With the new year upon us, we have a significant number of immediate vacancies across the country to support our growth, ranging from Academy Managers, Recruitment Executives, Trainers and Assessors.
If you are a motivated individual looking for your next move, we would be excited to hear from you.
If you wish to discuss these vacancies, don’t hesitate to contact Peter Marples on 07979 857438

Coming Soon -
Over the past few months, NITP has been working with a range of employers to develop the above Apprenticeship.
We will be launching this Apprenticeship in April at a location near to you.
If you are interested in this Apprenticeship, contact Peter Marples in the first instance on 07979 857438.

Aspire Achieve Advance Limited have been working with the NUS Apprentice Extra Team to enable our Gold Standard IT Apprentices and Accountancy Apprentices to apply for this opportunity.
NITP and AAP apprentices can now reap the benefits with many discounts on offer from Retailers such as Amazon and Ticketmaster. For find our more information on the NUS Apprentice Extra Card please visit www.apprenticeextra.co.uk

We welcome the publication last week of the discussion document on Traineeships and the proposal to introduce these with effect from September 2013. It will provide an added offer for young people as they progress into the world of work.

As a major provider of Apprenticeship programmes to young people, the concept of Traineeships is to be welcomed. There are however some important issues that need to be considered prior to implementation including
-    Ensuring traineeships do not dilute the Apprenticeship and indeed results in employers engaging with traineeships because they are likely to be free of charge – there really does need to be safeguard in place to protect learners and employers in this regard
-    Benefits – ensuring the impact on benefits is considered thoughtfully for learners, particularly those 19 – 24 who should be able to retain their entitlement to some form of benefit
-    Sectoral focus – ensuring  Traineeships have some form of sectoral focus and element – at the moment, they are designed to be very generic and may result in little added value
-    Funding – ensuring funding only supports those trainees who ultimately do progress quickly into an Apprenticeship and ensuring funding opportunities are afforded to all providers to engage in this scheme

Finally it is important that Schools engage in the process of Traineeships, identifying the most appropriate course of progression for 16 – 18 year olds, rather than the traditional pathways of A levels and subsequently University.

With sound implementation, Traineeships will provide an enhanced stream of progression for young people, ultimately supporting them into the world of employment and skills development

For further information about our comments, please contact Peter Marples at petermarples@3aaa.co.uk

In November 2012, two of NiTP Tamworth’s IT Apprentices headed off to Rome, Italy with their employer Gen2 Systems to undertake a work contract as part of their apprenticeship.
Gen 2, based in Fazeley, Tamworth are an Aviation Software Development Company. They have been in operation for 6 years with the Aviation project running for 18 months.
Adam Hancox (18) and Damion Wright (16) joined NiTP Tamworth’s Level 3 Gold Standard Advanced Apprenticeship in IT in October 2012 in conjunction with South Staffordshire College. Within a month of them starting at Gen 2 they were offered the chance to undertake the month long contract in Italy with their supervisor.
The contract based at an aviation site in northern Rome involved auditing & digitalising the maintenance history of 7 aircraft, by scanning documentation and then encrypting using OCR software to digitalise the text and images.
The contract initially being for 2 weeks, was soon extended to 4 weeks due to the volume of work that needed to be done.
Adam & Damion were staying all expense paid at the Marriott Hotel in Rome. Alongside the work contract and the 9-5 working day, the apprentices managed to make the most of what Rome had to offer! They took time in the evenings and at weekends to do some sight-seeing of the city of Rome.
They went to see the Coliseum, The Vatican City, St Peters Basilica, the Plaza’s and streets of Rome, as well as the shops! The highlight for both of them being the Coliseum.
Both apprentices learnt a lot from the contract and are now looking forward to the rest of their Gold Standard Apprenticeship with NiTP.
www.nitp.co.uk

A new partnership between the National Skills Academy for IT, training provider NITP, and leading apprenticeship employer BT, has created 100 new apprentice jobs for young people with small to medium sized employers. A further 450 roles are planned for 2013.
The 100 apprentices will benefit from training quality assured by BT, which will be delivered by NITP at their local Further Education colleges in Liverpool, Tamworth, Oxford, Nottingham and St. Albans.
The 100 new recruits will get to pilot the IT Gold Standard Apprenticeship – a new programme which is being designed to help apprentices integrate into the workplace and gain technical and professional skills more quickly. This means they will work towards clearly defined, in-demand job roles and trial a personal development experience, comprising a ‘virtual campus’ website and employer-supported events.
Karen Price, e-skills UK CEO, said: “We are delighted that, through this new partnership with BT and NITP, 100 new jobs have been created for young people in IT roles that are in high demand among employers. Making the recruitment of apprentices by smaller organisations an easier and more attractive option is helping them develop the skilled workforce needed to drive their businesses forward.”
A further 450 new apprenticeship roles are planned for 2013. These will be in the five current locations, plus Bedford, Portsmouth and Walsall initially, followed by Birmingham and Milton Keynes later in the year.
The partnership received co-investment from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills via the Growth and Innovation Fund.

We note with disappointment this morning the announcement by Pearson in Practice to cease their operations for IT and Digital Media Learners but note their commitment to maintain continuity of learning and to transfer learners to other providers.
If you are a learner or employer who is uncertain about maintaining your training or ensuring your apprentice is supported appropriately, please contact Peter Marples or Di McEvoy-Robinson. We will be pleased to see how NITP can support any transition to maintain high quality learning.
With centres spread across England, and as the preferred partner for the IT GOLD Standard Apprenticeship, we would be keen to support you at this uncertain time.
We can be contacted on:
Peter Marples 07979857438
Di McEvoy 07903503462