Boost for apprenticeships in Hinckley and Bosworth

A NEW national campaign to encourage more young people to take up apprenticeships has been welcomed in Hinckley and Bosworth.

Business Secretary Vince Cable MP has launched the 'Get In, Go Far' campaign which is being supported by employers across the country and coincides with the introduction of 40 new employer-designed apprenticeships in sectors including engineering, hospitality and the legal profession.

Liberal Democrat Councillors say this will build on successes locally in enabling young people to take up apprenticeships and build on those opportunities.

In recent years Hinckley and Bosworth has seen one of the biggest increases in apprenticeships outside of London.

One young person who has taken up an apprenticeship is Chantelle MIchel who is a Year 2 Apprentice and works at Xact Display Solutions Limited in Hinckley.

She says, "Spending the last year with Xact Display completing an apprenticeship in business administration was the best decision I could have made for my future.

I knew that university wasn't for me, but the lack of options shown to me during sixth form pushed me to apply.

Turning down the university places I had been offered and applying for an apprenticeship was definitely the right thing to do and I don't regret a thing about making that decision.

"The course has been the perfect stepping stone into working life for me.

It's given me a lot of confidence, skills and experience that, along with the qualification, I know will help me greatly with my career in the future.

I, without doubt, would recommend apprenticeships to anyone who wants to earn qualifications and experience through working in the real world with real situations and real people."

Director of Xact Display, Craig Sparrow, who also runs the Atkins Networking event in Hinckley for local businesses with colleague Mark Beasley, says "Chantelle has completed and passed her first year apprenticeship in Business Administration and we are proud she has now made the decision to continue her apprenticeship with Xact Display Solutions to study Social Media for Business.

We are proud to support the apprenticeships program provided by North Warwickshire and Hinckley College.

It is a great opportunity for us as an employer to develop and grow the business whilst supporting enthusiastic and driven young people to develop their individual learning and skills in a real-life situation."

Councillor Mathew Hulbert (Lib Dem, Barwell), the Borough's Children and Young People's Champion, says "I'd like to congratulate Chantelle on her successes so far and wish her well for the future and commend Craig, her employer, for showing how rewarding and beneficial it can be for businesses-large and small-to take on apprentices.

It is to ensure there can be many more others able to benefit,as Chantelle has, that we welcome the announcement by the Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable of the new campaign to encourage more young people to take up apprenticeships."

Councillor Michael Mullaney (Lib Dem, Hinckley Trinity) says, "It's great that we have seen one of the biggest increases in apprenticeships in the Country here in Hinckley and Bosworth.

Both nationally and locally, getting young people into apprenticeships is a top priority for Lib Dems."

For more information on apprenticeships and the apprenticeships that are being featured in the 'Get In, Go Far' campaign, pleas visit: http://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/