3 Responses

1. Our Solution
   Hi Helen,
   Helen I went through this a couple of years ago and found that the best solution for us was to sponsor apprentices through an external training company. We currently have apprentices in Scotland, Manchester, Rochester, Avonmouth and Merthyr Tydfil all sponsored by us but employed by the Brunel Training Group [BTG]. We worked with BTG to get the content right – but it takes out all of the admin of employment and tracking etc. I believe that BTG are the UK’s biggest employer and trainer of apprentices.
   Hope this helps – please get in touch if you wish to discuss.
   Adrian

2. Speak to your LSC
   Helen,

   Your local Learning and Skills Council will help you get in touch with suitable training providers for your occupational area. Providers work with employers to ensure that training programmes are relevant and meet national qualification standards. You can check up on the suitability of providers by reading their inspection reports from the Adult Learning Inspectorate, http://www.ali.gov.uk

3. A fresh approach To Apprenticeship Training
   Helen,
   In my previous company we piloted a new approach to the challenge of training & retaining our apprentices. We employed the services of a company called Skills 1st, their approach was to take care of all administration, employment and training needs. This service included a selection process to select the most suitable candidates once selected each apprentice would receive a structed training program which included college placement etc. The real strength of the scheme was that each apprentice was appointed a mentor to manage the realtionship between client and apprentice. This guaranted effective communications both onsite and the training department. please feel to mail me to expand