Trade Courses and Apprenticeships
The big challenge for London’s young unemployed is gaining the experience they need to land a job. Apprenticeships combine work with training. If you are an apprentice, you go to work and get paid to do so, but study towards nationally recognised qualifications at the same time.
Apprenticeships typically take between one and four years to complete, depending on the type of apprenticeship, the ability of the individual apprentice and the employer's requirements. If you are entering work for the first time, you will start earning from day one of your apprenticeship. There is no set rate of pay for apprentices, however all employed apprentices must receive a wage of no less than £95 per week and a recent survey showed that the average wage per week for an apprentice is now around £170 and in some job roles around £210 per week.
As your skills develop, your pay will increase accordingly. You may also get additional money for essential books, clothing or equipment, for example. There are targets and checks to make sure that your employer is supporting you and you are making progress.
As an employee, you will be in employment for most of your time as most training takes place on the job. The rest usually takes place at a local college or a specialist training organisation. You can complete this off-the-job training on day release or over a number of days in a block. The amount of time you spend varies according to your apprenticeship. It could be anything from one day every other fortnight to two days every week.
The London Apprenticeship Company in conjunction with Westminster Kingsway College recently provided 12 Pre-Apprenticeship Opportunities for young people interested in Business Administration and Customer Service in London. The Pre-Apprenticeship Programme consisted of eight weeks’ paid training, five days a week.
The scheme was aimed at aged 16-18 year olds who were interested in Business Administration and Customer Service opportunities. The young people on the Pre-Apprenticeship Route improved their employability skills whilst simultaneously working towards gaining recognised qualifications. During their time on the scheme, they continued to be put forward for apprenticeship opportunities and those who gained an apprenticeship position left the programme to move into work.
The London Apprenticeship Company is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to increasing the number of apprenticeships in London and reducing youth unemployment. In the past, apprenticeship schemes have been a good idea in principle but in practice very hard to administer. Under the LAC model, the company employs the apprentice on behalf of a host company and as a result, takes away all the hassles of recruitment. They organise the training element, offer a full mentoring service for the apprentices and get them prepared for the job they are interested in doing.
As well as offering an apprenticeship service, the LAC organises a range of positive work based activities for unemployed young people. London Transport Museum and the LAC recently combined their expertise to deliver ‘Route into Work’; a three-day employability programme that will result in a whole range of real apprenticeship opportunities for the participants. Other employers who are working with the LAC include the London College of Beauty Therapy, Park Royal Partnership, Transport for London, Responsible IT, London Transport Museum and Dancing After School.
There are more than 180 career choices available for aspiring apprentices in approximately 80 sectors of industry and commerce, ranging from accountancy to football, engineering to veterinary nursing, business administration to construction.
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