young people it should attract….Bigger net more fish”.

KickStart funding deadline approaching

by Clair Mooney | 6 Dec, 2021 | Skills

Businesses have until midday on Friday 17 December to apply for funding through the Kickstart Scheme. The scheme, which is running until March 2022, provides funding to create new jobs for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term unemployment.

The Department of Work and Pensions are withdrawing the role of KickStart Gateway Organisations, so FIS will no longer be able to provide the full service, but will be happy to advise FIS members on this and any linked government initiative. Please call Catherine on 07900 083325 . Please call Catherine on 07900 083325 or email catherinebillough@thefis.org or Marie on 07799 903103 or email marieflinter@thefis.org

For a full update on how FIS is attacking the Skills Shortage, click here.

£45 million package to train staff and help Welsh SMEs grow

by Clair Mooney | 25 Nov, 2021 | Skills

A £45 million package of funding that will help small businesses across Wales to grow and support thousands of people to train to work in key sectors is being made available by the Welsh Government, Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething has announced.

As part of the package, £35 million will help small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in Wales relaunch, develop, decarbonise and grow to help drive Wales’ economic recovery. The funding will support more than 1,000 business, help to create 2,000 new jobs and safeguard a further 4,000 jobs.

In a joint initiative between the Economy Minister and the Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles, an additional £10 million is being made available to boost Wales’ popular Personal Learning Accounts. This will enable further education colleges to deliver additional courses and qualifications which will help 2,000 people access a wider range of job and earning opportunities in priority sectors facing labour shortages.

Funding will be specifically targeted at reengaging and retraining staff to return to work in the NHS and in social care, training more HGV lorry drivers, reskilling individuals to respond to exciting new job opportunities in green construction and renewable energy, and to ensure there are more trained chefs, waiting and front of house staff to work in Wales’ thriving hospitality sector.

Ministers say the substantial package will help support Wales’ economy through the winter months.

The Economy Minister made the announcement during a visit to Advance Energy Services in Cross Keys to mark the start of Wales Climate Week. The company fit boilers, insulation and heat pumps with a focus on making homes and businesses more energy efficient.

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething said:

The £45 million package I’m announcing today is being delivered at a critical time in our economic recovery. It provides an opportunity to kick-start and grow the economy as we focus on creating a fairer, greener and prosperous future for Wales.

The funding will offer businesses who need to re-invest – particularly following the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, our departure from the EU, and with a view to climate and Covid proofing – the opportunity to do so, in order to relaunch, develop and grow.

We’re doing all we can to build a Wales with a prosperous, fair, green economy, where nobody is held back or left behind.

Announcing the additional investment in Personal Learning Accounts, Education Minister Jeremy Miles added:

Personal Learning Accounts give people the opportunity to gain the skills, knowledge and qualifications they need to make progress in their career. I’m pleased we have secured an additional £10m to boost this initiative.

This will provide opportunities for people to retrain and increase their earning potential in areas of the economy we know are under extreme pressure – including health and social care, training for HGV drivers, hospitality and green construction.

The £35 million funding for SMEs is the next phase of the Welsh Government’s approach to economic recovery and an important step towards re-establishing resilience within the Welsh economy and continued decarbonisation of Wales’ business sector.

Administered by local authorities, it provides an opportunity to kick-start and grow the economy following the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and the UK’s departure from the EU.

Businesses will be invited to identify ways in which investment will help them re-launch their business, develop it in innovative new ways, and create new jobs.

It will also support businesses to tackle some of the major issues facing Wales, such as addressing skills gaps in some sectors, upskilling the existing workforce, ensuring fair work for employees and tackling climate change – with Ministers looking for proposals that will help Wales meet its legally binding Net Zero carbon emission target by 2050.

Businesses will be expected to match-fund any grants made available by the Welsh Government.

It’s expected the £35 million funding will support around 1,000 business, helping them to create 2,000 new jobs and safeguard a further 4,000 jobs. It will help leverage £40 million worth of investments by businesses themselves, which will help support the creation of 50 new enterprises.

The £10 million for further education colleges will see the further expansion of Personal Learning Accounts, which will allow local colleges to deliver additional courses and qualifications to support 2,000 people to access a wider range of job opportunities and increase their earning potential in priority sectors.

These include:

logistics (in particular HGV and LGV driving) including driver licence fees and tests. Funding will be targeted at driver training by offering courses to new potential drivers, provide refresher training for those who may be seeking a return to the sector, and to train and increase the number of instructors and examiners available to conduct driving tests
green construction and renewable energy – including roles in housing retrofit, and in wind, tidal and solar power sectors
advanced materials and manufacturing – including technical engineers
hospitality – including chefs, catering assistants, waiting and front of house staff
health and social care – including support to re-engage and retrain former health and social care employees back into the sector and meet the new licence to practice requirements.

Since the start of the Covid pandemic, Ministers have invested more than £2.5 billion in emergency business support, helping protect in excess of 160,000 jobs which might otherwise have been lost.

The £35 million SME funding will further boost existing local authority business support grants and will begin to open for applications in November. Applications will need to be made direct to local authorities once their individual grant schemes open.

Deadline approaching for apprentice incentive payment

by Clair Mooney | 25 Nov, 2021 | Skills

The deadline for employers to apply for the incentive payment for new apprentices hired between April and September 2021 is fast approaching. Eligible employers must apply for their incentive payment by 30 November 2021.

how to apply video including a walk through of the steps to take within the Apprenticeship service.
how to apply guide including when to apply, steps to take before applying, how to apply and what happens after applying.
guidance page including eligibility, how the payment can be used and when payments are made.

Apprenticeships and Funding in England

Earlier this week, FIS hosted a webinar which explained the current process for recruiting, employing and/or hiring apprentices and securing the funding to which your organisations are eligible.

It highlighted some of the quirks of the funding system and provided an explanation to help a successfull application.

The webinar was presented by Ajay Purbhoosing, a Senior Account Manager with London Progression Collaboration, who has many years experience in education and training. The organisation has secured over £8.2m of levy transfer pledges to support small business in order to rebuild and reskill their workforces.

Watch on demand

National Apprenticeship Week theme ‘Build the Future’ announced for 2022

by Clair Mooney | 23 Nov, 2021 | Skills

The theme for the 15th annual National Apprenticeship Week has been announced today.

The National Apprenticeship Week 2022 theme of ‘Build the Future’ continues from 2021, and focuses on the benefits apprenticeships can have on individuals, businesses, and local communities and a toolkit on how to get involved is now available.

The theme of “Build the Future” continues for its second National Apprenticeship Week (NAW), which will take place between 7 and 13 February 2022.

The 15th annual week-long celebration will take place across England, encouraging individuals of any age to reach their career goals by building their skills and knowledge through an apprenticeship.

George Swann FIS Skills and Training Lead said

“National Apprenticeship Week showcases the benefits of apprenticeships for the UK economy, now that England has made apprenticeships available to individuals of any age it allows employers to invest in upskilling existing employees as well as securing the future of their organisations by taking on new entrants. With over 100 construction apprenticeships listed on the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education website: Apprenticeship Standards Construction and incentive payments of up to £4000 for each apprentice an employer takes on, it is a good time to review your organisations succession plans. If you have apprentices please get involved in this and promote careers in the Finishes and Interiors Sector, if you have been thinking about taking on or putting your existing employees through an apprenticeship the information contained in this article should help you come to an informed decision. If you need further information, advice or guidance please give FIS a call on 0121 707 0077 or email info@thefis.org

Peter Mucklow, Director, Apprenticeships, Education and Skills Funding Agency said:

National Apprenticeship Week is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the many benefits that apprenticeships bring to employers, individuals and the wider economy.

Apprenticeships build skills supply now and for the future, and form an important part of many organisations’ recruitment, skills and business strategies. We want employers to showcase how they are realising the return on their investment when apprentices are brought into the business. Apprenticeships offer outstanding access to skilled careers across a wide range of occupations and industries. We want current apprentices from all sectors and of all ages to get behind the Week and to demonstrate the positive impact of apprenticeships on their careers, families and communities.

I encourage employers, providers, partners, and apprentices to begin planning for National Apprenticeship Week 2022 now so we can spend the week collectively celebrating the impact of apprenticeships on individuals and our great businesses and public services.

To support National Apprenticeship Week 2022 individuals, employers, training providers and communities can get involved by encouraging everyone to consider how apprenticeships can help #BuildTheFuture. A toolkit is available to support the apprenticeship community with planning their activity for National Apprenticeship Week 2022.

Download the toolkit from apprenticeships.gov.uk

Keep up to date with National Apprenticeship Week 2022 updates by following @Apprenticeships on Twitter and Apprenticeships on LinkedIn and use the hashtags #NAW2022 and #BuildTheFuture on social media activity.

To find out more about apprenticeships, visit: www.apprenticeships.gov.uk.