Businesses must invest in apprenticeships if Yorkshire is to thrive, says Ward Hadaway

By The Newsroom
Published 18th Mar 2019, 13:02 BST
Updated 18th Mar 2019, 14:03 BST
Craig Such, front left, of Azzure, and Frank Suttie, front right, of Ward Hadaway, with Azzure apprentices, from the left, Luke Sidebottom, Kate Burrows and Chris Boone.Craig Such, front left, of Azzure, and Frank Suttie, front right, of Ward Hadaway, with Azzure apprentices, from the left, Luke Sidebottom, Kate Burrows and Chris Boone.
Craig Such, front left, of Azzure, and Frank Suttie, front right, of Ward Hadaway, with Azzure apprentices, from the left, Luke Sidebottom, Kate Burrows and Chris Boone.
BUSINESSES must invest in apprenticeships if Yorkshire is to thrive, according to leading figures from Ward Hadaway, the firm behind the Yorkshire Fastest 50 awards.

The comments follow the publication of a paper from West Yorkshire Combined Authority officers which found that the number of people taking up apprenticeships in the Leeds City Region had decreased by a quarter in just one year.

The paper reported that there were just 22,250 apprenticeship starts during the 2017/18 academic year – a fall of 7,970 from the previous year. It is believed the decline may be linked to the transitional effects of the introduction of Government reforms to the apprenticeship system in 2017.

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Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership has now launched a new employment hub to help address staff shortages in the region. The free programme aims to engage more than 6,000 young people over three years. It will provide them with support to get them into further learning, self-employment, employment or an apprenticeship.

The Yorkshire Fastest 50 awards 2018, which were held at Aspire in Leeds. Picture Tony Johnson.The Yorkshire Fastest 50 awards 2018, which were held at Aspire in Leeds. Picture Tony Johnson.
The Yorkshire Fastest 50 awards 2018, which were held at Aspire in Leeds. Picture Tony Johnson.

Roger Marsh OBE, chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, said: “The Employment Hub will further improve career prospects for so many young people in the city region and the businesses that support them will see the significant benefits of investing in new talent which, in turn, boosts economic growth.

“Our city region has a working age population of 1.9 million people, making it the North’s largest and fastest-growing region. We also have the youngest population in the country and Bradford alone has more under 15s than anywhere else – a huge future talented workforce.”

His comments come as the build-up continues to the Yorkshire Fastest 50, the annual run-down of the fastest-growing privately owned companies in Yorkshire.