The document provides information from various employers around the UK on promoting apprenticeships and best practices for engagement events. It summarizes experiences from Plymouth City Council, NexteriaOne, Leeds City Council, and other organizations. Their events included school visits, career fairs, employer breakfasts, and competitions. Successful elements included giving apprentices leadership roles, tying events to broader themes like Comic Relief, and providing additional value like networking for employers. The document also provides tips for event planning, such as developing clear objectives, messaging, marketing, and using an online system to manage RSVPs.

1. National Apprenticeship
Week:
The Employer
Perspective

2. The employer experience from around the
country
Over the last 2 months we’ve
heard from employers around
the country about how they
promote Apprenticeships…
And best practice from training
providers about what they do to
engage employers in
Apprenticeships.
We’ve summarised these ideas
and some top tips for running
events
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3. Bristol

4. The Plymouth City Council Experience
The Council entered the Brathay Apprentice Challenge and
handed over the promotion of Apprenticeships to the
apprentices themselves
The apprentices delivered:
• A short film for use in promoting Apprenticeships in schools
• School visits and lunch time drop in career events for Y11 &
12
• Parent evening presence
• Job Centre Plus drop in sessions aimed at NEETs
• Employer breakfasts
• A community project as per the guidelines for the Brathay
Challenge
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5. The Plymouth City Council Experience:
Activity Grid
Date
Event
Monday 3rd
Raise awareness in schools: Develop a generic tool kit which will include a Making
Waves Plymouth DVD
(Ensuring continuity in the messages being communicated)
Tuesday 4th
Worldskills/Have A Go: (Plymouth Guild Hall)
Target 800 plus 14 to 25 year olds and parents
Wednesday 5th
Raise Awareness to Parents: Deliver Lunch and Learn Sessions for large
organisations, link into parents evenings, Parents event linked into Making Waves (trail
within the aquarium)
Thursday 6th
Employer Day: Drinks and Canapés in Council House, Evening dinner talk event, PCC
Apprentices to run Employer engagement drop in at City Business Centre's
Friday 7th
Unemployed & NEET Groups: Focused event within our Job Centres, Sector
focused recruitment, look at engaging with MP’s
Saturday 8th
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Making Waves, Schools Competition Guild Hall

6. Southern employers discussion
Real interest from employers getting involved in webcam
activities targeted at schools - a pilot is being rolled out across
the Southern Division
Other ideas discussed:
• Get involved with regional Skills Show / Have a Go event
• Host a Pathways to Professions Apprenticeship event
being planned by West of England LEP
• Become a National Apprenticeship Ambassador
Employers also suggested:
• Screen savers promoting apprenticeships
• Made by apprentices celebrations / exhibitions in company
receptions
• Using local company sponsorship activities to promote
apprentices
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7. Birmingham

8. The NexteriaOne Experience
Tied activity into Comic Relief and gave
organisational lead to apprentices – helped
them develop team work, logistical and
leadership skills
The company also hosted an apprentice
selection day
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9. Central employers discussion
The #madebyapprentices approach was replicated by other
organisations – using a team of apprentices to go out and
take pictures around the city
Providers in the room offered to link up small businesses /
employers involved in NAW for the first time to help share the
workload
One provider suggested that at successful events 80% of
employers should be existing apprentice employers, with 20%
new ones
What was key for successful events was giving employers an
additional reason for attending: e.g. networking, free learning /
CPD, guest speaker.
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10. Leeds

11. Leeds City Council as an employer
Over 200 apprentices in 5 directorates, over 1000 recruited
since 2010 and want to increase the numbers through new
Frameworks
As an employer every post is now assessed for its suitability
for an Apprenticeship
The Council promotes take up of Apprenticeships to team
leaders by showcasing the flexibility of Apprenticeships, the
benefits apprentices bring to front line services and how they
address the age profile issue of sections of the business
Offer comparable starting packages to other areas
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12. Leeds City Council as a promoter of
Apprenticeships
Celebrate success of apprentices through awards and
highlight
100 Apprenticeships in 100 days (100 in 100) annual activity to
drive new Apprenticeship vacancies
Build my future. Build my Leeds – competition to create a
visual image for Leeds Arena and winners gained
Apprenticeship to help work to bring their idea to fruition
Promote Apprenticeships through procurement and supply
chain to ensure apprentices are recruited at every step of the
way
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13. Leeds City Council as a co-ordinator
Winning application workshops for young people
SME call-centre sessions: Bringing training providers to ring
round local SMEs to bring on board to apprentices, using data
from partners. One ring round resulted in 57 new
Apprenticeships from SMEs.
Companies House and National Apprenticeship Service data
is available for mail outs – speak to your local authority
Breakfast briefings for employers, providers and partners to
discuss co-ordinated action
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14. Northern employers discussion
You’re hired events in Scarborough: Employers with
vacancies and potential apprentices hold matching events
where apprentices take part in team building events to
showcase different skills. Non-apprentice employers invited to
see first hand the talent among young people.
Run #madebyapprentices events to showcase what young
people (16-18s especially) can bring to a business.
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15. London

16. London & South East Employers
Discussion
The Outsource presentation is available here:
•
http://www.slideshare.net/Apprenticeships/outsource-30391109
Gaining ministerial involvement relies on:
•
Creating a good event
•
Adding your event to the events planner (which is shared with Ministerial diary teams):
http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/awards/apprenticeship-week-2014/eventform.aspx
•
Direct invitations from employers to private offices
Also consider working with NAS on the Centenary Campaign:
•
Commemorative community projects
•
http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/employers/centenaryapprenticeshipprogramme.aspx
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17. Tips for a successful
event

18. Considerations in a successful event
Event
Style
Messaging
Partners/
stakeholders
Speakers
Venue
Theme
Target
Audience
Timings
Marke9ng
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Budget

19. Invitations
Online event
management
system called
– Eventbrite
Create, share
manage the
invitation
process
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20. Marketing considerations
• Marketing Events
• Working with Providers/Partners/Stakeholders
• Inviting MPs
• Collateral
• Branding
• Traditional PR
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21. Social Media
Editorial calendar
Connectivity
Staffing
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Pollenating
Technology

22. Social Media considerations
• Connectivity: Wifi, 3G, Passwords?
• Editorial calendar: Plan the actions well in advance, give
social media team a full list of milestones and use bit.ly to
track links. Think about tags in advance.
• Technology: Consider a twitter wall, ipads for people to
post from, Google Hangout / live stream on YouTube
• Staffing: Who will do live tweeting, who has the ipad, who
has the skills to work with each film / photography. Not a
chaperone, but a reporter (don’t be afraid to re-record).
• Pollenate: Are your stakeholders standing by, turn content
around quickly (film over night, pictures & audio same
afternoon).
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23. The big day
• Ensure that you arrive at the venue early enough to set updon’t rush yourself!
• Ensure that you have registration lists and any other
materials you may need.
• Make sure that on your arrival you liaise with the main
venue contact and go through the arrangements again.
• Familiarise yourself and all staff working on the event with
the venue. Know where everything is, especially the toilets!
• Check that the set-up is how you requested.
• Make sure that all staff working on the event are in place by
the designated times and understand their roles.
• Smile! Create a good atmosphere and that is what
attendees are most likely to remember!
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24. Timeline
Invitations
Target Audience
Objectives
Speakers
Partners
Messaging
THE EVENT
Event Style
Theme
Budget
Marketing/PR
Venue
Briefing
This process can take anything from 3 weeks to 3 months
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Evaluation

25. Q&A