Our news  19 Oct 2011

New Apprenticeships Launched for Third Sector Employers

Practical Skills for Charities and Social Enterprises

Three new apprenticeships are now available to support third sector employers in successfully recruiting, training and retaining staff in roles which are key within the sector: campaigning, fundraising and volunteer management.

Whilst the third sector currently lags behind other sectors in providing apprenticeships, employers have reported that they produce a highly skilled, motivated and productive workforce, which in turn can make an organisation more sustainable, and improve its chances of successful income generation activities. (Please see “Notes to editors” for research details.) Apprentices are generally highly motivated as they have made a considered decision to join an organisation demonstrating commitment and enthusiasm for the role.

Apprenticeships offer many other important benefits for third sector employers in this difficult economic climate. They can provide an organisation’s workforce with the skills it needs because the training involved develops skills specifically designed around an employer’s needs – both for new recruits and existing employees – which in turn can improve employee retention rates and reduce training costs. Apprenticeships are an excellent way to unlock talent within the local community, and can be more cost-effective than hiring skilled staff, leading to lower overall recruitment costs. Investing in apprentices can also enhance an organisation’s reputation in the eyes of their funders, stakeholders and staff.

The three new apprenticeships will provide apprentices with recognised professional qualifications in their chosen fields. They have been launched – following extensive consultation with key third sector organisations and employers – by Skills - Third Sector, the registered charity working to make it easier for people who work and volunteer in charities and social enterprises to have the right skills to make a difference to people and their communities. They worked to develop the frameworks in partnership with a number of organisations including the Institute of Fundraising and the Association of Volunteer Managers, who are the endorsing bodies for the fundraising and volunteer management apprenticeships respectively. Skills Third-Sector has also worked very closely with Fair Train, the sectors first Group Training Association. Fair Train helps organisations within the third sector to fund, recruit and also train apprentices for the new apprenticeships. Further information can be found on the Fair Train website, http://www.fairtrain.org/. (For a full list of partners, please see “Notes to editors”.)

“These three new apprenticeships offer employers a strong basis on which to recruit and develop talented individuals who will strengthen the work of their organisations for now and tomorrow,” says Keith Mogford, interim chief executive of Skills – Third Sector. “They offer charities and social enterprises a way of future-proofing their workforces, ensuring they have up to date skills and diversifying their teams.”

• Keith Mogford is available for comment.

As well as benefitting third sector employers, the new apprenticeships offer further benefits to those undertaking them, including an initial route into the sector, and skills that are transferable within the sector.

• More information about these new apprenticeships can be found on the Skills – Third Sector website at: www.thirdsector.org.uk/qualifications_learning/apprenticeships/

For more media information please contact Debbie Hyde http://uk.mc285.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=debbie.hyde@oasismedia.co.uk 07956 320 486

Notes to editors

• Founded in October 2008, Skills – Third Sector is working to identify and address skills gaps and shortages for charities, voluntary groups, social enterprises and cooperatives. It is working with Sector Skills Councils to open up learning opportunities for voluntary sector paid staff and volunteers, and is ensuring the sector's needs are properly considered and addressed in the design and development of national occupational standards, qualifications and apprenticeships. The Office of Civil Society (OCS) in the Cabinet Office and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) are providing initial funding for Skills – Third Sector.

• For more general information about Skills – Third Sector and its work, please visit: http://www.skills-thirdsector.org.uk/

• In research conducted in 2008 by Populus on behalf of the Learning Skills Council to launch the first National Apprenticeship Week, 76 % of employers said that apprenticeships provided higher overall productivity. See National Apprenticeships Service website: www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Employers/The-Benefits.aspx

• The partners who worked with Skills – Third Sector to develop the new apprenticeships frameworks were the Association of Volunteer Management; the Institute of Fundraising; the National Apprenticeship Service; Fair Train; EdExcel; EDI and Groundwork UK.