LEP secures £4.6 million to boost SME apprenticeships

30.01.13

The Leeds City Region Partnership has been successful in securing a total of £4.6 million from the government to run a variety of initiatives to boost apprenticeships by 2015.

The proposals will generate 2,500 additional apprenticeships, primarily with SMEs, through the development of Apprenticeship Hubs in eight areas as well as two new Apprentice Training Agencies (ATAs).

Through these initiatives and by working together with relevant partners and agencies across the City Region the LEP will help:

• Improve apprenticeship information for SMEs and young people/parents and
• Reduce bureaucracy for small firms in taking on apprenticeships.

Neil McLean, Chair of the Leeds City Region LEP explained:

“Our recent report on apprentices indicates that a number of businesses within Leeds City Region are either unaware of the apprenticeship schemes available for their sector or feel the system is overly bureaucratic and costly.

“We aim to change all that. Our initiatives will help businesses access information, streamline processes, and offer access to alternative options. This is an investment with long-lasting benefits that will help expand the number of opportunities for sustainable jobs available, reducing the numbers of young people who are NEET and at the same time supporting the growth of our economy.”

Councillor Peter Box, Chair of the Leeds City Region Leaders Board added:

“We know that every £1 invested in apprenticeships generates £18 back to the economy; so investing in apprenticeships is a fantastic way to support our economy and at the same time help us tackle high youth unemployment and reduce NEETs across the City Region.”

Apprenticeship Hubs will be created in the following localities: Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Kirklees, Calderdale, York, Barnsley, North Yorkshire (covering Craven, Selby and Harrogate). This will allow tapping into the latent job creation potential of thousands of SMEs in the City Region.