Activate Apprenticeships launches new industry collaboration project to find what makes a world class apprenticeship experience

Activate Apprenticeships is excited to announce a new industry collaboration project it is launching that aims to discover how apprenticeships can be made world class.  

To answer this question, we will be asking some of the UK’s biggest names in engineering and manufacturing to join our newly-formed Apprenticeship Hub.  

The new Hub will bring together experts in their fields to discuss the key areas of the apprenticeship journey, from recruitment and onboarding, to managing stakeholders and, most importantly, the development and progression of the apprentice.  

The first cohort of employers invited to join the Hub will include Collab Group, Ercol, Essentra, Hewland, Jacobs, Mitie, Moog and Transformers and Rectifiers, who will all take part in a series of forums run in partnership with MRM Solutions and sponsored by the Gatsby Foundation.  

Fiona Stilwell, Managing Director of Activate Apprenticeships, said: “There are some amazing employers doing fantastic work to nurture and develop apprentices.  

“We feel that by coming together to share ideas and creating a collaborative space to talk about best practice, we can create a template for others to use and shape their approach to employing and developing apprentices.  

“Apprentices are an important part of the workforce and given the growing number of apprenticeships now on offer, across all levels, it’s even more vital for employers to understand what an exceptional experience looks like. 

“By bringing together excellent providers to talk about their processes and experiences, we hope to be able to share this information more widely with other apprenticeship providers and employers.” 

The initial Hub will involve levy paying employers, which is a type of tax paid by large employers to fund apprenticeship training in the UK. However, we will also be rolling out a similar programme aimed at non-levy paying firms.  

Fiona added: “This isn’t just about the benefits to large firms, it’s also about the SMEs and small businesses that we work with who are reliant on bringing through talent and training people on the job.”