What is it?
National Apprenticeship Week is designed to celebrate Apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals and businesses.
Thanks to the support of our partners, National Apprenticeship Week 2013 was hugely successful in raising the positive profile of Apprenticeships, with nearly 1000 events and activities taking place, generating record levels of media coverage.
If you would like more information on the highlights of National Apprenticeship Week 2013 please watch this video. You can also read more here.
What are the objectives for the week?
The objectives of National Apprenticeship Week 2014 are to:
Increase awareness, understanding and demand for Apprenticeships.
Celebrate Apprenticeship talent, skills, achievements and successes.
Promote all Apprenticeship levels and progression routes, including Traineeships
What is the theme for the week?
The overarching theme for National Apprenticeship Week 2014 is:
Great Apprenticeships
“Great Businesses” are made by apprentices and Apprenticeships lead to “Great Prospects.”
It is about demonstrating that Apprenticeships are great for businesses, personal careers and creating opportunities for both employers and apprentices. It also links to the wider government “GREAT” campaign which is designed to promote the range of support available to businesses.
How can stakeholders prepare for the week?
Download the toolkit
We have produced 5 toolkits which are available to download now from apprenticeships.org.uk. We have listened to feedback received last year and produced one shorter toolkit for each of our 5 main stakeholder groups, instead of a single toolkit for all audiences. The toolkits are for:
Apprentices and former apprentices
The toolkits contain lots of practical advice and ideas to help organisations plan their own events and activities. This also includes key messages and social media themes and guidance.
A range of supporting documents is available. These documents include a template letter/ release, web copy, media invitation, PR guidance, social media guide, filming guidance and a made by apprentices photography brief.
Our merchandise site is now live and allows you to order a range of resources for the week, many of which are free of charge. ‘Ready to go’ merchandise, such as mugs, pens, stickers and badges are available to purchase, as well as free customisable downloads. You also have the option to add your logo, event details and activity description to a range of materials, such as posters, flyers, invitations and banners.
The pledgeometer
To mark National Apprenticeship Week 2014, we have launched a pledgeometer for the first time. The pledgeometer allows employers to pledge apprentice job vacancies in the run up to, and during the week. On 7th March, the final day of National Apprenticeship Week 2014, the National Apprenticeship Service will publish a list of all employers who have made a pledge on the Apprenticeships website, and celebrate the overall number of pledges in their PR. If an employer does not wish to be listed on our website, or included in any of the associated PR, they can specify this on the pledgeometer form.
Online submission form
National Apprenticeship Week supporters can use the online submission form to submit details of the events they are planning for National Apprenticeship Week 2014. When submitting an event you can chose whether or not you wish your event to be included in the online calendar of events. This calendar also allows people to search for events happening near them. Please complete the submission form, (even if you don’t want your event or activity to appear on our website), so it will still count towards the final events tally for the week.
