MORE than £140,000 in grants has been handed out to local businesses by Worcestershire County Council to support them with apprenticeship schemes amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The county is currently supporting 17 local businesses by funding over 40 apprenticeship programmes.
Working alongside Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) it’s releasing its apprenticeship levy to provide training funds for local apprenticeships.
The levy funding has enabled the authority to invest in high-quality training to develop a skilled local workforce, whilst addressing skills gaps and recruiting apprentices in order to continue to thrive and succeed in the future.
This supports the County Council’s aims to encourage economic growth, as another initiative to help the county’s economy recover from the financial effects of Covid-19.
It also enables community and voluntary organisations to enhance stability within their workforce.
Gary Woodman, chief executive of Worcestershire LEP said: “Apprenticeships are a vital pathway for both businesses and young people. It has been great to see the support from the community so far during National Apprenticeship Week, all with the aim to help promote the benefits and values of being or hiring an apprentice.
“I am pleased that we are able to continue supporting more local businesses to hire apprentices through various programmes and schemes, such as the County Council’s Levy transfer.”
Anybody in England over the age of 16 can apply for an apprenticeship. They are nationally recognised and can help young people to gain qualifications and employability skills.
Worcestershire County Council currently offers apprenticeships at intermediary, advanced and higher levels across a variety of different sectors including customer service business administration, finance and accounting, social care and civil engineering.
To be eligible for funding, businesses must be paying Worcestershire Business rates with an application that supports Worcestershire’s growth agenda.
For more information on gaining access to Worcestershire County Council’s levy to support your business, email [email protected]
