Businesses invited to support apprenticeships

Businesses are being urged to seek-out the benefits of taking on apprentices at Coleg Sir Gâr's Apprenticeship and Skills Fair next month.

Supporting Apprenticeship Week in Wales, the college is inviting employers to meet established apprentices and find out more about new government initiatives to support businesses that employ apprentices.

"Many companies don't realise that apprenticeship training is available in far more sectors now, so people can train in anything from tourism to IT," said Peter Rees, assistant principal for Learner and Business Development at Coleg Sir Gâr.

"Apprenticeships have developed significantly in recent years and are offered from level two to level four, which means that people can choose to be trained from operator to management level. It's also not widely recognised that programmes are open to very small businesses as well as larger employers."

Coleg Sir Gâr says the college is experiencing a growing demand for apprenticeship training from both employers and young people and have facilitated this interest with a public event and by expanding its training provision. Peter Rees added: "Our employer event compliments similar activities being held at Parc y Scarlets on the same day, run in association with Careers Wales where around 2000 youngsters will have the opportunity of trying out vocational skills through mini-taster sessions.

"Taster sessions in the apprenticeships areas we offer are being extended to the evening where the public are invited to try a taste of vocational training and find out more about what's available. Apprenticeship training is free for learners as programmes are partly funded by the Welsh Government through the European Social Fund. They are becoming more popular with young people as an alternative to university, allowing them to develop skills in the workplace whilst gaining qualifications and a wage."

The Apprenticeship and Skills Fair takes place on February 7, at Parc y Scarlets. The employer event is from 3.30pm to 5pm and the public can attend between 5pm and 8pm.

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