Apprenticeship Central has reported a large increase in businesses looking to take on apprentices this year.
Apprenticeship Central offers a comprehensive recruitment and retention outsource solution through three services: Recruit; Nurture; and Ensure.
It says demand has increased in single- and multi-skilled programmes, as well as those for VDAs.
Breaking it down, it has revealed that 55% of technical vacancies are for repair technician apprentices, 25% are for panel apprentices, 15% for paint apprentices and five per cent for MET apprentices.
Jake Watson, who leads the Recruit programme, said, “This year has seen a significant rise in our clients wanting to recruit young people across a whole range of apprenticeships. By far the most popular vacancies are for the known single-skill and multi-skill technical programmes but we are seeing increased interest in the VDA programme and we are also attracting candidates for parts and customer service apprenticeship/trainee roles too.”
He continued, “The key benefit of our Recruit programme is to give every candidate a personal experience, primarily though our online Pre Employment Programme (PEP). Because we are communicating with young people and because we are using a unique digital platform, we are creating a much bigger candidate pool than traditional methods and our candidates are fully engaged with the process.”
Company founder Bob Linwood added, “It’s absolutely clear though that there is a high level of interest from young people. It just goes to prove that the vehicle repair industry is a viable career path when many employers have traditionally believed it’s difficult to attract young people to the sector.”
