Apprenticeships 'could help bridge skills gap'
Apprenticeships have a part to play in bridging skills gaps in a range of industries on the Isle of Man, the executive director of an education foundation has said.
Olly Newton of the Edge Foundation featured on a panel at an event highlighting how the schemes could help with the growth of Manx firms on Thursday.
He said people in smaller communities such as an island, or in rural villages in the UK, needed "study and work opportunities", which would in turn bolster the economy.
Encouraging firms facing labour shortages to consider offering the schemes, he said it could be used as a "vehicle" to find staff to develop.
University College Isle of Man (UCM) teamed up with the Manx government's Skills Board to host the session as part of National Apprenticeship Week.
A strategy was recently put together by the board, which included he aims of developing the island's workforce to meet current and future needs of businesses.
Grants for the Apprenticeship and Vocational Training Assistance schemes were also increased last year to support recruitment for firms.
Mr Newton spent 12 years at the UK's Department for Education is now Executive Director Edge Foundation, which promotes the upskilling of young people through education schemes.
He said: "Across the British Isles, and globally, we've got real shortages in areas that are going to become increasingly important, like healthcare."
There was now a "much broader range of apprenticeships" in fields such as finance, IT and the creative industries, as well as the traditional construction trades, he said.
"On-the-job learning" was a "chance for businesses to pass on their knowledge to the next generation" and think about "the pipeline of staff they want in the future", he added.
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