Students receiving their GCSE results today need support to explore the options open to them and to equip themselves with the skills and abilities that employers now demand.
In the current economic climate, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), the representative body for the UK’s private recruitment industry, says the main priority for students either going [...]

Students that have been disappointed by not achieving a place at university have been directed towards apprenticeships. However the TUC (Trades Union Congress) has predicted that students will feel let down by the availability of on-the-job training that employees are providing.
TUC apprenticeships policy and campaign officer Scarlet Harris believes that there are businesses out [...]

Since 2007 only nine people have completed the London Olympics apprenticeship scheme, which has been designed to train 350 staff.
Figures obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by the Evening Standard show that so far five electricians, one bricklayer and one plumber have completed the training, casting doubt on the pledge that the Olympics will [...]

Graduate schemes and apprenticeships at a number of high-profile employers are continuing to be inundated as youth unemployment remains close to the one million mark.
British Gas revealed this week that it received more than 65,000 applications for 600 schemes, more than twice the usual number of candidates. The scheme guarantees a £24,000-a-year job once they [...]

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has warned that “half-baked schemes” could ruin the reputation of apprenticeships and that companies offering poor quality courses may be harming their own brand.
Speaking at the TUC Advocating for Apprenticeships conference in central London, general secretary Brendan Barber is expected to say the apprenticeships have come a long way over [...]

The new system for allocating government funding to further education and training in England has now come into effect, following a transition period over recent months.
The Skills Funding Agency will fund and regulate adult further education and skills in England.
There will be four direct routes into training for employers and learners – Train to [...]

The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) has introduced AGE 16 and 17, a new grant of £2,500 that will enable employers to offer 5,000 new apprenticeship places and take on an unemployed 16 or 17 year-old apprentice immediately.
The grant is specifically targeting those employers who aren’t in a position to recruit an apprentice at this point [...]

Supermarket chain Morrisons has announced that it will be embarking on a new training scheme and aims to train some 18,000 employees in its first year.
The programme will see the creation of over 5,000 jobs during 2009 in what the company describes as "part of its continuing programme of store space expansion".
It has set up [...]

A new Five Point Plan has been announced by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), in a bid to create and retain jobs in a difficult economic climate.
Investment in training and apprenticeships, simplifying legislation and promoting part-time working are just some of the areas that have been highlighted as important by the FSB.
FSB national chairman, [...]

Showing its commitment to staff training, car giant Rolls-Royce has announced that it will be taking on 50 additional apprentices on top of the 170 it had pencilled in to recruit.
The announcement was made yesterday (January 8th) to tie in with Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s visit to the company’s Derby factory.
Rolls-Royce has confirmed that the [...]