Welsh businesses urged to ‘think apprentice’ to aid expansion in 2017

Welsh businesses with plans for further growth in 2017 are being encouraged to ‘think apprentice’ as they look towards the coming year and beyond.

Wales’ leading training provider ACT Training has pledged to provide locally based companies with the candidates they need to succeed in 2017 as part of its very own ‘Apprenticeship Challenge’.

Available in a wider range of disciplines than ever, ACT is keen to prove the benefits engaging in apprenticeships brings to businesses first hand by providing a select few with the ‘perfect apprentice’ in time for National Apprenticeship Week 2017.

The training provider is seeking to actively engage companies of all backgrounds in the apprenticeship recruitment process as an ‘on the ground’ demonstration of how the scheme is increasingly supporting economic growth in a variety of fields.

Now in its tenth year, National Apprenticeship Week brings together employers and apprentices from across England and Wales to celebrate the positive impact apprenticeships and traineeships continue to have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy.

First established 29 years ago, ACT Training is marking the 2017 event by calling for businesses in all sectors to come forward and discover more about the benefits apprenticeships can bring to both the business and individual involved.

With centres in Aberdare, Barry, Blackwood, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Newport and Swansea, the training provider is one of Wales’ largest and currently works with more than 700 employers of all sizes – including British Gas, NatWest, Barclays, NHS Health Boards, Radisson Blu, Admiral and many more – to place trainees in a wide variety of work-based roles.

Andrew Cooksley, managing director at ACT Training, said: “There has never been a better time to employ an apprentice or a trainee – according to 2015 research, apprenticeships at Level 2 and Level 3 deliver £26 and £28 of economic benefits respectively for each pound of government investment and boost productivity to businesses by, on average, £214 per week.

“Hiring apprentices helps businesses to grow their own talent by developing a motivated, skilled and qualified workforce, and I would seriously encourage any local businesses looking to expand in 2017 to take up the ACT Apprenticeship Challenge and discover the benefits for themselves first hand.”

Businesses seeking all kinds of support with administrative, leisure, hospitality, manual, finance, data, childcare and a wide variety of other service offerings are invited to contact ACT Training at the earliest opportunity to find out how The Apprenticeship Challenge can meet their requirements.