Leading Midlands training provider Performance Through People (PTP) is helping the Department for Education (DFE) to deliver a series of webinars on the benefits of apprenticeships in the workplace.

The webinars follow the recent announcement by the DFE that PTP received recognition in the Top 50 Apprentice Employers Awards.

Gill Durkin, business executive at PTP, part of the BCTG Group, is leading the webinars which are aimed at audiences of employers who might be interested in taking on apprentices.

Joining Ms Durkin on the webinars is Charlotte Pearson, a business development advisor at PTP who is currently working towards a Customer Service Specialist Level 3 apprenticeship.

Also on the PTP webinar team are Ben Wilson and Honey Warner, who are both working towards Customer Service Practitioner Level 2 apprenticeships.

Ms Durkin said: “We’re thrilled to have been invited by the DFE to help them spread the great news about how taking on apprentices can do so many things for employers.

“To start with, in most cases the training costs for delivering apprenticeships are met through funding, which means while employers pay new recruits’ salaries they won’t have to face the full training costs.

“Secondly, taking on apprentices and giving them quality training is an excellent way for employers to fill vacancies and is especially valuable in areas where they are facing a skills gap.

“In short, developing skills in new apprentices is a case of ‘growing your own’ and taking an active step at creating the skills workforce that any employer may need.

“Thirdly – and just as importantly – employers are giving people who are keen to work the chance of training, skills and potential full-time employment once they are qualified.”

Ms Durkin explained that the first in the new series of webinars took place on 3 November and went really well, with PTP’s apprentices all taking an active part.

She added: “It’s all very well me telling employers about the benefits of apprentices, but the really valuable part of the webinar was hearing from Charlotte, Ben and Honey themselves.

“They were all so enthusiastic and did a great job of showcasing how apprenticeships have worked in their own cases, giving them a structed career path for the future.”

The PTP team was joined in the webinar by representatives from the DFE and two other employers called Intellect and Redeye who were also in the Top 50.

Anthony Knowles, head of employer insight for apprenticeships at the DFE, said: “This is a new and incredibly important piece of work for us to help spread the word to small businesses so that they can benefit from apprenticeships.

“Hearing from the top SME employers like PTP who are walking the walk is the best way to engage others, and we simply couldn’t do this without them.”

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For further information, please contact:

Gill Durkin, Business Executive

Phone: 01543 460050  Mobile: 07734 814905

Email: gill@ptp-training.co.uk

www.ptp-training.co.uk

Prepared and issued by ASAP PR – 07990 978257.

Note to editors:

PTP Training Ltd is part of the BCTG Group, a West Midlands-based training organisation which supports almost 10,000 young people and adults each year.

The group has ten sites in Birmingham, the Black Country, Staffordshire and Newcastle-under-Lyme, and also includes The Apprenticeship Works, BCTG Ltd, Eurosource Solutions and Further Training.

Overall, the group offers 166 different types of apprenticeship, 84 different adult upskilling and reskilling courses and 27 pre-apprenticeship programmes for 16 to 18-year-olds. These include everything from healthcare and early years care to construction, engineering, manufacturing and logistics, through to business skills in IT, management and team leading.