Jobs for the Boys (and Girls), ATL Support Government Initiative

Southampton, United Kingdom, August 06, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Despite the government’s drive for more young people to take trade apprenticeships, a trade skills training college, with premises in Guildford and Southampton, is reporting a huge drop in the number of companies in Surrey and Hampshire prepared to take on apprentices when the new academic term starts in September 2008.

Southampton and Guildford based Apprenticeship Training Limited (ATL), are currently looking for firms and individuals to take on up to 60 apprentices aged 16 – 19 years old across a variety of trades, including plumbing, electrical and gas work.

ATL’s Managing Director, Nick Hayward, said “This year is the worst we’ve experienced in terms of the number of companies or self-employed trades people prepared to take on an apprentice. The current economic climate is partly to blame, though at as little as £80 a week an apprentice can actually be hugely beneficial to a firm looking to contain its costs. We have plenty of students prepared to do the apprenticeships and train with us, but this year are struggling to find employers prepared to take them on”.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced his ‘apprenticeship drive’ to a conference in London on 28th January 2008 in which he outlined the government’s aims to increase the number of apprentices aged 16 – 18 years from one in fifteen, to one in five over the next decade.

Nick Hayward continued, “The government are absolutely right to promote skills and encourage apprenticeship schemes. In a global skills race, British workers need to ensure they have qualifications and vocational skills to compete with countries such as India and China who are producing millions of skilled workers.

“Firms need to understand the benefits of taking on apprentices. One of the biggest concerns appears to be that an apprentice can do little more than fetch and carry. To address the problem we’ve adapted our training courses to give apprentices an intensive four week induction in our workshops so that they can practice skills such as pipe work, cutting floorboards, hanging radiators, clipping cables, fixing conduits, making cable terminations and basic connection skills.

“Only the successful students with the right aptitude and attitude go on to become apprentices. Not only are they then of immediate use to the employer, but they find the work more interesting and are less likely to drop out of their courses in the early months.

“We also offer employers advice on employment contracts, particularly for those concerned an apprentice might take advantage of the work experience then set up in competition, and we have a full advisory service for potential employers”.

Firms and self-employed trades people interested in taking on apprentices can contact Nick Hayward at Apprenticeship Training Limited, by telephone 02380 602 971 or via the website www.apprenticeshiptraining.co.uk.

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Press contact Mary Stuart-Miller, 01403 738844. m.stuart-miller@virgin.net