Future Centre

Last night the Government confirmed an incentive of a £1,500 Apprenticeship Grant for Employers of 16 to 24 year olds. More details are on our website www.atg-training.co.uk

Ian Harper

Fact Sheet – February 2012
The AGE 16 to 24 is aimed at helping eligible employers to offer young people employment  hrough the Apprenticeship programme, by providing wage grants to assist them in recruiting their first apprentice.

The National Apprenticeship Service will provide up to 40,000 Apprenticeship Grants to small medium size employers recruiting 16 to 24 year olds with a value of £1,500, to encourage new employers to take on new 16 to 24 year old apprentices. Priority will be given to small-medium size employers with less than 50 employees.

When will AGE 16 to 24 be available?
The AGE 16 to 24 is available now until March 2013 for employers offer a job opportunity to a young person they recruit. Funding will start from 1 April 2012. However eligible employers who have employed a new apprentice from 1 February 2012 will be able to apply for the grant, subject to all the other eligibility criteria.

The employer is able to receive the grant of £750 at the 8 week stage of the Apprenticeship, with the second £750 when the apprentice has completed 12 months of their Apprenticeship.

Which employers are eligible to receive this new AGE 16 to 24 payment?
Small and medium sized employers who are interested in employing an apprentice for the first time, or who have previously employed an apprentice more than 3 years ago.
Employers will sign an agreement which will include:

1. Confirmation of the number of apprentices they will be taking on as a result of this incentive (to a maximum of 3)
2. Confirmation that they wouldn’t have taken the apprentice on without this additional incentive
3. A commitment to employ the apprentice for at least the time it takes to achieve the Apprenticeship framework. If they fail to do this some or all the grant will be clawed back
4. Confirmation that they are aware of and do not breach any state aid rule
5. Agreement to pay the minimum Apprenticeship wage of £2.60 per hour – although most apprentices receive more than this
6. Confirmation that they have not taken on an apprentice in the previous three years.

Can existing employees starting an Apprenticeship programme within their existing employer attract the incentive?

No – the aim is to support employers to create new and additional jobs for 16 to 24 year olds.

Why is this support only available for 16 to 24 year olds?

We know that 16 to 24 year olds are more likely to be unemployed or economically inactive than older people.
Key Facts and Figures – 16 to 24 year olds in the labour market:

• The unemployment total for 16 to 24 year olds hit a record high of 1.02 million in the quarter, a jobless rate of 21.9%.
• The number of 16 to 24 year olds not in education, employment or training is approaching 26% (Q2 2010).

There are oportunities in fashion, marketing, gardening and manufacturing.

If you need any advice, call 0845 8949530 and we’ll be happy to help!

• BBC Radio Oxford
• Big L
• BBC Radio London
• www.AdferoNews.com
• Inspiration Fm
• 106 JACK FM Oxfordshire
• Represzent 107.3

If you are in the High Wycombe area, come and see us at the Job Centre Apprenticeship Fair being held in the AMF Bowling Centre from 2pm to 4pm this afternoon. We’ll be able to answer all your Apprenticeship-related questions and discuss our current vacancies with you.

See you there!

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Searching for an Apprenticeship? www.atgapprenticeships.com

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Health & Safety – what a joke!
 
Q: When does a person decide to become a Safety Manager?
A: When he realises he doesn’t have the charisma to be an undertaker.
 
Ha Ha!
 
Health & Safety issues are often the butt of comedians jokes, with practitioners often derided.

But with the fines for falling foul of the Health & Safety Executive running into hundreds of thousands of pounds and disqualification from business, not to mention the effect on people’s lives, it is deadly serious matter.
 
‘But Health & Safety is just common sense isn’t it’?
 
Well not as far as the legislators are concerned, so why run the risk, when you can receive the NEBOSH, IOSH or CIEH accredited training from ATG.
 
NEBOSH National General Certificate
If you are looking to start a career in Health & Safety then the most recognised qualification to start with is the NEBOSH National General Certificate which is established as a leading award in basic Health and Safety. It has been designed to provide a sound breadth of underpinning knowledge to enable non-specialists to discharge more effectively their duties and functions in workplace Health and Safety. This 10-day programme involves over 87 hours of tutorial study, which is assessed by a combination of written examination papers and a practical assessment. A NEBOSH certificate is awarded on successful completion of the programme and examination papers.
By the end of the Workshop participants will be able to:

• Effectively manage an organisation in safety management systems
• Conduct risk assessments in the workplace
• Understand the legal requirements for an organisation
• Carry out accident investigation
• Implement risk control strategies
• Implement systems to manage specific hazard sources in the workplace

IOSH Managing Safely
If you want a career in Health and Safety there’s no better place to be than IOSH for employer and peer recognition. IOSH’s industry pedigree is second to none and their comprehensive approach to career development ensures that IOSH members are the most trusted and sought after people in the profession.
This Workshop aims to give practising and potential managers an introduction to the concept of safety and health in the workplace. It focuses on training the manager to apply sound management principles to safety and health issues as part of a total management strategy. This four day programme is followed by an examination and workplace project which counts towards the award of an IOSH Certificate.
By the end of the Workshop, participants will be able to:-
 

• Effectively manage the organisation in safety management systems
• Conduct Risk Assessments in the workplace
• Understand fully the Legal requirements for the organisation
• Carry out accident investigation
• Implement Risk control strategies
• Implement systems to manage specific hazard sources in the workplace

 
ATG Training also offer 1-day Health & Safety course in IOSH Working Safely, CIEH Risk Assessment, CIEH Manual Handling and more.
For further details please visit the ATG Training website www.atg-training.co.uk or contact our knowlegeable and friendly team on 0845 873 8440 or email training@atg-training.co.uk

Last night saw the first of our ‘After Work Kit Car Project’ evenings. We are lucky enough to have two Westfield kits here at ATG-Training and after a quick poll of staff just before Christmas to find out who was interested (aswell as a chat with the Ian Harper the Director!) we were given the green light for launch! The cars will be using a Mazda MX5  as a ‘donor’ car (meaning that most of the running gear can be used from the Mazda)  with a 1.8ltr 16v engine.

The cars were initially bought in as a project for a Motorsports Course here at ATG-Training and the plan is that once built it will be a good advertising vehicle (Ahem!) for us to show off the skill and equipment that we have within the building.

Twelve staff have shown an interest, all from different areas of the business. What is exciting about the project is that we aren’t all skilled kit car builders – but we all have a passion for four wheeled madness and are keen to see the fruits of our labour.

The good thing with the people we have on board is that we can each bring something different to the project. I, for example am from the Cycles department and although I’ve never built a car before but I can bleed you a mean Hydraulic Disc brake and am more than qualified with a Torque wrench! Dave Astley (another Cycles team member) is a designer in his spare time and has offered to help us with the logos and livery.

We have to thank John Gosling for getting one of the cars more than a third started with the help of some of the advanced engineering students. John is an Engineering Trainer here in the workshop and a bit of a Demon in a Go-Kart! Can’t wait to see what he can do with this… Thanks John!

Last night saw us sorting out the parts and clearing ourselves a work area (big thanks to Mat, Ian and Craig). We looked at what was already installed to Westie 1 and any duplicates were put on pallets by Westie 2. We now have a big box of shiny parts by Westie 1 and an appreciation that the manual that comes with the car may not be telling us the full story! Stay tuned for our progress and more photos!!

Are you interested in pursuing a career in one of the
following industry sectors:

Business and Administration
Children’s Care, Learning and Development
Customer Service and Retail
Cycle Maintenance
Electrical Installation
Management (including Team Leading)
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
IT User and IT Practitioner
Warehousing and Storage Operations
Then call us on 01296 737800 or e-mail: future@atg-training.co.uk.

You can also drop in to one of the free sessions which run regularly.

Wednesday Dec 8th 2.30-4.30
Wednesday Jan 12th 2.30-4.30
Wednesday Jan 19th 2.00-5.00pm

We look forward to helping you in your chosen career.

Anyway, with racesuits and helmets donned, as Murray Walker would have said “the time for talking has finished – the time for racing has begun”
The karts were lined up in the pit lane one behind the other and I was hoping to have the one on the front for a quick get away and get a ‘clean’ lap in without being held up by anyone else so that I could get pole position and lead the race out.
Sadly I was awarded the equivelant of a wooden spoon in the shape of the kart right at the back of the pack.
So, using my cunning and guile, I pushed my way through the traffic and set a time that was good enough for pole.
Myself, John and Jason made up the first three positions on the grid and as the lights went green all hell broke loose.
I only crashed once, but what I lacked in Quantity I made up for in quality, I braked far later than I should have done and shot backwards at high speed into the barrier at the end of the fastest straight on the course with a bang that Barry Scott (off of Cillit Bang) would have been proud of.

At the halfway stage (40 laps) we stopped for a well earned rest and to be fair I would have been happy if it had finished there, as I was in first place. Everything to loose then!
After far to short a time we were ushered back to the karts to complete the final 40 laps.
Apart from a BIG off for Neil and Simon, I felt the second stage flowed more smoothly and I had a great dice with Gary and John G for track position.

Pizza was ordered and a good time had by all (especially me as I won it!)

If you fancy trying your hand at karting and taking my step at the top of the podium (good luck, you’ll need it!) then make sure your name is down for the next one when Jason asks!

See you then!