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12 October 2009

Step Up 2 Success with Academy

Academy of Training is launching a scheme to encourage employers to take on apprentices and help young people into the jobs market.
The Step up 2 Success (SU2S) programme gives employers the chance to try an apprentice for 18 weeks without any financial implication, not even the weekly apprentice wage of £95. Apprentices are carefully matched to the employer’s profile and receive training for one day per week with us, as well as mentor support in the workplace.

The new programme also offers a lifeline to young people who are being hit hard by the recession and missing out on the chance to develop skills expected by employers, like customer service or health and safety. Without these skills or even the chance to experience a working environment, young people stand little chance of finding a job and the future skills gap will get wider.

Andrew Parkin, operations manager at the Academy of Training, said: “Many employers have no experience of apprenticeships or are unsure whether to commit themselves to taking on an apprentice for two years.  Step up 2 Success provides an excellent opportunity for a business to try out an apprentice at no cost, while benefitting from an extra team member. We guarantee that at the end of the 18 weeks an apprentice will not only have gained a useful qualification, they will also be used to the company’s way of working, be more rounded as an individual and ready for the next stage of development.”

Training continues to be cost-free to employers for the whole period of the apprenticeship.