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DON’T WASH Y OUR HANDS Apprentices will be key to your recovery once the COVID-19 crisis is over. Most are young, resilient, full of energy and new ideas. The Government is providing a package of support to help employers retain staff at risk of redundancy. Please use this support to protect your  apprentices too. OF YOUR APPRENTICES For more information on how you can support your apprentices through the Covid-19 pandemic, contact your apprenticeship provider or tim@lancsforum.co.uk , 07534 493111 Supporting & in partnership with GMLPF SUPPORTING APPRENTICESHIPS AND SKILLS IN LANCASHIRE Like many businesses the Lancashire Work Based Learning Forum (LWBLF) has had to diversify how it goes about some kind of operational normal. In the world of apprenticeships and work-based learning, like many other sectors, there has been considerable disruption and a huge amount of effort made to keep learners learning and ultimately in a job and education. The LWBLF exists to support its members and help develop the skills in the county, its members consist of Lancashire work-based learning providers proudly including Preston’s College as well as other colleges, private training providers and universities. Keeping Hold of the Future Workforce and Tomorrow’s Business Leaders Looking back when the data was coming in it was a worrying picture with a projected 500+ apprentices at risk of being made redundant, thankfully this has not yet come to fruition and with the support available to employers and individuals both regionally and from central government then we are confident that this can be kept to a minimum. There are many ways that employers are being supported to keep hold of and continue to develop their workforce, pre-apprenticeship programmes and traineeships to name a few. At LWBLF along with the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership and their Skills Hub there is a dedicated platform for this support, if you would like to know more please get in touch tim@lancsforum.co.uk. What Next for the LWBLF Our priorities have not changed. Ultimately it is about supporting our members and partners to raise the skills in Lancashire and the North West to maintain its status as a Northern Powerhouse. We work tirelessly to achieve this through various projects including an apprenticeship ambassador network which gives you and your apprentice(s) the means to showcase all things amazing about apprenticeships and the opportunity to meet likeminded employers and leaders to face the challenges (solution focused) together. Bernie Markham from the Investment & Skills Team at South Ribble Borough Council, and one of our Apprenticeship Employer Ambassadors talks about their experience of apprenticeships and what it brings to the organisation. ‘South Ribble Borough Council has a good track record of championing apprenticeships, with apprentices working in different Council departments and undertaking apprenticeship qualifications up to degree level. The Council offers structured career development opportunities via the apprenticeship training programme, combining college or university delivered training with workplace practical experience. Apprenticeships allow the Council to nurture the future talent of the organisation and assist with the succession planning of the workforce of the future. South Ribble Borough Council often receive positive feedback from their apprentices saying “becoming an apprentice is the best decision they have ever made”!’ | 26 Tim Cutler, Forum Manager