City of Bristol College has celebrated its relationships with its employers for a number of years and is supporting businesses to take advantage of the apprenticeship financial incentive before the deadline next month.
February saw the build-up to celebrations of National Apprenticeship Week from 8-14th, with the theme this year being to ‘Build The Future’ and protect employment opportunities for young people.
Throughout the Valentines-inspired month, the college – with five centres across the city from South Bristol Skills Academy near Hengrove Park to the bustling Parkway campus – shared the love with its employers and encouraged more providers to get involved and support apprentices in the first step of their journey in the working world.
Businesses who are considering taking on apprentices are encouraged to contact the college to find out more about the financial support available including the Apprenticeship Levy and the incentive payments.
The incentive scheme, which was introduced last year, invites employers to apply for an additional payment for up to £2,000 for a 16-24-year-old or up to £1,500 for people aged 25 and over. The money can be used to support the organisation’s costs such as uniforms, travel or their salary.
The start of 2021 also saw the college rejoice at the additional funding made available by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) to invest more money into providing careers advice to a wider age group and to promote its online provision. The college is now able to offer free careers advise and guidance to support more people back into employment during this challenging and unprecedented time.
Partners in Bristol (PiB), a subsidiary of City of Bristol college, has a proven positive track record of supporting businesses to upskill their own workforce through solution-focused training opportunities and to help individuals build and develop their own skills for their future from the comfort of their own home while the country has been in lockdown.
City of Bristol College and Partners in Bristol are encouraging more employers to train and develop their own workforce through apprenticeships and free and low-cost online training and investing in local people instead of outsourcing to agencies and people from further afield.
The two leading education providers are offering help with:
- Confidence building exercises
- CV writing masterclasses
- Introductions to a supportive network
- One-to-one support with their highly-skilled team
- Links to potential employers
- Help with understanding your current skills set and developing that for work.
Losing your job or being furloughed can knock your confidence and the pandemic has had an effect on everyone, be it financially, mentally, physically or emotionally. PiB and City of Bristol College want to support businesses and individuals back on their feet, give students the chance to continue their studies and rebuild and start some personal development.
To find out more about our free and low-cost courses, call 0117 312 5454 or email enquiries@pib.cityofbristol.ac.uk
If you want to find out how to take on an apprentice or become one of our brilliant employer partners, visit www.cityofbristol.ac.uk/employers or call our Apprenticeship Team on 0117 312 5250 or email apprentice@cityofbristol.ac.uk
If you would like to become an apprentice, find out about our courses and vacancies at www.cityofbristol.ac.uk/apprenticeships