Helpline set up for out-of-work apprentices
the £294m development that will be built in the city centre
A NATIONAL helpline has been set up for apprentices who have lost their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The service, launched by the Department for Education, will provide apprentices with access to financial, legal, health and wellbeing support while they are out of work.
The Redundancy Support Service for Apprentices hopes to help apprentices who have lost their jobs search and apply for other available apprenticeship opportunities across the UK.
It comes after data this week revealed that apprenticeship starts in May dropped by 60 per cent compared with the same month last year - from 22,300 in 2019 to just 9,000 this year.
Government figures released in June also revealed that apprenticeship starts dropped by nearly half during the first two months of lockdown compared with the same period last year.
The new online and telephone service will offer free advice to apprentices who have been made redundant or think they may be in the future. A recent YouGov poll, carried out for the Sutton Trust, found that 61pc of employers say their apprentices have lost out on learning or work experience as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Respondents said more than a third (36pc) have been furloughed, around one in thirteen (8pc) have been made redundant and 17pc have had their off-the-job learning suspended. Gillian Keegan, minister for apprenticeships and skills, said: “Covid-19 has had a big impact on business and the jobs market, and we know that some apprentices have lost their jobs or are facing redundancy as a result.”