Pictured above: Sarah Hill, Apprenticeship Team Manager at national work-based and commercial training organisation, Positive Outcomes

Professor Alison Wolf, the government's adviser on reforming vocational education for under 19's, is right to back government funding to support apprenticeships according to national work-based and commercial training organisation Positive Outcomes.

The company's Apprenticeship Team Manager Sarah Hill, says: "Apprenticeships represent the future for the UK's talent and skills base, and whilst the government has already pledged significant financial support and resource to increase employer access to apprenticeships, there is still more that can be done to educate businesses on the tangible benefits of taking on an apprentice."

In her latest review into vocational educational, Professor Wolf has recommended the government reduce the red tape and introduce funding to support apprenticeships and grow talent.

Positive Outcomes works closely with public and private sector organisations on the creation of apprenticeships and the young apprentices' ongoing development, but as Sarah explains, employers still don't full understand the process or commercial benefits:

"From experience, a young apprentice who is given the opportunity to begin a career and acquire excellent skills in the workplace, has an inherent loyalty to the business that has given them the chance.

"With this loyalty comes retention, so the business will experience a real return on investment in its apprentice.

"Candidates are often highly motivated and hungry for a career and when given the opportunity, they will respond with enthusiasm, commitment, hard work and an eagerness to learn.

"Many employers believe that apprenticeships are more suited to businesses in manufacturing or engineering, but this is not the case. We have dozens of apprentices already in place within IT, administration, customer service and service sector-based organisations. 

"The guideline for paying an apprentice is a minimum of £95 per week, although we would always encourage an employer to pay more or review the rate every three months. It is also important that employers are committed to the concept of an apprentice. They must realise an apprentice does not represent 'cheap labour', but an individual who can benefit the business and assist in achieving its operational requirements, as well as give ambitious youngsters an opportunity and starting point for their own skills development and career."

The Government recently outlined its commitment to Apprenticeships and their training in an announcement by Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning Minister John Hayes in January 2011.

John Hayes MP said: "Apprenticeships are at the heart of our skills strategy because they are valued by employers and sought after by learners. By enshrining these characteristics in statue, we send a clear message to employers and learners that every Apprenticeship is a high quality investment in the skills they need for the future."

The Government set out plans to increase annual funding for adult Apprenticeships by up to £250m above the £398m a year funding inherited from the last Government, by 2014-15. It is reforming the programme to deliver 75,000 more apprenticeships places at advanced level and above.

The training division of Positive Outcomes already employs more than 150 staff across the UK and at its head office and is currently looking to expand its Apprenticeship team this year, with two Apprenticeship Officers set to join this month.

The Positive Outcomes group of companies has a combined turnover in excess of £9million. The company has its head office just off J28 of the M1, and is ranked as one of the Top 10 of independent providers of government-funded training in the UK*. It operates across the UK and employs over 150 full time staff including a team of over eighty dedicated training and learning advisors.

* Positive Outcomes is ranked as one of the Top 10 of independent providers of government-funded training in the UK, calculated on the company's success rates for learners completing their awards based on data taken from the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) national averages for providers in England.