Following National Apprenticeship Week two weeks ago (February 5-11), East Cambridgeshire District Council are set to start a new grant scheme to boost apprenticeships in the area.
The business grant will launch in April 2024, and it's set to help East Cambridgeshire companies expand their workforce and support job creation through apprenticeships.
In East Cambridgeshire, 11.4 per cent of 18-year-olds are enrolled in an apprenticeship, which is one of the highest levels across the county.
However, many of these teenagers are travelling outside of the area to go to their apprenticeships, which is why East Cambridgeshire District Council want to invest in them by creating a grant scheme.
The grant scheme will be aimed at East Cambridgeshire businesses that are interested in taking on young people as apprentices and growing their workforce.
The council is working closely with West Suffolk College to deliver apprenticeships across the district.
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority has also commissioned a feasibility study into the provision of adult education.
Cllr Alan Sharp, who chairs the council’s Finance and Assets Committee, said: “Apprenticeships are a win-win situation for everyone involved.
“Young people get to benefit from on-the-job training where they can obtain industry-wide qualifications at the same time they are gaining valuable work experience and getting paid.
Jarred Parisi, winner of the LABC's Newcomer of the Year Award 2022, joined the council on a four-year apprenticeship surveyor degree programme in 2019, graduating last year.
He said: “No two days are the same in building control and you are always helping people, which is probably my favourite part of the job.
"You also see a variety of different buildings and the way they are constructed and I particularly like that I’m not stuck behind a desk all the time – it’s great being out on site and meeting people.”
Recommended Reading: East Cambridgeshire planning applications this week (February 5)
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