New consultation on the creation of flexible apprenticeships published
20 April 2021
A new consultation has been launched, which requests views on how new flexi-job apprenticeship schemes could potentially work.
The flexible apprenticeship opportunities will be available to certain sectors, including the creative, agriculture and construction industries.
Apprenticeships last for a minimum period of 12 months, so some sectors which offer flexible employment patterns and short-term roles have found creating enough opportunities to be problematic.
Flexi-job apprenticeships were initially introduced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, within the Budget, delivered on 3 March 2021. The new flexi-job apprenticeships would mean that an apprentice would be able to work across a range of projects, with a variety of employers to gain the full skills and experience they require to complete the apprenticeship programme. As an example, an apprentice who worked within film, TV or theatre production would now have the opportunity to work on a variety of productions throughout their apprenticeship.
In July 2021, employers will have the opportunity to apply for a portion of the £7 million fund which will be made available to both create and test new flexi-apprenticeship schemes, with the intention of the first approved flexi-job apprenticeships commencing in January 2022. The £7 million will be available across the periods of 2021-22 and 2022-23.
The flexi-job apprenticeship consultation will close on 1 June 2021, after running for a period of six weeks. It requests views from employers, apprentices, sector bodies and existing apprenticeship training agencies.
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