ConstructionSkills has announced the roll out of its innovative Programme Led Apprenticeships (PLA) scheme following a successful two-year pilot, with a target of 3,000 apprentice placements by the end of 2008.

Originally designed to help thousands of young people on full-time college courses, the scheme will help train and qualify greater numbers of new entrants by overcoming the current lack of on-site training experience and offering more employers the opportunity to support an apprentice.

Instead of requiring apprentices to work with an employer for a two year period on a day or block release basis to attain NVQ Level 2, as with the traditional apprenticeship, a Programme Led Apprenticeship allows young people to first spend two years on a construction-based college course. During this time, they gain their Intermediate Construction Award (ICA) and Key Skills Level 1, before completing the practical aspects required to attain NVQ Level 2 through a continuous placement of 9-12 months with an employer. Financial incentives, including CITB Grant, are available to employers to support them in taking on an apprentice.

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Currently, some 42% of colleges across England and Wales state that some of their construction trainees will fail to qualify to full NVQ level due to a lack of suitable employer work placements, and ConstructionSkills own Apprenticeships scheme is over-subscribed by approximately 34,000 potential apprentices a year restricting the pace of skilled industry growth.

By providing an alternative training structure to employers, Programme Led Apprenticeships supports last month's Government announcement that by 2013 they want to see more young people continuing in post-16 training and education. PLAs will help to deliver Lord Leitch's recommendations for improving UK skills, including a target of 500,000 young people on apprenticeships across all sectors by 2020.

(CL)