News

The Open University (OU) is marking National Apprenticeship Week with new insights on how employers value apprenticeships and the benefits they offer in diversifying the workforce.

Local authorities, like most organisations, require a range of skillsets across a diverse workforce.

Frankie didn’t have a good experience of school and became a qualified dance teacher when he left. Later, he took over the dance business. Frankie later joined the railway industry as a driver and enjoyed it, but soon aspired to become a manager.

Apprenticeship Week is taking place in Wales soon (February 7-13). To mark the week-long event, The Open University (OU) spoke to Stephanie Williams, a project manager in the second year of a Degree Apprenticeship to find out how it’s going, why she chose to study for the apprenticeship and what she hopes to achieve as a result.

When Martyn Carroll left school at 16, he didn’t realise he had dyslexia and simply thought higher education wasn’t for him. He’s now proving just what he’s capable of thanks to a degree apprenticeship with The Open University and South Western Railway.

Ever since she was a child, Fola Yusuf-Adewuyi wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a nurse. Years later, and now a mum of three herself, Fola is living her dream and is one of the first Nursing Associates to qualify through an innovative Open University apprenticeship.

South Western Railway has a substantial workforce – around 5,500 people performing a whole range of jobs, from train drivers to customer service to HR. Many of those colleagues have worked for the company for a long time and have a deep knowledge base, but as they move into more senior roles, they don’t always have formal management training. 

The first Nurse Associates have qualified from Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT), through its new Nursing Academy in partnership with The Open University (OU).

Euan Murning first heard about the Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF) from the membership body Scottish Care. Once he explored it further and learned more about the opportunity – funded training up to the value of £5,000 – it didn’t take him long to decide that it was an excellent prospect for him and his staff. “You don’t often get the chance to access high quality training that is funded,” he says.

As COP26 leaves its mark it's clear we are entering a pivotal time in terms of the climate change emergency, with implications for Learning & Development and HR leaders to support their employees through potential future change and disruption.