A recent study found that more than a third of the UK workforce is now over 50 – a number set to grow as we live longer and work later in life.
With that in mind, we should remember that apprenticeships offer a ready-made opportunity to replenish this group of workers and the experience, skills and knowledge they bring.
For employers, apprenticeships offer that pipeline of skills needed for continuity of business, but they need to seize the opportunities.
At PHX Training, our apprenticeship courses are tailored to industries and skills, not people, so we find our learning programmes are relevant for different types of businesses. The apprenticeships delivered by PHX – including business administration, team leading, customer service, management and warehousing across the North West – come at different levels depending on relevance of personnel required.
For Cumbria, with skills gaps in a number of sectors, this offers a supply of skilled workers ready to help business grow at the level needed. The local Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership recently heard that the county faces a labour shortfall of more than 20,000 people in the next decade – with employers already struggling to recruit people into critical services such as teaching and healthcare. The county is not only having to contend with a decline in the working age population but a thin pool of higher level skills – the smallest pool graduates in England of any Local Enterprise Partnership area.
Whether it is an existing employee or a new apprentice who is learning the necessary skills and then looking for work, these courses prepare the learners to make the most of opportunities available for their own futures – and the future of businesses of all kinds. At the same time, the opportunities presented by apprenticeships means that young – and older – learners can stay in the area near family and friends without having to move to find work.
If you are an employer looking to take on an apprentice contact us either via email info@phxtraining.co.uk or tel 01228 210317.