On Friday apprenticeship numbers hit an all-time high – with 18,950 vacancies available for the summer – another sign that our Plan for Jobs is working as we level up opportunity across the country and build back better.

Young people have been hit especially hard by the coronavirus crisis, but our Plan for Jobs sets out how we will help them to get into work and gain the right skills so they can get the jobs they want. That is why the Government has put incentives in place for businesses to hire apprenticeships, including giving employers £3,000 when they take on an apprentice of any age, and why there are now 18,950 apprenticeship opportunities available for the summer, with an extra 5,000 places having been made available in the past two months.

This is yet another sign that our Plan for Jobs is working, with apprenticeships giving more and more young people new opportunities, as we level up across the country and build back better.

For more information on becoming an apprentice, hiring an apprentice or inspiring and influencing an apprentice, please visit: https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/#.

Cash boost to create new flexible approach to apprenticeships

The Government has announced a cash boost to create more flexible apprenticeship opportunities – helping more young people develop the skills they need to get good jobs.

Traditional apprenticeships require at least a years worth of unbroken employment, so some sectors with flexible employment patterns and project-based work have found it challenging to benefit from the high-quality opportunities available. That is why, as part of our Plan for Jobs, the Government has launched a new £7 million flexi-job apprenticeship scheme, where sectors including the creative, agriculture and construction industries can bid for funding so that their apprentice can work across a range of projects and with different employers.

The fund will establish a small number of agencies that will set up new flexi-job apprenticeships so an apprentice can work across a range of projects and with different employers to gain the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to be occupationally competent.

The announcement comes ahead of the start later this month of the ScreenSkills pilot for apprenticeships in the film and TV industry, with Netflix and WarnerMedia. Supported by a £100,000 investment from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, this pioneering programme has been designed to help better facilitate and boost apprenticeships in the UK’s booming screen industries.

Apprenticeships are playing a vital role in ensuring people have the skills they need to get the jobs they want. The flexi-job apprenticeship fund will extend this offer further, giving apprentices access to even more careers as we build back better from the pandemic.

The response to a consultation the Government launched in April 2021 has also been published today, which highlights strong support for the introduction of flexible apprenticeships as well as wider flexibilities in apprenticeships.

The first apprenticeships organised through flexi-job apprenticeship agencies are expected to start in early 2022.

Flexi-job apprenticeships are just one of several improvements the Government is making this year to support employers to offer more apprenticeship opportunities, so more people can get on the path to a great career. These include increased cash incentives for employers hiring new apprentices and making it easier for employers to spend unused funds - so that smaller businesses in their supply chain or region can benefit from the productivity and skills apprentices can bring to their business.

These improvements build on the reforms set out in the Skills for Jobs White Paper, which will ensure employers are at the heart of plans to make sure more people have the skills they need to progress and secure a great career.

This will unleash exciting new opportunities for apprentices and employers in these sectors – harnessing the skill and talent of today for the jobs of tomorrow as we level up opportunity for young people.

For more information on the Government’s cash boost to create new flexible approach to apprenticeships, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cash-boost-to-create-new-flexible-approach-to-apprenticeships.