Young ambassadors to promote apprenticeships across Lancashire
Twenty young people have signed up to a new initiative to promote apprenticeships across Lancashire.
The Lancashire Young Apprenticeship Ambassador Network is part of a county-wide drive to increase training and employment opportunities for young people and raise skills among Lancashire’s workforce.
The apprenticeship ambassadors are all either current apprentices or former apprentices who want to highlight the benefits of taking part in the scheme to employers and other young people.
They will speak about their experiences at schools, youth clubs and careers fairs and meet employers face to face to encourage them to create apprenticeships.
It is a joint initiative set up by the Lancashire Skills and Employment Hub, which is part of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP), and the Lancashire Work Based Learning (WBL) Executive Forum, a consortium of Lancashire apprenticeship providers. It is linked to the North West Ambassador Network and the nationwide drive to promote apprenticeships.
The LEP and Lancashire Skills Hub have prioritised increasing apprenticeships and work-based training for young people.
Raeleen Duthoit, Support and Development Manager at the Lancashire WBL Executive Forum, said: “We want to inform young people about the full range of options for working and learning when they leave school and it is most effective if they hear it from their peers. We also want to make employers aware about how apprenticeships can work for them.”
Dr Michele Lawty-Jones, Director of the Skills and Employment Hub said: “The ambassadors are enthusiastic and motivated young people who have found apprenticeships to be a great way to get a qualification and a job.
“Expanding the apprenticeship programme in Lancashire will improve the employability of hundreds of young people and improve skill levels in our workforce as a whole, both of which are key parts of the LEP’s ambitious strategic programme to create jobs and fuel economic growth.”
Frankie Haggerty is an apprentice Housing Administration Assistant at Forbes Solicitors and is one of the young people who have signed up to be an apprenticeship ambassador.
She said: “University is good for some people but not for everyone. Apprenticeships are ideal if you want to learn and get qualifications while working full-time but a lot of students don’t know about them.
“I want to spread the knowledge about the options. Being an ambassador is a good thing to do and I’m enjoying it.”
To find out more about Lancashire Young Apprenticeship Ambassador Network and apprenticeships generally, visit www.lancsforum.co.uk or email [email protected]