20/09/12…A boost for apprentices across South Oxon

A major drive to boost the number of small businesses who take on apprentices, will focus on Southern Oxfordshire for a big event next month.

The South Oxfordshire Apprenticeships Event aims to give owners of smaller businesses in the area the opportunity to have their questions around the issue answered, and to hear about the positive impact apprentices can have in the workplace. Specialists in apprenticeships for smaller businesses will also outline funding opportunities, including details of a new Apprenticeship Grant for Employers.

A joint initiative by Oxfordshire County Council, the Oxfordshire Skills Board, South Oxfordshire District Council, Vale of White Horse District Council, and The National Apprenticeship Service and partner agencies, the event will be on Thursday, October 11, 9.30-11.30am, and is being hosted by Jennings at Hampden House, Monument Park, Chalgrove. Anyone who?d like to attend can register by email to: paddy.patterson@oxfordshire.gov.uk or by calling 01865 328086.

Paddy Patterson, Skills Partnership Officer at Oxfordshire County Council, says: ?The aim of the event is to help businesses make sense of apprenticeships by giving the facts, busting the myths, and by hearing from employers and apprentices themselves on their experiences. We will also listen to businesses, so that we as agencies and organisations can better understand the barriers facing employers, and involve them in plain-English discussions about the solutions.?

Chris Williams, Commercial Manager at Jennings, says ?It is clear from the feedback we get from among the 130 tenant businesses we have at Monument Park and our other business centres, that many are growing or planning to. We?re delighted to be hosting this event to demonstrate how taking on an apprentice or boosting the skills and qualifications of existing staff members by putting them on an apprenticeships programme, can make a difference.?

The event aims to build on the success of a similar one held at Bloxham Mill in North Oxfordshire. Attendee Sam Greaves, Operations Manager at Cleenol UK, says: ?The session reinvigorated my interest in apprenticeships and made me think very seriously about how they can help with succession planning in my organisation.?