Lord Digby Jones future vision recognised by QA Apprentices recent visit to Microsoft UK HQ
Apprentices get inspired by future technologies and Lord Digby Jones urges employers to recognise apprentices as the future.
Last week an excited group of young people arrived at Microsoft UK HQ in Reading and had a unique opportunity to gain an insight into Microsoft’s future technology and strategies. Ben Pike, QA Director explains “This is all part of a tailored IT apprenticeship programme that QA has developed, in conjunction with e-skills UK and Microsoft, to address the needs of Microsoft partners for skilled young people to join their workforce.”
The apprentices clearly found the visit to Microsoft inspiring. Harriet Lester said, “The visit showed me just how amazing technology of the future will be and I really want to be part of that.” Another apprentice Dominique Yeung, who is working for Microsoft partner RND Systems Integration, stated, “This programme with QA is already giving me new skills and experiences, and with this visit to Microsoft it has really inspired me to make the most of this opportunity.”
A few days later Lord Digby Jones the former CBI director and Minister of State for Trade, gave his backing* to the Microsoft partner apprenticeship programme saying, “I see this as a very modern 21st century value-added alternative to higher education.” He urged employers to get onboard with the scheme stating that “We’ve got to get people on the page to where tomorrow is - and this scheme is definitely there.”
Employers who are engaging with the scheme are also recognising the vital role QA’s apprenticeship programme can play in meeting IT resource needs. Troy Trewin, CEO of Responsible IT represents the views of many employers up and down the UK when he commented, “We are delighted to be involved in this programme and see apprentices as a key part of our future recruitment and capability planning.” In fact a recent employer survey indicated that over 75% of employers see apprenticeships as a growing part of their resourcing strategy.
Microsoft want to reach an ambitious target of over 3000 IT apprenticeships by 2012. The scheme is fully funded by the government for 16-18 year olds and provides a unique opportunity for employers and young people to prepare for the future. “QA is delighted to see such universal backing for the programme and we expect many more employers to get involved with the scheme in the coming months,” concluded Ben Pike.
*source People Management
Survey by Employer research by Populus Feb 2008