Apprenticeships a key part of Metro Mayor’s Guarantee for Young People
Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has made a bold promise to the young people of the Liverpool City Region; a promise Apprenticeships will help realise.
Guaranteed Opportunity For Young People
The Metro Mayor has pledged to guarantee a job, training or Apprenticeship opportunity to anybody under the age of 25. This Young Persons’ Guarantee is the first of its kind in the UK.
The pledge will mobilise projects and collaborations across the region, resulting in more opportunities earmarked for school leavers and other young people, including Apprenticeships. Any activity that increases Apprenticeship opportunities will be underpinned with support from the Be-More team at the Mayor’s office. In particular, the Be-More website will play a key role in promoting Apprenticeship vacancies to 16 to 24-year-olds, as well as other age groups. The site already lists an impressive selection of Apprenticeship opportunities.
Schools, parents and employers
As part of the drive to deliver the Young Persons’ Guarantee, we must work together as a region to continue encouraging parents and schools to consider Apprenticeships alongside other options. Apprenticeship providers, the Be-More team and skills agencies such as GMLPF have undertaken extensive awareness-raising activities in schools which have fostered positive attitudes towards Apprenticeships. Many know already that Apprenticeships are a great alternative to, or a follow on from, A-levels. Likewise, parents should be encouraged to give higher level and degree Apprenticeships far more robust consideration as an alternative to university.
And critically, it is expected that this pledge will encourage the region’s employers to consider recruiting more younger apprentices, alongside supporting the development of existing staff. Both strategies have a part to play in robust human resource management and succession planning.
Realising Full Potential
The Young Persons Guarantee is a commitment of a job, training or Apprenticeship opportunity for everybody under the age of 25, within six months of becoming unemployed. The Metro Mayor has outlined how the plans will provide a step-change with the hope that more young people can realise their ambitions. The Be-More team is proud to play an instrumental role in the delivery of this guarantee.
The move will provide more opportunity for thousands of under 25-year-olds who fall into one of the NEET categories. Statistics show that the uptake of Apprenticeships in 16-18-year-olds in the region has decreased since the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy. This is because many employers are using their Levy funds to train existing staff at higher levels. While it is important that developing staff at higher levels continues, it’s just as important to have younger staff entering businesses. Young staff often bring new ideas, perspectives and high energy levels to the workplace.
