The offer is worth up to £600 for small and medium-sized employers who commit to taking on an apprentice during the week, which runs from 6th to 10th February.
Laraine Moody, CRC assistant principal in charge of employment and skills, said the offer was designed to help smaller businesses who might be reluctant to take on an apprentice because of the fees involved.
“CRC is one of the biggest providers of apprenticeship programmes in the eastern region and we know one of the stumbling blocks for employers is the amount they have to pay up front to take on an apprentice,” she said.
“The advantages of having an apprentice are well documented, providing a real benefit to companies, but at this time of year businesses are feeling the pinch so we thought the offer to waive the fees on many of our programmes would be a good way to mark National Apprenticeship Week.
“Apprentices have been rightly described as ‘the gold standard for excellence in vocational training’ and we hope to encourage more employers to come forward by giving them a helping hand.”
The college, which has one of the most successful apprenticeship programmes in the country, works with 700 employers and currently has nearly 2,200 apprentices in training.
Next week it will be taking the apprenticeship message out into the community with a number of events, including talks and free bacon rolls for customers at Ridgeons in Cromwell Road on Monday, when apprenticeship advisers will be on hand to talk to employers.
For more information, or to take up the no-fees offer, call CRC’s employment training team on 01223 418778 or email training@camre.ac.uk
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MEDIA ENQUIRIES
For more information, please contact Lynn O’Shea, Communications & PR Manager, on 01223 418773 or email loshea@camre.ac.uk