This week, 5-11 February is National Apprenticeship Week. NSAR is getting involved by promoting the value of apprenticeships and how businesses can find support.
The theme of National Apprenticeship Week 2024 is ‘Skills for Life’. Apprenticeships can enable people of all ages to develop the skills they need to succeed in their careers and help employers build the right skills for their businesses.
NSAR’s Rail Workforce Survey 2023 shows that the rail workforce continues to age year-on-year and is facing a critical loss of experience and knowledge. Increasing apprenticeship numbers is a vital component of addressing these shortages. Apprenticeships work well for the types of roles in the rail industry and they facilitate knowledge transfer from experienced employees close to retirement age.
This National Apprenticeship Week, NSAR is focused on supporting businesses to overcome the challenges they face with apprenticeships. Two articles have been published to provide more information on how to increase apprenticeship numbers in rail and the benefits they bring to businesses.
NSAR has recently introduced a new service, Apprenticeship Agency, that hires apprentices and places them with host organisations. This allows businesses to take on apprentices without the risk of having sufficient work in the pipeline to keep them for the length of the apprenticeship, or not having the breadth of work to cover the apprenticeship standard. NSAR will place the apprentice elsewhere if there is any reason the host cannot continue with the apprenticeship.
NSAR is holding an event during National Apprenticeship Week for rail businesses to find out more about Apprenticeship Agency. The lunchtime virtual meeting will allow interested organisations to talk to NSAR specialists about how the service can work for them.
Read the guide for more information about the apprenticeship support NSAR can offer organisations, released this week. And keep an eye out on LinkedIn – NSAR will be posting all week about apprenticeships, support for employers and sharing how other rail organisations are acknowledging National Apprenticeship Week.