Royal Bank of Scotland gives opportunity to 16 young people

 

The Standard's Ladder for London campaign received another huge boost today when one of Britain’s biggest high street banks said it would take on 16 unemployed young people as apprentices.

Royal Bank of Scotland — owner of the NatWest bank network — will employ the young Londoners in its corporate banking division for six months and hopes that as many as possible will stay on in permanent roles.

Yesterday, City investment bank Goldman Sachs became the first employer to sign up to the initiative.

The RBS apprentices, all in their teens and early twenties, will be based in the bank’s main headquarters in Bishopsgate in the heart of the City and other locations around London.

Chris Sullivan, chief executive of corporate banking, said the apprentices would be given well-rewarded, hands-on “productive” roles in key areas such as client relationship management, risk analysis and IT.

He said: “This is not going to be about just going to a different school and I don’t want them feeling they are some kind of cheap labour. They will be a productive part of the team.”

However, they will get mentors as well to help them adapt to their new working life.

Interviews for the first “two or three” apprenticeships will take place within days with others joining the bank over the coming weeks and months.

Mr Sullivan, who left school at 18 and has been with the bank for 38 years, said he was “living proof” that there should be no limits to their ambitions if things go well.

Speaking to potential apprentices at the Tower Hamlets offices of our campaign partner City Gateway, he said: “There are no limits, the only limits are you — what you can do and what you can contribute.”

He added: “I see no evidence that graduates do better than the people we take on from sixth form.”

Mr Sullivan said RBS, which employs 150,000 people worldwide, recognised that the reputation of banks had deteriorated hugely over recent years and said: “We need to rebuild trust so that banks are seen again as socially useful organisations.”

But he said the bank’s involvement was not merely a “charitable” one.

He said: “The bank is part of society. We’re doing this not just because it’s a good thing to do but because if society improves overall we make more money out of it. We’re not ashamed of that, we’re a commercial organisation.”

Mr Sullivan said the bank’s chief executive Stephen Hester had been “absolutely supportive” about the bank’s involvement in the scheme.

The bank has offered six-month rather than 12-month apprenticeships so that if either side felt the placement was not working it would not drag on too long. However, successful apprentices will be offered extensions and eventually permanent jobs.

Ladder for London

What are we asking?

We want companies — large, medium and small — to take one or more apprentices. They will have completed a year of pre-apprenticeship training in a vocational area of IT, customer service or sports fitness alongside English and maths GCSE equivalents with campaign partner City Gateway. They will be ready to start an apprenticeship (intermediate or advanced) with you while continuing training with City Gateway. They could work in your IT, customer service, human resources, marketing, sales departments, fitness centres, or any department with entry-level positions.

What is an apprenticeship?

It is a paid job that includes on- and off-the-job training and leads to nationally recognised qualifications.

Why are we doing this?

Youth unemployment has reached crisis proportions not seen for a generation with one in four young Londoners unemployed. Their biggest obstacle is lack of work experience. An apprenticeship is the ideal sustainable start for someone seeking that first rung on the ladder.

What is City Gateway?

It is a social enterprise that provides apprenticeship training for disengaged young people and is regarded as the gold standard for apprenticeships. Based in Tower Hamlets and founded 13 years ago, it was graded “outstanding” by Ofsted and has won awards, including a Centre for Social Justice award in 2011 and a Big Society Award and Investors in People Gold in 2012.

How will it work?

Taking on apprentices is simple. You would:

* Be provided with a shortlist of suitable candidates to interview.

* Take on each apprentice for one year (if you can only manage part of a year, City Gateway will “buddy you up” with another employer).

* Have them work for you for at least 30 hours a week.

* Release them for one day a week to complete their NVQ Intermediate or Advanced training.

* Be provided with ongoing support by City Gateway.

Is there a sweetener?

The Government may give you a £1,500 grant, provided that you have 1,000 employees or fewer and have not taken on an apprentice in the last year. City Gateway will do all the paperwork to make it easy.

What will it cost you?

You are required to pay the national apprentice wage of £2.60 an hour, although we encourage the London living wage of £8.30 or the national minimum wage of £6.08. You can employ an apprentice directly from City Gateway, or City Gateway can pay the apprentice and invoice you. The annual pre-tax cost per apprentice, if you are eligible for the £1,500 grant, is approximately: £2,500 at pay of £2.60/hr; £8,000 at pay of £6.08/hr; £11,000 at pay of £8.30/hr.

How do you get an apprentice?

To get the ball rolling, click on standard.co.uk/ladderforlondon or email ladderforlondon@standard.co.uk

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