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Apprenticeship Program 'Breaks' into Merseyside

Posted by: Creative Break

Date added: Wed 08 Sep 2010

Young people in Liverpool will this week be offered an exciting opportunity to ‘break’ into the creative industries as the Creative Break Apprenticeship programme launches across Merseyside.

Creative Break, which went live across Merseyside yesterday, following the hugely successful launch of the programme within Manchester, is aimed at young people looking to start a career in the creative industry.

The programme is a partnership between public sector Apprenticeship support organisations and Merseyside’s ‘creative industries’, to generate administration vacancies within the creative sector and carve out multiple opportunities for talented, young individuals.

Funded primarily by Skills Solutions and supported by the National Apprenticeship Service, the programme is aiming to readdress a shortage of opportunities within the creative industry for young people.

Apprentices will be given training in essential skills to prepare them for life in a busy agency or marketing department. Employers who participate in the programme stand to gain huge business benefits by recruiting a full time administration apprentice from as little as £5,000 per annum as part of the Apprenticeship Training Agency (ATA) initiative.

Matt Johnson, CEO of Mando Group and a supporter of the Creative Break Merseyside programme, commented: “The Creative Break programme offers an amazing opportunity for employers and young people. It’s a well known fact that a great administrator is an essential part of any creative team. So to be given access to a bright, qualified and specifically trained individual for less than £5,000 per year who could fulfil that role, is an exciting prospect.

“It’s so important that we capture young talent, particularly within the creative industry and provide opportunities to as many young people as possible trying to get a foot on the career ladder – Creative Break helps to achieve both of these goals.”

Sandy Lindsay, Group MD at Tangerine Public Relations, who is leading the programme, said: “The response to the Creative Break programme in Manchester has been overwhelming. We’ve generated almost one hundred expressions of interest from businesses looking to recruit an apprentice and two hundred and sixteen young people have registered with the scheme – we absolutely want to mirror this success across Merseyside.

“It has always been our aim to roll the programme out across the UK, following the initial pilot in Manchester, and with the creative sector growing across Merseyside year on year, it seemed like the perfect location to extend the programme.”

Businesses already committed to supporting Creative Break in Merseyside include: Mando, Paver Smith, Active Profile, Ripple Effect, Merseyside ACME, Planet Confidential and Tangerine PR.

To learn more or register an interest, businesses should visit www.creativebreak.info
 

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