Pave Aways Managing Director Steven Owen has welcomed new measures announced in the Budget to encourage more businesses to take on apprentices.
We won Shropshire Chamber’s Education and Training award last year for our commitment to bring more young people into construction.
Steven said the increased cash incentives for employers announced by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak could be the encouragement smaller businesses needed to take on an apprentice.
“It can be hard and seem like a big commitment for businesses to take on apprentices but we know that it can make a real difference towards building a more sustainable workforce for the future. At a time when finances may be tighter, additional funding could mean the difference between a business taking on an apprentice or not,” he said.
Steven also welcomed the idea of more flexible apprenticeships particularly in a bid to attract older apprentices to the sector.
“Construction in particular is an industry where it would be easy for businesses to work together to offer a flexible apprenticeship scheme. There are a lot of smaller companies that we use that could benefit from having an apprentice but they aren’t able to offer them the full training required. A flexible apprentice scheme could have real rewards in this case.
“Increasing the age limit is another positive move as it means that those people who want to start again at a later age can do so on a living wage,” he added.