Preparing businesses for the future
Coventry College has praised the unwavering commitment of the region’s businesses in bringing through the next generation of skilled workers amid a backdrop of unprecedented uncertainty caused by Covid-19.
The city’s leading Further Education provider – which educates more than 8,000 learners – has enrolled a healthy number of apprenticeship learners for the 2020/21 academic year.
It comes as businesses are being urged to take advantage of financial incentives to recruit apprentices before 31 January 2021, which will see companies receiving £2,000 for those aged between 16 and 24 years of age, and £1,500 apprentices over 25 years of age.
Coventry College has seen a particular bounce in apprentices within Construction – which has seen 16 new Bricklaying apprentices join for the year ahead – as well as in their Early Years and Motor Vehicle courses.
The success of the College’s ongoing employer engagement has been revealed to mark Colleges Week during the week of 19 October 2020 – a Further Education-wide initiative that celebrates the role that UK colleges play in their wider communities.
Emma Ingram, Head of Employer Engagement at Coventry College, said: “The value that apprentices bring to businesses are more important now than ever before, as Covid-19 has forced companies to re-evaluate their services and ways in which they can adapt to a new world.
This could involve introducing new skills into the workplace and introducing new equipment to aid diversification – therefore an enthusiastic apprentice coupled with government funds would aid these activities – so now really is the time for companies that are in planning mode to seize the moment and integrate apprentices into their vision.
All of the signs show that more companies in the region are doing exactly this, but we equally know there are many more businesses out there that will be planning ahead on an ongoing basis, and we’d urge them to contact us to explore ways in which an apprentice can boost their productivity in what is going to be a very different world when full normality returns.
Colleges play a vital role in bringing through the next generation of talent for various industries, and we will be working with employers more closely over the coming months to help them address any potential skills gaps that are forming as a result of the pandemic.”
