School Engagement
A key element of CfL’s work is the promotion of Apprenticeships to young people in secondary schools, specifically targeting Years 9,10 and 11 through the delivery of 'Introduction to Apprenticeships' an information and advice workshop.
The Apprenticeship route has never been as highly rated as it has been in the last 2 years, in which the former government set expectations for one in five young people to be undertaking an Apprenticeship by 2013. This message continues under the new government, who have invested a further £150 million funding in 2010-11, creating an additional 50,000 Apprenticeship places.
A key priority for CfL in support of meeting this challenge is the information about Apprenticeships made available to young people through our continually increasing school engagement activity.
The academic year 2009/10 has been the most successful year to date, with the delivery of 319 Information and Advice Workshops to over 9,300 young people in years 9, 10 and 11. Although this year we only provided comprehensive coverage in three of the four local authority areas, due to funding availability, it is still an impressive achievement.
The Apprenticeships Information and Advice workshops are well valued across the schools that have worked with us over the last 7 years and this is evident in the responses provided as part of the annual evaluation of this service, with comments including:
"This workshop is really valued by the school and it would be missed if the funding is stopped"
"Increases knowledge of students to make informed choices"
"As the presentation is so good even the most hard to reach students tend to listen"
Our workshop goes beyond generic information about Apprenticeships, to offer pupils advice about the types of Apprenticeships available, the Apprenticeship Frameworks and Apprenticeship Providers across the Humber sub-region, the application processes and routes to seek further information. CfL’s Apprenticeship Information and Advice workshops enable young people to truly consider Apprenticeships as a viable option and seek further guidance at the next level with IAG specialists.
CfL is extremely pleased that the Apprenticeship Information and Advice workshops were recognised as good practice by the National Apprenticeship Service and proud that we have been able to share the processes and materials developed with neighbouring network organisations to enable their delivery.
We are currently looking undertaking pilot programmes across North and South Yorkshire. If your school is interested please contact us.
