Vocational Training Fund for the New Year

Small businesses will be able to bid for a share of a new £250 million government fund for vocational training programmes in the New Year.  The initiative is part of a government scheme designed to boost economic growth and ensure that the UK workforce has the required skill sets.

Prime Minister David Cameron says: “I know times are tough, especially for young people, who are trying to get their foot in the door and launch their career. That is why I am determined to do all that we can to give people the very best skills, training and opportunities to succeed, and why despite tough spending decisions we are investing in record number of apprenticeships.’

Cameron says that there has been an ‘incredible take up of these apprenticeship places’ and that the government is taking action to make it easier to take on apprentices, giving employers the power to take control of the training so that the skills they need are met.

APA Director General, Gareth Osborne says: “Skills are central to the UK economy and our long-term competitiveness. We have been lobbying government hard to ensure they understand the role played by PAs in small businesses; where they are the enabling conduit for all executive plans and decisions, we are please that essential vocational skills may be recognised and even funded.”

APA