The Pryce is Right for Clegg

Female apprenticeships are on the up!..... In the build up to National Apprenticeship Week which takes place from the 7th to 11th February 2011 one of the region’s leading training providers Brinsworth Training have something to shout about.

The company have seen over 100 apprenticeship vacancies placed over the last eight months, a 300% increase on 2009/10 figures. A sign that companies are really starting to see the value and importance of recruiting young learners into their business.

One company that has seen value in apprenticeship training is Firth Rixson who unveiled some of their rising stars to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in December.

The Hallam MP called in at the specialist steels manufacturer’s Meadowhall works, where he saw how the company has been investing in the future through apprenticeships and introduced him to their very first female engineering apprentice Amy Pryce.

Pictured: Amy Pryce meets Deputy PM Nick Clegg

Amy was trained at Brinsworth Training and is currently progressing on to further qualifications whilst employed at Firth Rixson.

Commenting on Apprenticeship Week, Brinsworth Training Business Development Director Paul Reeves said “We are delighted to see such a marked increase in companies giving young people an opportunity to begin their careers in the engineering industry working through our apprenticeship programme.”

This news will be welcomed by the sector as a whole as recent studies have found that a generation of recruits has been lost during the recession as engineering companies’ trimmed costs and cancelled apprenticeship and graduate recruitment schemes over the last 18 months.

Paul added "It's very important that the engineering industry gets behind apprenticeships more so now than ever before as it needs capable young minds which can be developed into tomorrow's business leaders”.

Brinsworth Training will be holding an open day for employers on the 11th February 2011, in association with the National Apprenticeship Service, SEMTA, and QED Consulting where attendees will hear firsthand the support that is available to recruit their future workforce.