Employers across the county are being encouraged to prioritise apprenticeship recruitment as a strategy for developing their future workforce and addressing skill gaps.
The call comes from Enterprise Oxfordshire, which is promoting available financial support for apprenticeship programmes following the release of recent examination results and as part of a dedicated initiative to help businesses access training funding.
Helen Brind, who serves as director of business and skills at the organisation, outlined the importance of collaboration between government bodies, educational institutions, employers and innovation leaders in helping young people progress into their desired careers.
The Oxfordshire Careers Hub, operating as a partnership between Enterprise Oxfordshire Skills and the Careers and Enterprise Company, collaborates with approximately 60 educational institutions alongside more than 100 businesses to create pathways that build students’ confidence, career awareness and employment readiness.
The collective goal is straightforward: ensuring every young person can explore available options, develop appropriate competencies and make a smooth transition into their next professional move.
Apprenticeships represent an effective model for gaining practical workplace knowledge while receiving remuneration and obtaining experience that strengthens future employment prospects.
The initiative follows reforms to the national training funding framework implemented in April, which replaced the previous Apprenticeship Levy with a new Growth and Skills Levy.
The updated system aims to provide organisations with greater choice in how they approach staff development and to help alleviate persistent skill shortages affecting various sectors.
Under the revised arrangements, introduced from the beginning of August, training funds must be utilised within a 12-month period, reduced from the former 24-month allowance.
Within this framework, major employers possessing unused levy contributions can direct up to half of these funds to other organisations.
This transfer mechanism enables smaller companies and those not subject to levy payments to cover the complete expenses associated with apprenticeship qualifications and final assessments.
To date, approximately 6.3 million pounds in redirected levy resources has facilitated 655 apprenticeship positions throughout Oxfordshire.
According to Ms Brind, smaller enterprises stand to benefit substantially from these arrangements.
She acknowledged that for some small businesses, welcoming an apprentice may not initially appear affordable or urgent, yet the available transfer funding through the support scheme can remove financial obstacles to training.
Young people collecting their examination results this summer have been advised to consider apprenticeship routes, given the breadth of sectors and qualification levels represented across available positions.
Enterprise Oxfordshire, which has assumed responsibility for delivering business and skills support functions formerly handled by OxLEP, operates under the oversight of Oxfordshire County Council.