Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week with Liverpool City Region CA
This year marks the fourteenth year of National Apprenticeship Week and the theme for 2021 focuses on how apprentices and employers are working to ‘Build The Future’. Working with Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, we’re exploring the positive impact of apprentices in the transport sector within the Liverpool City Region as they recruit four more engineering apprentices.
About Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is led by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and brings together Liverpool City Region’s six local authorities – Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral – to work collaboratively and tackle the big issues that matter to us all, together. Our aim is to ensure that everyone benefits from the decisions we make. We want to create an environment which allows our economy to thrive for the good of everyone who lives and works in Liverpool City Region.
We work together to make investments in areas that have a real impact on our communities, such as transport, employment, culture, digital and housing. By using the devolved powers we have, we can make a real and meaningful difference to the lives of the people living and working in the area.
What impact do apprentices make to your company?
Apprenticeships are a key driver in supporting our staff to fulfil their potential and better perform the key role they have in supporting the CA to meet the needs of the region. The CA has been able to utilise its apprenticeship programmes to support the achievement of wider strategic goals and actively promote apprenticeships as a training solution across the organisation.
As a Local Authority, we will lead on the economic rebuilding of the wider city region in coming years. To support this, we will continue to develop colleagues so that we are better placed to meet our goals, improve our communities and make the city region somewhere our residents and businesses can continue to be proud of.
What is a benefit of employing an apprentice?
Apprenticeships set the benchmark for the required Skills, Knowledge and Behaviours for given roles within the CA. Additionally, apprenticeships promote positive behaviours and wider soft skills development, giving the CA the opportunity to promote a whole person approach. This approach offers benefits to the CA that set apprenticeships apart from a straight classroom/assignment qualification model.
The introduction of Apprenticeship Standards that are sector specific and closer related to sectors and job roles have enabled the CA to map its apprenticeship offering to job roles and staff development goals. This in turn has enabled the CA to implement its Apprenticeship strategy more effectively across the organisation and utilise its Apprenticeship Levy to the maximum.
The CA has been able to utilise its apprenticeship programme to support the achievement of wider strategic goals, such as the adoption of the APM framework, but also meet section specific strategic goals. An example of this is the risk mapping and succession plans that have been implemented in the Asset Management section. The CA works with specific technologies and have skilled individuals that have significant experience working with these technologies. Risk mapping identified the need to train new members of staff and new Apprenticeship Standards have provided the opportunity to address these risks directly and minimise the risk to this section of the business.
Interested in finding out more about Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and opportunities?
Visit liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/ for more information