Almost half of all firms are planning to recruit Apprentices ...

Almost half (44%) of businesses in the country plan to take on apprentices in the next five years, according to a report last week by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and Skills Funding Agency.  This compares to just over 3 in 10 (36%) employers when asked the same question last year.

The study of 600 businesses also reveals that a fifth (20%) of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises plan to take on one or more apprentices in the next 12 months alone, with more than a third (37%) of larger businesses planning to do the same, compared to 15% and 28% respectively in February 2013.  Around a third (32%) of those that plan to take on apprentices say this is because they are a core part of their growth strategy.

                                                 [ source: SSAT Policy and Curriculum Radar ]

National Apprenticeship Week 2014

Apprenticeships: The Facts ...

• Currently, more than 100,000 employers offer Apprenticeships at 200,000 different locations across England, covering more than 1500 types of job. There are up to 20,000 vacancies for Apprenticeships available on www.apprenticeships.org.uk at any one time.
• An Apprenticeship lasts for a minimum of 12 months but can extend up to 4 years, depending on the level of study involved. For example, a Higher Apprenticeship is equivalent to a degree qualification.
• Anyone over 16, living in England, and not in full-time education, can apply for an Apprenticeship.
• Employers love Apprenticeships! Research has shown that trained apprentices are viewed as 15% more employable than those with other qualifications.
•  Over your lifetime, you can expect to earn between £48k and £74k extra with an Intermediate Apprenticeship qualification; between £77k and £117k extra with an Advanced Apprenticeship and around £150k more with a Higher Apprenticeship.

For more advice and information, visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk , apprentice.tv or www.whatapprenticeship.co.uk

[ source: Careersworld magazine ]

Are exam grades 'worthless' ...?!

Lazlo Bock (Senior Vice President of People Operations at Google) says “Grade Point Averages are worthless as a criteria for hiring and test scores are worthless. ... We found that they don’t predict anything.”  What is he looking for?  Read the full article here.

Thinking of a Gap Year...?

Outreach International is a successful gap year organisation and has been responsible for sending young people overseas since 1998. They aim to match the needs of local communities with the skills and interests of their volunteers. Their projects are ideal for volunteers wishing to help small, grass root initiatives and immerse themselves in an interesting foreign culture. Opportunities include:

· Orphanages and street children

· Medical

· Teaching English

· Disabled children

· Sports coaching

· Animal rescue and conservation

The projects are directly related to gaining work experience which can help with future careers and CV enhancement.

Click here for videos of Gap Year activities.

 

Increase in university applications

Demand for university places has bounced back, with 35% of 18-year-olds in England applying for a university place this year (up 4% on last year), while in London this rose to 44%.  The total is just 3,500 lower than the all-time high reached in 2011, when young people scrambled to start a degree course before higher fees took effect.  Girls continue to seek university places in much higher numbers than boys: 333,700 to 246,300.  There were big increases in applications for engineering (11%), computer sciences (13%) and biological sciences (8%)  However, demand for European languages fell by 5%, and for non-European languages by 6%.  Architecture also slipped slightly by 2%; surprisingly Law also dropped, but only by 1%.  [ source:  GTassociates ]

Who earns what...?

The UK Office of National Statistics has published figures for the average earnings last year in a range of careers. Here are some examples:  Chartered Accountant, £41,500; Civil Engineer, £39,000; Nurse, £31,900; Solicitor, £48,200; Vet, £38,800; Electrician, £30,400 and Plumber, £28,400.  Just don't forget to factor in work-life balance and job satisfaction!

Degree or Apprenticeship...?

Do graduates always earn more than non-graduates?  Figures obtained by Labour MP Frank Field show that, between April and June last year, 27% of graduate employees were paid a gross hourly wage that was lower than the average £11.10 earned by non-graduates with an Apprenticeship. [ However, Office for National Statistics figures do show the average gross pay for graduates in the period was £15.18 an hour, and they were also slightly more likely to be in work. ]  Of the 12 million graduates, 10.5 million (87%) were in employment, compared with 2 million (83%) of the 2.5 million non-graduates in Apprenticeships. ‘Successive generations of young people have been shoe-horned into universities on the promise of improving their lifetime earnings', Field stated. ‘But, as well as being saddled with eye-watering levels of debt, more than a quarter of them now work in part-time roles earning lower wages than workers with an Apprenticeship under their belt…  We need to encourage more young people to think hard about the best ways of achieving their goals in life.’

[ source:  SSAT Policy & Curriculum Radar ]