News

The last 12 months have been challenging for employers everywhere, but they have been doubly challenging for employers in Northern Ireland. Not only have they had to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions, but they’ve also had Brexit and the fallout from that to contend with.

An expert panel of social care and social work professionals were brought together in a webinar to discuss the findings of a new report published by The Open University. The report, The path forward for social care in England, is based on a survey of 500 leaders from across adult social care and social work. The report offers five recommendations for the future of the sector in England.

Employers in England have a renewed appetite for apprenticeships and work-based learning this year. Almost three quarters (70%) say apprenticeships will be vital to their recovery from the disruption caused by COVID-19, with 72% planning to take on more apprentices over the next 12 months. This approach is supported by the fact that 66% of employers who embraced apprenticeships during the pandemic say it enabled them to recover more quickly. These are some of the many positive findings from the Build The Future Apprenticeship Survey, a new report from The Open University (OU) that explores the outlook for apprenticeships in the coming months.

The Open University, in association with The 5% Club, commissioned a survey of over 600 employers in England about their plans for apprenticeships in the coming months. The polling was conducted in January 2021 amongst small and large businesses from across the private, public and third sector.

Apprenticeships enable quicker COVID recovery for English business

Appetite for apprenticeships and work-based learning on the rise amongst English employers in the wake of the COVID vaccine.

Working in partnership with The Open University (the OU), North Yorkshire Police (NYP) is building a modern, skilled and diverse workforce.

The Open University is today calling for significant reform in adult social work and social care to aid the sectors’ recovery from COVID-19. 

Announced last week, the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers is the new national league table showcasing England’s outstanding apprenticeship employers.

Organisations need to start thinking about learning differently. They need to think of it as a benefit, something that benefits them, benefits individuals and teams, and also benefits society as a whole. That is the central theme of a new whitepaper, Closing the opportunity gap: The economic drivers for learning as a benefit, produced by The Open University and Uber, in association with TrainingZone.

The Open University's Apprenticeships Ambassador, Laura Burley, reports back on her contribution to a recent webinar hosted by Amazing Apprenticeships.