Shropshire Star

Ladder For Shropshire: Apprenticeships campaign building a way into work

The Shropshire Star is today taking the wraps off a brand new campaign aimed at creating dozens of new apprenticeships for the county.

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Engineering apprentice Josh Sumner, 22, learns welding skills at dairy machinery manufacturer Fullwood, which is backing the campaign

The Ladder For Shropshire is being launched in partnership with The Marches Skills Provider Network, Shropshire Council, and Telford & Wrekin Council.

It will bring together companies who are looking to introduce new blood to their workforces with young people who are hungry to start on a new career and the training providers who can ensure they have all the expertise they require.

Shropshire Star editor Martin Wright said: "This is a hugely exciting, but also immensely challenging, campaign.

"There are some fabulous skills to be found in the diverse range of businesses represented in Shropshire and, as well as helping to tackle the ongoing issue of youth unemployment, this campaign will also help to deliver the next generation of workers to take those skills forward.

"We want to attract businesses who have not previously considered apprenticeships, but who might be wondering about how to handle growth in their orders, or the long-term strategy for skills.

"Youth unemployment is a gaping wound on an economy that is otherwise healing, and this is one step we feel can help tackle it in Shropshire."

  • Visit www.ladderforshropshire.co.uk for the details of how the Ladder For Shropshire will work, and what this campaign will mean for the future of the county’s workforce

The bedrock of any business is its staff – and today the Shropshire Star launches a new campaign to help deliver the next generation of workers for Shropshire's economy.

From the cutting-edge manufacturers to the long-established solicitors, from the essential agricultural organisations to the car parts manufacturers riding the crest of the wave of growth in the automotive sector, everybody needs to know their business is in safe hands for the future.

The Ladder for Shropshire campaign aims at bringing through the next generation of workers and creating opportunities for young people to be part of the county's developing workforce.

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, launched the first Ladder campaign in London in 2012, calling for a multi-organisation campaign to address youth unemployment.

Prime Minister David Cameron, George Osborne, Vince Cable and Ed Miliband have all given their backing to the second ladder, set up for the Black Country by the Star's sister title the Express & Star.

Ladder for Shropshire campaign. From back left, Kevin Humphreys from County Training at Shropshire Council, the Shropshire Star's Chris Leggett and councillor, Shaun Davies. Front, from left, director of quality at SBC Training, Christine Haycocks, apprentice, Rachael Humphries, Shropshire Star editor, Martin Wright, apprentice, Nathan Szulc and director of training at SBC Training, Ali Roberts

The Shropshire Star – in teaming up with The Marches Skills Provider Group, Telford & Wrekin Council's Job Box and Shropshire Council – has now taken up the cudgels on behalf of the county's workforce.

And we are urging young people to grab this opportunity to learn, to train and to take the first steps of their working lives.

The Marches Skills Provider Network will be a key component of the campaign, providing a dedicated telephone line that will provide a first point of contact for businesses and young people looking for their perfect workplace match.

The network, a Community Interest Company including all the major training providers from across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Herefordshire, was established late last year.

The Duke of York with Alex Haytree, Alex Ireson, Shannon Perkins, Dan Cope and Aidan O'Leary on his visit to the Express and Star

It brings together training providers from across the county, and helps match specialists in different areas with people and businesses who have specific demands.

Colin Thaw, from SBC Training which is a key company within the network, said: "We all understand that there has been a bit of a disconnect between employment and young people, and that in the workplaces we inhabit our colleagues are probably older than they would have been 25 years ago.

"Recruitment in some industries has stagnated, and has been non-existent in certain types of work.

"We must encourage and motivate employers to recognise that something needs to be done sooner rather than later to avoid skills gaps appearing, especially in traditional strongholds of apprenticeships like engineering and construction."

Employment figures have been on an upward curve over the course of the last year, with big improvements in the number of people holding down jobs.

  • Visit www.ladderforshropshire.co.uk

But this is no time for back-slapping – even in an improving economic landscape, more than 1,150 people aged between 18 and 24 are still forced to rely on state benefits to keep the wolf from the door.

Latest unemployment statistics for the county demonstrated that 610 people of that age group in Shropshire, and 545 in Telford & Wrekin, claimed Jobseeker's Allowance last month.

Of those, 200 people – 110 in Telford, 90 in Shropshire – had been on the dole for more than a year. The Ladder for Shropshire Campaign will pull more of those young people out of their economic rut.

"It's great to see that the Duke of York is promoting this," Mr Thaw added.

"This is all about encouraging employers to take responsibility with training providers to ensure we have a viable workforce going forward, so we can take advantage of the economic opportunities that are coming Britain's way."

Star editor Martin Wright said: "The Ladder for Shropshire will show the Star doing what it does best, making a positive difference to local life. The Star will be encouraging young people to register for apprenticeships using a dedicated service, which will then match them with existing vacancies and new employers who want to take on staff."

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