There has been a huge 44% increase in young people taking up apprenticeships instead of going for A-levels or university.
Bournemouth and Poole College has seen their apprenticeship enrolments increase from 495 in 2020 to 659 from August and September this year. The pandemic has encouraged trade sectors to take on more apprentices than ever before, with particular increases in professions that were able to continue despite the chaos around the world such as construction, carpentry and electric trades.
To meet the new interest in apprenticeships, the college has been working alongside new employers and encouraging businesses to open more places for new starters. David Massieu-King, Account Manager for Construction Apprenticeships at Bournemouth & Poole College, said: “The industry has bounced back from the difficulty of last year, and the number of new apprentices that we have enrolled this term truly demonstrates this.”
Engineering apprenticeships have increased by almost double the amount compared to last year, the college even reported that 90% of the 450 people who were interviewed are believed to be studying with them in the future. The college is still recruiting more people for engineering apprenticeships and bringing their current amount of new starts to around 200.
The college has also launched some new apprenticeship opportunities to meet supply and demand from the COVID-19. One of the new courses is a boat building with Marine based apprenticeships attracting applicants from further across the country and an Aerospace course that may be developed further into a degree.
Anyone who wants to enrol onto a full-time course or apprenticeship will speak to someone from The College’s Business, Apprenticeships, Skills and Employability (BASE) Team who will work with them to get the most out of their education and career aspirations.