The Sheffield College welcomes £3 billion economic statement pledge

10th July 2020

The Sheffield College has welcomed the Chancellor’s investment in young people to help support the revival of the economy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak MP has announced that the government will invest £3 billion in employment, training and education schemes for 16 to 24-year-olds.

As part of the economic statement today, July 8th 2020, Mr Sunak confirmed several key education, training and skills related developments. They include:

• The current traineeships scheme, which will be expanded with plans to triple the numbers of young people taking part.
• Employers will be given £1,000 per trainee that they take on. A traineeship is a training course, lasting from six weeks to six months, that includes a work placement.
• Apprenticeship bonuses will be introduced. Employers will be paid £2,000 for new apprentices that they take on aged under 25, and £1,500 for over 25s.
• There is a new plan to spend £100 million to support 18 to 19-year-olds in further education to take courses at Level 2 and Level 3 in particular sectors.
• The government will pay the wages (at minimum wage levels) of 16 to 24-year-olds taken on by employers in a new Kickstart job creation scheme, for unemployed young people, starting in autumn.

Angela Foulkes, Chief Executive and Principal, The Sheffield College, said:

“We welcome this vital investment in education and training for young people and employers to support a skills led recovery from Covid-19. We also recognise the importance of the FE sector continuing to lobby the government for further investment in adults skills and retraining, which is a major priority for Sheffield City Region."

She added: “The Sheffield College will be at the forefront of working with employers and stakeholders across the city to ensure that learners access education and training opportunities and get the skills to start and go further in their careers. As the economy recovers, employers will need talented learners with the relevant skills for their businesses to grow.”

The College is the largest provider of apprenticeships in Sheffield and Sheffield City Region and works with approximately 850 employers supporting around 2,800 apprentices on 139 apprenticeship programmes.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the College has supported apprentices to be able to continue their learning. This has included loaning devices to enable them to access online learning and complete assessments.

Recent research has shown that in 2017/18, former College apprentices employed in the Sheffield City Region workforce contributed £9.2 million in added income.

Employers, according to the EMSI research commissioned by the College, receive £1.30 in return for every £1 invested in the College’s apprentices, as those apprentices become more competent, skilled and productive.

The College provides apprenticeships across a range of sectors including horticulture, childcare, business administration, sales, engineering, catering, pharmacy and human resources.

For more details on what the statement means for further education colleges in England, and a breakdown of some of the funding, please visit the Association of Colleges website here.

For more information about courses starting this September, please visit www.sheffcol.ac.uk or call 0114 2602600. Follow @SheffCol @ShefColEmployer