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Blog posted by: Alexandra Shaw, PR Officer, Monday 06 March 2017.

2017 marks the 10th National Apprenticeship Week and aims to bring together employers and apprentices from across the country to celebrate the success of apprenticeships, with the theme being ‘ladder of opportunity’.

As always, this week presents a great opportunity to discuss the importance of apprenticeships, highlight their success over the last decade, and encourage more people to recognise them as a route to future success.

At NCFE, we see first-hand the benefits apprenticeships bring to lives of learners, and the opportunities they offer to young people looking to succeed in the workplace.

Hopefully, this week’s focus on apprenticeships will help inspire even more young people to achieve their potential through work-based training – especially as apprenticeships are now more in the spotlight than ever before – as well as demonstrate to businesses the value that apprentices can bring to their organisation.

It is of course a particularly interesting time for the apprenticeship landscape, with the levy just around the corner and the introduction of the new apprenticeship standards. On 7 April, the government will take the historical step of charging all UK employers (with a pay bill of £3 million or more) a 0.5% tax on that pay bill. This is a central component of the apprenticeship reform programme that began back in 2012 with the Richard Review of Apprenticeships.

We’re here to support you both now, with our range of full and part apprenticeships in a variety of sectors, and in the future with the new standards and end point assessment. We’re pleased to be one of the organisations approved by the Skills Funding Agency to deliver end point assessment, with a particular focus on the healthcare, customer service and leadership and management sectors.

For more information about this, visit our dedicated website at www.levy.ncfe.org.uk.

Follow us on Twitter this week for apprentice success stories, testimonials, videos, information about our apprenticeships, and updates on our attendance at National Apprenticeship Week-related events.

We’re particularly looking forward to exhibiting at the Celebration of Apprenticeships conference on 7-8 March – if you’ll be there, come and chat with us on stand 7.

If you’re celebrating National Apprenticeship Week with events or activities, we’d love to hear about them – please tweet us @NCFE and use the hashtag #NAW2017 to get involved in the conversation.