The very best of what earning and learning means for learners and employers will be celebrated during the eleventh National Apprenticeship Week.

The theme for 2018’s event, running from March 5 until March 9, is ‘Apprenticeships work’.

Events will showcase the ways apprenticeships produce huge benefits for individuals, businesses, communities and the wider economy.

Sue Husband, director of the National Apprenticeships Service, has asked apprentices and employers to join together and “help celebrate the brilliance of apprenticeships”.

“Apprenticeships offer real career opportunities and National Apprenticeship Week 2018 will showcase how apprenticeships work across all industries, sectors and job roles, from school leaving age to older apprentices, “ she said.

Sue Husband

“There’s no better way to mark apprenticeship achievement than by the apprenticeship community coming together and shouting loudly about the difference apprenticeships are making.”

National Apprenticeship Week will be marked by events around the country.

There will be a special launch event at BBC Broadcasting House, hosted by the BBC’s home affairs editor Mark Easton and its director of leadership development and new talent Claire Paul.

They will celebrate the positive impact apprenticeships have had on improving social mobility.

A parliamentary reception for FE Week’s inaugural AAC Apprenticeship Awards, in conjunction with the Association of Employment and Learning Providers and the Chartered Management Institute, will also be held on the same day.

Hosted by Robert Halfon MP, the event announce the regional winners, and which nominees will go forward to the national awards.

The national award winners will be announced during a dinner at FE Week’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference in Birmingham on March 22.

Robert Halfon

Other highlights include an event at the National Gallery in London, coinciding with International Women’s Day on Thursday.

This will acknowledge the positive impact of female apprentices and discuss how to encourage women into well-paid apprenticeships.

The ‘10,000 Talks’ movement is aiming to have former and current apprentices share their experiences with ten thousand young people around the country, through talks at over 150 schools.

Graduation ceremonies will also be held throughout the week to praise apprentices who have completed their training in the past 12 months.

The skills minister Anne Milton said the week is “a chance for everyone to show their passion and commitment to apprenticeships”.

FE Week will publish a supplement alongside next week’s edition with a round-up of the highlights of National Apprenticeship Week, which will feature editorial contributions from Ms Milton.

The first National Apprenticeships Week was held in 2007 in an effort to draw more attention to the benefits of apprenticeship training around the country.

It was followed in 2009 by the launch of the National Apprenticeship Service to oversee delivery of apprenticeships.

For more information about what is on during National Apprenticeship Week, click here.

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