Joy as Shropshire apprentice target is smashed

More than 200 apprentices have been taken on by businesses in Shropshire over the past six months – doubling the aim of finding 100 placements in 100 days.

The posts have been found since Shropshire Council signed up for the national Apprenticeship campaign in January.

Delighted organisers have confirmed that Shropshire has more than doubled its target, with 205 successful placements being secured. Grants are available for businesses who take on an apprentice, and officials at the National Apprenticeship Service, which ran the campaign, have claimed many employers are unaware of the incentives on offer.

Councillor Karen Burgoyne, Shropshire Council’s deputy cabinet member for post-16 education, said: “We are absolutely delighted that we have managed to find successful placements for so many apprentices.

“The whole aim of this campaign was to demonstrate to businesses the benefits of taking on apprentices, and I think we managed to achieve that.

“As well as being beneficial to businesses, the apprenticeship programme gives people a great opportunity to get started on their career path.”

Felicity Wingrove, founder and director of Shrewsbury-based Zen Communications, said the introduction of an apprentice has had major benefits for the business and the apprentice herself.

She said: “Our new apprentice Jennie is enthusiastic, passionate and really hard working. She’s supported our PR team across the board with administrative duties and is helping to further strengthen some of our systems.

“Because she’s freed us from some of the day-to-day tasks we’d previously had to assume, we’re able to take on more fee-earning work and we’ve already seen a positive growth in agency income.”