£1.4m investment in apprenticeships supports over 1,000 Yorkshire businesses

Over £1.4m has been invested in apprenticeship support for businesses in the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding regions since 2021 through The Apprenticeship Hub.

The Apprenticeship Hub, managed by Calderdale College in partnership with North Yorkshire Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council, launched in October 2021 to offer small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) free and impartial advice and guidance to take on new apprentices and upskill their current workforce through apprenticeships.

The project set out to meet objectives as part of the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership’s priorities to developing businesses and the workforce of the region.

During the lifetime of its service, The Apprenticeship Hub has supported over 240 SMEs, guiding them through the process of choosing an apprenticeship standard, finding a provider, and accessing grants and funding.

The Apprenticeship Hub helped to bring over 900 potential future apprentices together with recruiting employers for an opportunity to connect at the two successful Apprenticeship Fairs it delivered during National Apprenticeship Week in 2022 and 2023.

Project Manager Vicky Wright commented: “It’s been amazing to see how much impact this service has had, from the positive feedback received from attendees at the Apprenticeship Fairs, to the successful recruitment of so many apprentices following the support our advisers have given SMEs. The service has been transformational.”

York based business, ISF Ltd, received support from The Apprenticeship Hub to start its apprenticeship journey from scratch as an effort to tackle the concerning shortage of talent in their industry.

Laura Palmer-Hukins, Quality Manager, at ISF Ltd, added: “The Apprenticeship Hub helped us feel like we were in a good place to start delivering apprenticeships.

“We didn’t want to take on an apprentice and not actually have the skills necessary to develop them; we want to know we’re doing everything we can to support our apprentices and the Hub supported us with this.”

As a way of improving business knowledge, providing hints and tips, and busting apprenticeship myths, The Apprenticeship Hub also released a series of podcasts, interviewing apprenticeship providers such as York St John University and Humber Energy Skills Training Academy, and apprentices within the region’s top apprenticeship employers, such as Portakabin and Nestlé.

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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