To mark National Apprenticeship Week (23rd to 27th February 2009) ConstructionSkills celebrated the 5,800 ConstructionSkills apprentices who successfully completed their apprenticeship last year and urged businesses to continue to invest in training.

National Apprenticeship Week provides the opportunity to celebrate the achievements and raise the profile of apprentices, as well as a chance to remind employers that help is at hand for businesses who are either trying to retain their current apprentices, or hoping to take on a new one.

ConstructionSkills provides grant support to employers of up to £9,820 over the course of a 3 year apprenticeship, and have a dedicated team which works closely with both employers and apprentices throughout the training period.

With the latest Construction Skills Network report showing that in the medium to long term the industry will continue to grow it is vital despite the current economic climate that businesses continue to invest in taking on or retaining their apprentices.

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Max Hamps, Director ConstructionSkills Apprenticeships, said: "We are proud to support Apprenticeship Week. This is a tough time for both apprentices and construction firms alike, but we're doing everything we can to provide support. My message to employers is apprentices are an easy, cost-effective way of ensuring your business retains a skilled, qualified workforce, meaning you’ll be in a far better position to retain and win new business."

Hamps said many of the companies ConstructionSkills work with have been taking on apprentices for years and have become loyal and invaluable members of staff.

"Some apprentices who were recruited several years ago are now in very senior positions within companies - so have provided amazing value for money in the long-term," he added.

Apprenticeship Week is coordinated by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and runs from 23 to 27 February. The Learning and Skills Council will be celebrating the achievements of apprentices across all sectors through events, interviews, web chats and activities underlining the real benefits of apprenticeships. To find out more about Apprenticeship Week go to www.apprenticeships.org.uk.

The week’s activities form part of a broader agenda to establish apprenticeships as a mainstream option for 16-18 year olds following the Government commitment to increase the number of apprenticeships across all sectors in England to 400,000 by 2020. In addition the new Children, Skills and Learning Bill, announced in December’s Queen's Speech, if passed, will give all qualified young people a legal right to an apprenticeship from 2013. The Government has pledged to invest £1bn more in apprenticeship schemes to help apprenticeships resume their rightful position as a key vehicle for qualifying tomorrow's workforce.

(GK/JM)