Cabinet votes to extend Wirral Apprentice programme

Posted 22 October 2010 - 10:41am

Wirral Council’s Cabinet has voted to extend the hugely successful Wirral Apprentice programme to create 33 new jobs for young people in the Borough.

The innovative programme which launched in September 2009 has already created 167 new jobs for young people in 121 businesses in fields such as accountancy, construction, engineering, media/design and logistics.

The additional cost of these positions will be £500,000 and will take the total number of apprentices on the programme to 200, double the original target when the programme was first introduced.

Cllr Andrew Hodson Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Planning Strategy said: “We will not sit by and watch a generation waste their lives on the dole.  I am really pleased that the Council is extending the Apprenticeship programme.  Along with the Government’s plans to create an extra 10,000 apprenticeships, college and training places, our decision gives even more young people in Wirral the chance to get the skills our Borough’s employers need.”

The Wirral Apprentice programme was launched in September 2009 by Wirral Council to help the Borough’s SMEs grow whilst giving young people the opportunity to gain a real job.  The Apprentices undertake the apprenticeship framework that matches the role and the needs of the business and this training is funded via the National Apprenticeship Service. 

Companies that have benefited from employing a Wirral Apprentice include MB Wirral, Typhoo Tea, Onsite Computer Solutions, Hagelin (UK) Ltd, T-Systems UK, SamelCo Automation Systems, Atlas Fire and Security, Claire House, Ivy Boarding Kennels, Harrison Day Nursery and Three Lanes End Farm.