BT has joined forces with the National Skills Academy for IT and training provider NITP to offer more than 500 IT apprenticeships for young people.
Following Prime Minister David Cameron's announcement yesterday that apprenticeships should become "the new norm" in the UK, BT's partnership has been set up to encourage SMEs to recruit IT apprentices.
We need to look at how we can expand apprenticeship opportunities so that they are available to all young people who are ready and eager to take them up and aspire to get ahead in life.
Some 367 businesses in England have taken part in BT's scheme, many of which have a demand for database analysts, IT technicians and software/web developers.
Guest editor's thoughts
Thumbs up to BT, however, the echoes of the words "drop" and "ocean" seem to resonate. I really hope that this isn't just a short-termism matter of expediency to support a new government policy
It will be interesting to see if this achieves any traction in the employment space and how willing employers will be to take on young people and provide them with useful training for a career in IT.
Mark Evans, head of IT, RLB
"Through this partnership, we've been able to share our experiences with smaller firms, helping many more realise the benefits that apprentices can bring and start hiring their own."
Training was provided by NITP at further education colleges in 11 UK towns and cities, while the National Skills Academy for IT offered professional development support to the young apprentices with talks and networking events.
Apprenticeships like BT's scheme could provide up to 3.4 billion a year to the UK's economy according to the government, while this scheme in particular will drum up an additional 9.75 million for the UK economy when all apprentices are fully-trained.
Prime Minister David Cameron visited a training academy in Buckinghamshire to mark the start of National Apprenticeship Week.
"An apprenticeship is increasingly seen as a first-choice career move. But we need to challenge ourselves to go even further," The Prime Minister said during his visit.
"That is why I want it to be the new norm for young people to either go to university or into an apprenticeship. We need to look at how we can expand apprenticeship opportunities so that they are available to all young people who are ready and eager to take them up and aspire to get ahead in life."
