Walsall Works: Why apprenticeships are the way forward
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 Apprentice at work at Regent Engineering
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WALSALL Works will announces its 100th apprentice during National Apprenticeship Week. The Black Country local authority is leading the way in creating new apprenticeships within local firms in a bid to crack down on youth unemployment. The number of young jobseekers in the borough hit a record high of 3500 after the recession so Walsall Council made a decision to ring-fence its own budgets to support employers to employ young people as apprentices. The regeneration programme Walsall Works aims to help 450 young people secure an apprentice whilst supporting a further 290 to access a bespoke course which helps them get started to become more employable. The multi-million pound investment will stimulate sustainable employment for local businesses and offers young people the opportunity to learn while they earn alongside obtaining the practical skills whilst undertaking work experience. It aims to raise the ambition and aspiration of our young residents who live in households that pay their council tax to Walsall Council. In doing so, it will reduce the number of young people who are not in education, training or employment. Walsall Works aims to unlock new jobs within Walsall enterprises with a focus on those job opportunities within the growth and emerging key sectors of: • Niche and high value manufacturing & engineering Employers who recruit a young Walsall resident as an apprentice will be offered an incentive payment as outlined below: • £3,000 for employers taking on a young person aged 16 or 17 at a rate of £3.00 per hour To date the programme has engaged with over 1,000 people and secured a pledge from 164 employers to take on at least 304 apprentices. Some 92 young people have already started their apprenticeship and a further 85 have started a pre-apprentice 20 week programme with Walsall Adult Community College with hundreds of places available over the coming year. Regent Engineering was one of the first businesses to sign up to the new pioneering scheme. This second generation family owned company started trading 70 years ago in 1941. In 1954 it moved to larger premises in Bath Street, Caldmore before purchasing its current 40,000 sq ft building on Salisbury Street, Darlaston in 1980. This well established company manufactures a range of presswork and welded assemblies for a number of household name customers. It is also currently developing ‘Floorstak’ – its own innovative flooring support system for temporary structures. The company identified the fact it had an ageing workforce as one of their key areas of concern. With an average employee age of mid to late 40s and some key personnel on the shop floor close to retirement age the need to train new younger people to take over key roles was apparent. Regent applied for the Walsall Works grant with LEMA Academy, which is managing the recruitment and training requirements. It subsequently appointed unemployed 18 year old Alex Jackson as an engineering apprentice. It is keen to progress Alex through to HNC/D level. Engineering manager Mark Postans explained that by taking part in the scheme “we have the opportunity to provide an engineer with the not only the skills for his working life, but also with particular knowledge and expertise required to assist in the future development of Regent Engineering.” For more information please contact us: More articles in
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