OVER 50 businesses gathered at Oaklands College’s Smallford Campus on Monday morning to hear about the latest government incentives to hire apprentices.
With over 400 unemployed 18-24 year olds in St Albans alone, the Apprenticeship Breakfast Briefing looked at addressing the issue.
The event kicked off National Apprenticeship Week and coincided with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s announcement that businesses would be given a �1,500 cash incentive for taking on their first apprentice under the age of 24 as part of the Government’s drive to get 400,000 young people into work.
Marie Green from the Job Centre Plus explained that while there were a number of young people without, the St Albans job centre had 640 unfilled vacancies. The anomaly, it was explained, due to a lack of skilled workers which apprenticeship and work experience schemes can help address.
June Cory, social media expert and managing director of My Mustard, pointed out to delegates that last month alone 1,000 people in Hertfordshire searched for ‘Apprenticeships’ on Google, suggesting that there is a real demand in the area for a scheme.
The college are running a drop in Q&A stall on St Albans market today, offering young people and businesses more information about apprenticeships.
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