Independent training providers deliver in excess of 70% of apprenticeships across the country and have been at the forefront of government efforts in recent years to increase the number of people using vocational education as a route to employment.

Graham Hoyle, chief executive of the Association of Employment & Learning Providers commented:  "The latest official statistics show that right across the board, apprenticeships are playing a key role in lifting skill levels in the UK workforce and giving thousands of young people a successful start to their careers in manufacturing and service sectors."

Mr Hoyle added: "I am confident that when they review all the evidence in their new inquiry, MPs on the BIS select committee will conclude that government funding of the apprenticeship programme is proving to be good value for money.

"Amidst all the doom and gloom surrounding the economic outlook, employers and providers deserve major credit for significantly increasing the number of apprenticeship places and for offering quality training when they have to contend with higher costs on their businesses."

Twin Employment & Training are proud to be taking part in the resurgence of apprenticeships by offering young people in the south London area a variety of apprenticeship options.

Check out the programmes offered by Twin Employment & Training for more information.

Beth O'Shea, director of Twin Group's employment and training division, said: "Twin will be providing support to Families in the South West region of England. We have an excellent track record in the welfare-to-work industry over the past ten years and we are looking to build on it with this new programme. Our innovative service delivery method will harness the expertise of voluntary sector organisations and charities to provide specialist support where it's needed most."

The programme is hoped to make a large contribution to the Government's stated priority of helping 120,000 of the most troubled families in England improve their circumstances.

Chris Grayling, Minister for Employment, said of the programme:

"This will be a big part of the work we do to tackle the challenge of troubled families. The organisations taking part in this programme are staking their own money on their ability to turn the lives of these people around.

"This is our second big payment by results project, and demonstrates clearly that there is a real commitment out there to deliver social change and to help people do much better with their lives."

The initiative, which covers families in England with at least one person on out-of-work benefits, is being backed by £200m in funding from the European Social Fund, money the UK receives from the European Union each year.

Support measures involved in the programme include:

• Skills to help people find work such as CV writing, job preparation, timekeeping, problem solving
• Tackling family issues - support for parenting, role models, support for needs children may have, working with schools
• Social and economic issues - debt management, money management, how to look for work
• Health and housing issues - alcohol or drug abuse, working with health agencies, issues around accommodation
• Helping those who are in work to stay in work and progress
• Identifying suitable employment opportunities and helping people get into work
• Helping to move people into the Work Programme

Local authorities will decide which eligible families are referred to the support programme.

Speaking at ERSA's annual conference in London, attended by over 250 delegates, chief executive, Kirsty McHugh said:

"There has been much coverage in recent weeks about how the voluntary sector is faring under the Work Programme. Our membership, half of which is from the voluntary sector, is telling us that this is a complicated issue and that there is also much good practice. Many concerns emanate from the speed and nature of the procurement process, which puts pressure on all parties, and more recently the lack of Employment Support Allowance (ESA) referrals to the Work Programme, a disproportionate number of which would normally go to voluntary sector suppliers because of their specialist skills.

"ERSA is working to ensure that the entire industry takes positive steps to strengthen and streamline supply chain processes and communication to jobseekers. This is why we are today unveiling our Supply Chain Ten Point Plan and calling on government, prime contractors and voluntary sector umbrella organisations to work with us to make this a reality."

For more information about ERSA's ten point plan, click here

The money will support 18 Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) with a range of employer designed and led skills solutions.

Charlie Mayfield, chairman of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, said: "Over the past two decades governments of all hues have driven reform and expansion of the country's vocational skills system, with some notable successes.  But the fact is we've become less competitive globally on skills, and for many employers the 'system' is just too complex.

"The answer lies in moving away from grant funding to investing in employer led skills solutions, building the capacity and capability for employers to take ownership of the skills agenda.  By working within their supply chains, through business clusters, and with unions, colleges and training providers they can develop the skills they need.  That is what this funding is intended to promote."

The fund will be divided between a range of sectors including manufacturing which will receive almost £15m; the service sector which will receive almost £16m and the creative and digital sector which will receive over £13m.  The funding will start in April 2012 and last until March 2014.

The guidelines also outline appropriate remuneration rates that companies should offer to interns.

Arts Council chief executive Alan Davey said: "We firmly believe that arts and culture will benefit from the new ideas and perspectives presented by a workforce drawn from all sectors of society. Well-planned, paid internships have a role to play in bringing about this change by helping people from all backgrounds gain experience of working in the arts."

The conditions and pay offered to interns has been a controversial subject in recent months with MPs voicing concerns about transparency of recruitment for highly sought-after internship positions, as well as the unpaid status of some interns.

To read the full recommendations from the 'Internships in the Arts' guidelines, click here

The increase in the annual turnover to £24.6 billion, an increase of 25.3 per cent, compares to £19.7 billion in the same period the financial year 2009/2010. More recent data from agencies confirms that the growth has decelerated- reflecting ongoing economic uncertainty. However, the results of the REC's Annual Industry Trends Survey indicate the industry has an innate ability to come back stronger from the current difficult economic conditions.

The survey also found that:

• Turnover in temporary/contract staffing has returned to 2006/2007 levels at £22 billion compared to its low point last year of £17.8 billion, a rise of 24.1 per cent.
• Permanent recruitment also rallied to reach £2.5 billion in the past year, a massive 37 per cent increase on £1.8 billion recorded in 2009/10.
• Volumes of perms placements rose by 38.3 per cent from 436,822 last year to 604,193 in 2010/11 while temp placements were up 19.3 per cent and top the million mark again at 1,049, 333 compared to 879, 000 last year.
• The number of people working in recruitment has gone up 13.1 per cent from 80,528 last year to 91,114 this year.

Commenting on the data, Kevin Green, the REC's Chief Executive, said:

"These results once again demonstrate the resilience of the UK recruitment industry. The 25 per cent swing over the past year means the industry has reclaimed much of the ground lost during the recession. The upsurge of temporary assignments to more than a million again underlines the value of flexible working patterns for both employers and jobseekers.

"The market remains tough for our members as the growth in sales has been accompanied by increased pressure on margins. Despite the inevitable focus on cost control, it is crucial for UK businesses to recognise the importance of sustainability of supply and quality of provision. This is a message the REC will continue to take forward in our dialogue with employers and business organisations."

Sir Alex is known for his track record in developing young talent during his managerial career and now he is appealing to UK employers to do the same.

Commenting on his address to the Unite/Cogent conference in Manchester on November 4, Sir Alex said: ""Over a long period in our industry, apprenticeships have been neglected and that has to change.

"Great Britain was admired throughout the world for its ability to produce quality through the craftsmanship of its workforce and now is the time to bring about a regeneration of those times.

"Apprenticeships offer that opportunity for business to build from within their own confines and create an atmosphere of loyalty and continuity."

Unite assistant general secretary for manufacturing, Tony Burke, who will also be speaking at the event, says: "Unite believes that even in this grim economic climate manufacturing and science- based companies need to invest in the future through ensuring they take on apprentices, and upskill and train their workforce.

"Apprenticeships today will translate into the skilled workforce of tomorrow. That should be our goal for the future viability of British manufacturing and our science based industries."

Cogent is the sector skills council that covers chemicals, pharmaceuticals, oil, gas and nuclear energy.

The Index also showed that employer demand is up by 23% compared to the same period last year.

The growth in job numbers was most pronounced in Wales (index up 12 points), London (+10) and Scotland (+10), but even the slowest-growing regions (East Anglia, North East England, North West England) registered rises of 6 points.

Charities and the voluntary sector saw a huge rise of 43 points on the Index, with IT and telecoms the second highest riser (index up 24 points) and transport and logistics in third place (+19). The banking industry, energy, engineering, estate agency, general insurance, purchasing, scientific, social care and training all registered rises of over 10 points.

The energy and estate agency sectors lead salary increases with seven points each.

Martin Warnes, managing director of reed.co.uk, says: "We do need to be careful not to get carried away by one month's figures, especially as this increase only brings us back to the level of demand for new staff that the UK was experiencing in the spring. 

"Nevertheless, the rise suggests a return of employer optimism to a level not seen for the last eight months."

The full data of the October Jobs Index can be found here: http://www.reed.co.uk/resources/downloads/ReedJobIndexOctober2011Report.pdf

She said: "I found out about WorldSkills by accident, I was on-line and an advert popped up and I thought it looked really interesting. I applied and then learnt about the course, which, to me, was even better.

"When I've volunteered at events before it's always been as a steward or doing customer service but this time I wanted to really stretch myself and I've been given the role of Hostess to the team from Jamaica which I'm thrilled about.

"My job is to look after the team, make sure they're happy and if any problems arise sort them out straight away. I've never done anything like this before but I'm very excited and so pleased I've pushed myself to do something different.

"The tutors on the course have been fantastic; they are always on hand to help when needed. I've really enjoyed the course and now the final bit is just round the corner!

"Although I'm a bit nervous I really can't wait and I know I'm going to come back from my 11 days away at WorldSkills a different woman. I'm ready to get back to work and I know this will be invaluable experience for me. I want to try something adventurous and exciting and this is just the thing to put my CV out there."

Ms Fauche volunteered at WorldSkills 2011 as part of Twin Employment & Training's Event Volunteering Programme, a vocational-based course to help develop the personal and professional skills of jobseekers.

To find out more about the course, visit  /learners/programmes/event-volunteering-programme

Other claimants eligible to volunteer for the Work Programme who are not subject to work-related activity can opt to attend an information session, such as those in the Support group.

The plan also aims to give providers greater ability to reach individual claimants who may not be aware of the support they can access, and help providers to manage their resources more effectively.

The government is introducing the information sessions on a phased basis, starting with the east midlands (contract package area 2) on 24 October with national coverage expected by the end of November 2011.

The Government hopes these information sessions will also encourage partnership working between providers and job centres at a local level.

Twin Group has recently won a government contract to deliver employment services to families with multiple difficulties in the south west of England.

The CA programme was instigated in 2008 and consists of vocational as well as theory-based qualifications at Level 2 or 3.

The latest intake of apprentices is expected to deliver a net gain of £2.4m to the UK economy over the next ten years with expected net gains of some £16.4m for the next five intakes to the CA programme.

Surveys, conducted as part of the report, also showed that 79% of employers believe that CAs made a significant contribution to their business.

Pauline Tambling, joint chief executive of Creative & Cultural Skills, the skills council responsible for the delivery of CAs, said: "Employers are now seeing the real economic benefits of apprenticeships. Young people who have completed apprenticeships are ahead of the game when it comes to developing a wider skill set, formal workplace training and an understanding of business."

Tambling added: "With youth unemployment and tuition fees both at a high, the future development of new apprenticeship frameworks, including at Levels 4 and above, is likely to play a significant role in the success of the creative and cultural industries in the UK."

Uncertainty in the global labour market due to tough economic conditions and demographic shifts has led many companies to turn to the expertise of recruitment companies to manage their fluctuating staff needs.

Commenting on the research, Fred Van Haasteren, Ciett President said:

"The report demonstrates that private employment services create jobs that would not otherwise exist: three-quarters of user organisations do not consider hiring permanent workers as an alternative to agency work. In fact, private employment services reduce structural unemployment - by creating more work opportunities for more people - as well as frictional unemployment by ensuring a better and faster match between supply and demand of work".

"As an industry we pledge to work in partnership with all relevant stakeholders to improve the governance and quality standards of the industry across the world and to become an active career agent for workers."

The report, "Adapting to Change: How private employment services facilitate adaptation to change, better labour markets and decent work" is based on research commissioned by Ciett and Eurociett and conducted with the support and assistance of The Boston Consulting Group. For more information on the report go to www.ciett.org.

The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company announced last weekend that it aims to engage 2% of its workforce on apprenticeships by the end of 2011.

Alan Lewis, head of engineering at Kraft Food UK & Ireland, told HR Magazine that the company has a long tradition of employing apprentices at its UK and Ireland sites.

Mr Lewis said: "The importance of apprentices to our business has been recognised through our appearance in the first ever Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers list, supported by The National Apprenticeship Service and City & Guilds. This is an exciting new initiative that recognises excellence in businesses employing apprentices, and for us as a business it is an outstanding achievement.

"Apprenticeships ensure that our workforce has the practical skills and qualifications the business needs, and at Kraft Foods, training for our apprentices includes a mix of on and off the job learning."

Kraft's decision to develop an in-house apprentice training scheme to ensure it receives a steady stream of skilled recruits follows a number of similar schemes being set up by large companies including Nestle and Virgin Media.

Judith Nelson, Tesco's UK Personnel Director, said:

"At a time when the prospect of unemployment is a genuine concern across the country, we are working hard to create employment and training opportunities.

"This year, we will be welcoming our largest ever intake of new graduates and we are equally committed to developing the careers of our existing staff through our Apprenticeship scheme."

This year's Apprenticeship scheme includes:

• Apprentices aged from 17 to 63 years-old
• The launch of the Apprenticeship programme in Wales
• 300 apprentices working across schemes in Scotland
• 300 new apprentices working on the new Dotcom operation and Telecoms schemes throughout the year

Apprenticeship schemes have been growing in popularity among British companies due to their effectiveness at securing a continuous supply of skilled workers.

Tesco's latest apprenticeship announcement comes after rival supermarket Morrisons set ambitious apprenticeship targets earlier in the year.

On award of contract later this year, Twin's Employment and Training division (TET) will be working and supporting families across the South West with a history of worklessness  and  multiple social, health and employment related barriers, to radically enhance their family 'well-being', improve their skills, and move as many as possible into sustainable work.

Twin and their partners will be working closely with the Local Authorities across the region and a range of local voluntary and specialist organisations to engage with family members and address their needs as parents, children, teenagers, and a family unit.

Beth O' Shea, Managing Director of TET, commented:  "We believe our track record in working with deprived communities and supporting them into work was key to achieving preferred bidder status for this contract against some of the UK's largest service providers. For us, this contract is both an exciting business opportunity and a chance to build on work we passionately believe in - improving the lives and careers of Britain's least privileged people."

More information on the criteria for awarding families with multiple difficulties contracts can be found here: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/supplying-dwp/what-we-buy/welfare-to-work-services/european-social-fund/

Dr Cable said: "Sustained economic recovery will depend on our ability to excel in the high tech skills that our most innovative companies need to compete in the globalised economy.

"That is why this Government is committed to skilling-up our workforce through work based training. By providing concentrated seed funding for employer led projects that attract further investment from business, we're targeting money where it will be best placed to drive growth."

Work is now being undertaken on the development of future rounds of the Growth and Innovation Fund (GIF), which will deliver up to £50m of government investment per year. An announcement will be made later this year regarding investment for 2012.

Since making the film the 12 apprentices have gone on to work with top media companies including ITV Wales, Boomerang and Ceidiog Cyf.

Recruitment for new Skillset apprentices will open next week from 3-17 October. Positions will be available in roles ranging from film and TV production to animation and interactive media will be situated in both the north and south of the country. All the information about the vacancies and how to apply can be found at www.skillset.org/uk/cymru/cdm_apprenticeship/.

Director of Skillset Cymru, Gwawr Hughes, said: "This event is a chance to see first hand the amazing, industry-standard work being produced by Wales' first generation of Skillset apprentices."

The facebook page is a forum for people from the countries taking part in the event to post messages of support for their representatives.

150,000 expected visitors at WorldSkills will see 1,000 competitors from more than 50 countries/regions competing in 46 skill areas over four days of competition.

Visitors to the event can sample dozens of skills ranging from electronics to plumbing, web design and fashion to cabinet making.

The purpose of the show is to raise awareness of the opportunities offered by skilled professions and to inspire future generations to pursue a path towards skilled work.

To view the messages already left on the facebook page or to submit your own, visit http://www.facebook.com/worldskillslondon2011?sk=app_202244813170724

SFIL is set to train just under 70 apprentices in the next 12 months, with the majority of those signing up for the scheme still involved in education.

However, 17 of the recruits will join the apprenticeships scheme following graduation from schools and colleges.

Commenting on the success of the initiative, Graham Honeyman, chief executive for SFIL, claimed it had promoted engineering as a viable career option.

"We offer our apprentices a great opportunity to pursue rewarding careers with a forward thinking company that they may not have otherwise had the opportunity to embrace," he said.

SFIL was recently granted the National Apprenticeship Awards Employer of the Year award.

Last month, a Journal Live report revealed that business heads in the north-east of the country sought financial incentives to encourage firms to take on apprentices.

David Jones, programme manager from Greater London Enterprise (GLE), said: "The whole programme has been very successful in the past. The fund is meant for those smaller organisations on the front line who can give people the sort of support that other larger groups can't give."

Last quarter on the previous programme 13,802 people took part through different organisations in participating boroughs in the capital. Of these, 2,819 had been put forward to Further and Higher Education, including National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses.

The programme is funded by boroughs giving money to London Councils, which is then matched with funds from the EU Social Fund, doubling the money spent on organisations and their projects in the boroughs.

The projects funded equip individuals with the personal and occupational skills they needs to access and compete effectively in the labour market.

The boroughs taking part are Barking & Dagenham, Barnet, City of London Corporation, Croydon, Enfield, Hammersmith & Fulham, Hillingdon, Ealing, Hounslow, Kensington & Chelsea, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark and Westminster.

The ceremony at the Grosvenor Hotel in London was hosted by Dragon's Den star Theo Paphitis and compered by comedian Russell Kane.

Karolina said of her success: "It's so amazing that I've actually won the award. It was so unexpected, I can't quite believe it!"

Karolina became an apprentice with Superdrug after taking part in a Prince's Trust Get into Retail course run by South Essex College at the Lakeside Training Centre.

The month-long course involved a two-week Retail Works qualification at the Lakeside Training Centre learning about customer service and communication skills and two weeks putting it into practice in an unpaid placement at Superdrug.

On completion of her placement in the make-up and cosmetics store, staff were so impressed with Karolina that they decided to take her on permanently. She explained: "Superdrug didn't have a vacancy but after I finished my two weeks with them they went out of their way to keep me on. Superdrug has now put me on a Health & Beauty NVQ which is amazing considering I've only been there a short space of time."

"Attitude, commitment, enthusiasm, a good friendly nature [and a] positive attitude is every bit as good as a degree," he stated.

The expert pointed out that a degree is a good qualification to have in today's competitive jobs market.

Simon Duffy, co-founder of the male grooming brand Bulldog, echoed Mr McCarthy's claims, telling the podcast that his company looks for candidates that display enthusiasm and are keen to work for the firm.

According to a spokesperson from Jobsite.co.uk, smartphones can help people looking to find work in London, as they can check job postings wherever they are.

She stated that the government is keen to boost the chances of the most disadvantaged school pupils and the extra funding is evidence of this.

"It is our responsibility to close the gulf in achievement, where the poorest children are almost three times less likely to leave school with five good GCSEs than their richer classmates," Ms Turner noted.

She added that allocation of the extra funds has not been decided but would be announced in due course.

The government also announced recently that it intends to make it easier for businesses to offer apprenticeships to school leavers.

The representative suggested that jobseekers can take advantage of a number of online options to find work in London, with smartphones giving them the ability to look for postings when they like.

"Smartphones enable people to look for jobs wherever and whenever they like and apply for jobs as soon as they get posted online, giving candidates an edge in a competitive jobs market," the spokesperson added.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills recently announced a series of measures that are to be implemented to help those looking for work.

Among the assistance being offered to the unemployed will be better careers advice and reforming the way colleges and training providers interact with people.

According to the report:

• Only 29% of claimants say they are satisfied with their experience at Jobcentre Plus (JCP).
• JCP's job search database is severely dysfunctional.

The research, conducted by Policy Exchange on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), also found that employers reported "very negative" experiences with "really inappropriate" candidates sent for interviews.

The report claims JCPs advisers are hamstrung by poor use of information, which gives them only very basic information about the claimants they are trying to help.

Policy Exchange say an effective and personalised employment service rather than a benefits office would be of greater help to those looking for work.

CommunityLink would be used to target this sort of support at those with the greatest needs from day one of a benefit claim, replicating the Australian model which focuses on making a detailed profile of claimants' needs and underlying problems.