Over 70 brand new apprenticeship opportunities have been created in Greater Manchester following the funding of a range of projects designed to help support underrepresented groups.
According to This Is Lancashire, a total of £328,000 has been awarded to seven different local organisations to support in engaging and recruiting new apprentices, as part of the Removing Barriers scheme.
Greater Manchester’s apprenticeship ambition sets out to increase the number of high-quality apprenticeships available to the county’s residents. The scheme aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of background, can benefit from the available opportunities.
There is still a disparity and underrepresentation between different genders, cultures, ages, and disabilities across all sectors and the apprenticeship workforce, and the scheme aims to remove evidenced and identified barriers to apprenticeships, including, but not exclusive to:
- Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people
- Single parents
- Care leavers
- People with mental or physical health conditions
- Women in Science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM)
- Older people (aged 50 and above)
- Young people directly from GCSE
The range of funded projects includes placements that support young people with special educational needs (SEND) in digital apprenticeships, black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) residents in the engineering sector, and single parents into teaching assistant roles.
One such project to receive funding is BAME Engineers, which can now offer placements to a minimum of 20 new learners. The successful applicants on the programme will gain accredited engineering skills and knowledge, and employability training with a mentor.
One of the new apprentices on the programme is 16-year-old Mohammed Yusuf Khan, who said he had struggled to be shortlisted for an engineering placement, but after being accepted onto the BAME Engineers programme, he is now looking forward to gaining the skills he needs to advance in the engineering sector.
He said he believes the scheme is a good opportunity to break down barriers, as it helps support the local community progress into job roles they may not have had access to previously.
Mohammed added: “I’m looking forward to learning the practical skills I need in order to progress into my dream apprenticeship, following in my family’s footsteps and making them proud.”
Councillor Sean Fielding, Portfolio Lead for Digital, Education, Skills, Work and Apprenticeships told that is was great news to have been able to fund incredible local organisations and help support them in breaking down the barriers to apprenticeships.
He explains that by expanding the available apprenticeship opportunities, it will enable people to find full-time work, while also giving them the required skills to develop their careers.
“Apprenticeship placements and job opportunities should be accessible to everyone in the city-region, regardless of their background, and it is hoped even more placements under the Removing Barriers scheme will be created for underrepresented groups as the programme continues,” he said.
If you are looking for apprenticeship providers in the North West, then get in touch with specialist companies such as Encompass to see how they can help.