Tees Valley Ahead of the Curve on Apprenticeships

To mark Apprenticeship Week, the Tees Valley is celebrating the successful recruitment of higher numbers of apprenticeships, with many more benefiting from high quality training and job opportunities.

The uptake of apprenticeships in every area of the Tees Valley is above the national average, according to a report released by the Tees Valley Combined Authority.

Overall 9,920 people across the boroughs of Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees started apprenticeships in 2015/16, 84% of which are employed within the Tees Valley.

This reflects a 12% rise in the number of people in the Tees Valley starting apprenticeships, six times faster than the national growth of just 2%.

In addition there has been a large rise in higher and degree level apprenticeships with a 58% upturn in the Tees Valley, compared to 37% nationally.

Councillor Christopher Akers-Belcher, Lead Member for Education, Employment & Skills at Tees Valley Combined Authority, said: “This is fantastic to see that our region is investing in young people and we are leading the way with apprenticeship opportunities. There’s still a lot more that we can do but with our new devolved responsibilities I am confident we can continue to see a rise in apprenticeship opportunities in the area.

“The significant growth of apprenticeships in the advanced manufacturing sector is particularly positive, it shows the calibre of the opportunities that companies are bringing to the area, which not only prepare us for the future but build on our reputation and history of skilled manufacturing.”

Over 6% of 16-35 year olds in the area started an apprenticeship in 2015/16 compared to 3.5% across the whole of the UK.

The business and professional services sector showed the highest number of apprenticeship starts with 2,820, accounting for 28% of the total in 2015/16. The area with the highest level of growth was the advanced manufacturing sector with 460 extra starters last year, a 47% increase.

The Tees Valley Combined Authority also is building on this success by this year delivering a newly devolved Apprenticeship Grant of Employers programme, supporting over 500 apprenticeships within small and medium enterprises.

The full report can be downloaded from https://teesvalley-ca.gov.uk/partners-portal/skills/