New Apprenticeship Scheme to Encourage People into the Industry

TIR Training Services has been invited to tender for the delivery of a major new apprenticeship scheme, with the aim of introducing younger people into the industry, and helping those made redundant get back into work.

£7million has been made available by the government to fund ten new Apprenticeship Training Agencies (ATAs). The new scheme will operate across a wide range of sectors focusing on those with low numbers of apprentices. We are hoping to be one of the successful applicants, acting as an agency between employers and apprentices.

The ATA scheme focuses on apprentices between the ages of 16-18 years, but would also encourage employers to take on apprentices of all ages, especially important at a time when a vast number of British workers have been affected by redundancy.

We are proposing to give apprentices training across all functions in the logistics sector opening up opportunities in the fields of warehousing, driving, management, administration and customer service.

As an existing provider of training solutions to the industry already has a number of transport and logistics companies lined up ready to take on apprentices should we be awarded the contract including transportation giant Norfolkline and Dennis Distribution

The new scheme will offer greater flexibility and security to both employers and apprentices than previous apprenticeship schemes, enabling companies who are unable to continue supporting the trainee to ‘hand back’ the apprentice who will then be found a place with another partner organisation.

We are concerned about the increasing age of the transport industry workforce and believe that any initiative to get young people into the industry should be encouraged.

Paul Thompson, Group Director of Operations said: “It’s important that we continue to invest in the skills of the UK workforce and helping young people get into prospering industries is a key part of this. The new ATA scheme is a positive move and should be welcomed. As the average age of the transport and logistics worker goes up the industry has to be ready to make some dramatic changes.

“A controversial plan to lower the driving age to 18 has many people in the industry in a panic, worried about insurance premiums and other potential issues. We agree that there are some issues to be resolved, but there are far more opportunities and believe that anything done to encourage fresh blood into transport and logistics is a step in the right direction for the future of the industry.”

TIR is owned by Deflog, a registered charity providing driver training to the military. As a not for profit organisation we put back all of our profits into the transport and logistics industry. As part of the proposal the parent company has pledged to donate £150,000 towards the cost of getting the scheme running should TIR be one of the chosen suppliers.

We have successfully completed the first stage of the tender process and are now putting together our final proposal. We are looking for employers of all sizes who would be interested in taking on apprentices to include on its list of providers and are asking any interested parties to contact Pauline Mitchell, Strategic development Manager on 01482 678308

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