28 Oct 2013
Life Sciences & Industrial Sciences employers – including Actavis, Fujifilm Diosynth, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Lotte Chemical UK Ltd, Lucite International, MedImmune, Novartis, P3 Medical Ltd, Seralab, Synergy Outsourcing and Victrex Plc, have been announced as Trailblazers in a new, employer-led Apprenticeship scheme.
This will see the development and take-up of new Apprenticeships including Laboratory Technician, Science Manufacturing Technician and Medical Technology Technician.
To launch the Trailblazer initiative The Prime Minister today visited the Mini factory in Oxfordshire to meet with over 500 young people, who he described as the future of Britain’s economic prosperity. He announced that a number of the UK’s leading businesses, including the ones named above, have signed up to deliver new and improved apprenticeships.
Addressing the apprentices at the Mini plant in Oxford, the Prime Minister said:
“… I am really excited to be here today. What we’re announcing is going to make a massive difference to thousands of young people’s lives. It involves two things.
“One: we’re saying; if you want an Apprenticeship, we’re going to make sure you do the best Apprenticeship in the world. The reforms we’re announcing today will put employers in the driving seat and ensure that we deliver high quality training that supports you and our economy for years to come.
“Two: we’re saying if you need help preparing for an Apprenticeship or want to get straight into the world of work, we’ll help you too. We’ve been talking to some of the biggest companies in Britain, massive global brands where young people have a real opportunity to progress up the ladder, and they have said they want to offer 100,000 vocational training schemes for young people.
More than 60 companies have already signed up to be ‘Trailblazers’ and are ready to go live with developing the new Apprenticeship scheme. Many of them, with their existing apprentices, were in attendance at Mini.
The new Apprenticeships will commence as early as the end of 2014.
Christine Sakhardande, Cogent’s Science Technicians Programme Manager, who attended the launch, said; “through the establishment of the new employer-led Science Industry Partnership, these committed employers are already in the driving seat of apprenticeships.
“We are working with them to design Apprenticeships based on standards which meet the specific needs of the science industries.”
The new employer-led standards will be short and easy to understand. They will describe the skills and knowledge that an individual needs to be fully competent in an occupation. An apprentice will also need to demonstrate their competence through rigorous independent assessment. Apprentices will also be graded - pass, merit, distinction - putting them on a par with full time education.
To see science employers talking about the importance of employer-led Apprenticeships click here.
The Trailblazer launch follows the recommendations for a more employer-focused approach put forward by Doug Richard in his report. More here: bit.ly/HqUxN4
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