South Yorkshire Apprenticeship Hub host first Employer Forum
The session, held at the Advanced Manufacturing Park, covered three core items:
1. the opportunity for local employers to start to input into the future of the new Growth and Skills Levy
2. how employers can ensure they have the correct policies and procedures in place to safeguard their apprentices, employees and organisations
3. a case study of best practice by an employer supporting their apprentices to maximise the impact of their programme; for both the individual and the organisation
Our first session provided the opportunity to hear and capture views on the proposed new Skill and Growth Levy. At present there is little insight as to what the new system will be and as apprenticeships are ‘employer led’ we wanted to understand the current challenges faced and what would be helpful in terms of the future funding scheme. The output of this session has been fed back to the South Yorkshire Combined Authority who are working with ministers to shape the new system.
We then welcomed safeguarding expert and consultant Adele Gladman, who provided a great insight into how safeguarding can be addressed successfully within organisations. This thought-provoking session enabled us to consider how robust policies provide a solid platform and direction in safeguarding; but also, how we can engage employees across the business to create even better and safer environments for everyone to work in.
Last but by no means, least we heard from David Horrigan of Maltby Learning Trust on how they have created a structured programme which enhances the development of their apprentices. They achieve this by not only further supporting their learning but also embedding their culture and processes so that the output is far better aligned to their values. Their programme has a range of interventions and activities that ensure clarity on expectations within all roles to contribute to an exceptional learning experience for students within the trust. David evidenced the success of the programme through the advancement of former apprentices into senior management positions within the organisation.
The South Yorkshire Apprenticeship Hub are working with our contributors to create output from the forum that will be freely available and benefit a wider range of businesses within our region.