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In the UK, there are almost 800,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are not in employment, education or training. This is something Apprentice Nation wants to change.
Launching today, Apprentice Nation is a new platform designed to help address the shortfall in apprentice uptake, raise awareness and inspire young people to take on apprenticeships.
The platform will particularly focus on young people from BAME backgrounds as data from 2017/18 shows that only 11.2 per cent of all people starting apprenticeships were from a diverse background. This means there’s still a long way to go to reach the government’s commitment to increase the proportion of apprenticeship starts by 20 per cent for people from diverse backgrounds by 2020.
Apprentice Nation will combine with RockCorps, who have a record of inspiring people through music gigs, and WhiteHat, a start-up helping build an alternative to university through apprenticeships.
Euan Blair, CEO of WhiteHat (and son of former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who the Standard profiled last year) is one of the co-founders of Apprentice Nation. He said: “We’re really excited to be launching Apprentice Nation – a model which will allow us to build up and then amplify the apprenticeship brand and reach a much wider range of people from different backgrounds across the UK.”
“There are some really incredible careers you can pursue by taking the apprenticeship route, and that’s something for everyone to be excited about. We’re enabling young people to be part of something we think will play a defining role in shaping the future of work,” added Blair.
One of WhiteHat’s success stories is Zaynah, who decided to forgo university to take up an apprenticeship instead.
Now a digital marketing apprentice at Facebook, Zaynah said in a statement: “I could have gone to university like my older siblings but it wasn’t right for me – I wanted to go straight to starting my career. I’ve always felt that if you want to be successful then you need to take some risks so I decided to go for it.
“I’m now a Facebook apprentice learning key skills and developing my knowledge every day, whilst having an amazing time. I really feel like I’ve found the best route for me and I’m proud of my accomplishments so far.”
If you’re considering an apprenticeship, the best way to get involved is by attending one of Apprentice Nation’s ‘Action Days’, where you can network with businesses, entrepreneurs and businesses leaders, and find out what apprenticeships are really about.
To find out more, as well as the exclusive gigs Apprentice Nation will be holding, visit apprenticenation.co.uk/