Flexible fund will suit freelance nature of creative industries
The government has fired the starting gun on its £7m flexible apprenticeships fund designed to help ensure employers secure a pipeline of talent.
TV, film and other creative industries, are among the business sectors able to apply for funds from today (3 August), with apprenticeships managed by flexi-job apprenticeship agencies including TV training body ScreenSkills.
These agencies can apply for between £100,000 to £1m to fund apprentices to work across a range of employers from early 2022.
The fund, which was revealed by Rishi Sunak six months ago, has been created to overcome the issue of government-sponsored apprentices having to work for 12 months with one employee in sectors that rely on people constantly moving between jobs.
The government’s Apprenticeship Levy had previously been criticised for its inflexibility by training bodies.
The first tranche of ScreenSkills apprentices on a pilot flexi-scheme are due to start later this week.
Gillian Keegan, minister for apprenticeships and skills, said: “We want to build an apprenticeship system that enables everyone to get the experience and knowledge they require to get the job they want, while ensuring employers have a diverse talent pipeline to meet their skills needs.”
ScreenSkills chief executive Seetha Kumar added that the move will “unlock much needed apprenticeship opportunities for freelance talent and enable social mobility in key areas of skills needs”.
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