ENGLAND’S APPRENTICESHIP WEEK 23RD – 27TH FEBRUARY
The second annual Apprenticeship Week will take place across England from Monday 23rd February to Friday 27th February 2009.
Apprenticeship Week is an opportunity to celebrate and recognise the essential role that Apprenticeships are playing in today’s business world, ensuring that the workforce has the skills it needs in order to remain competitive, even in difficult economic circumstances.
Apprenticeship Week 2009 is the chance for employers to share the many benefits that Apprenticeships are delivering on a daily basis for their businesses and demonstrate that apprentices ‘Make Things Happen’.
The ASE programme is specifically designed to support Apprentices in relation to their football development, however it is also there to provide them with transferable skills that will assist them within football, or as and when they move on to alternative careers.
Now embraced by a number of other sports including Rugby Union, Swimming, Golf and Cricket the ASE programme has real value and importance for Government as a way of highlighting best practice within Apprenticeships.
The programme is designed to compliment the technical development work being carried out by the football coaching staff to produce a skilled and educated youth group. The success of the scheme has gone from strength to strength, 88% of Football League Apprentices achieved the full framework of qualifications last season.
Notable successes have included Mark Beevers (Sheffield Wednesday) Joe Mills & Matthew Paterson (Southampton), Terry Gornell (Tranmere Rovers), Ryan Bennett (Grimsby Town) and Joe Mattock (Leicester City) while other graduates from the scheme play throughout The Football League with some, like Chris Gunter (ex Cardiff City), having moved to Premier League clubs.
