Today (2 February) sees the launch of the second National Apprenticeship Week, aimed at celebrating apprentices and promoting apprenticeships in Britain.

The apprenticeship scheme provides a real opportunity for employers to take on cost-effective labour who can be trained to meet the specific needs of their business. For apprentices, the scheme delivers paid, on-the-job experience at a time when University places are at a premium and tuition fees and the student loan means years of debt for graduates.

A recent survey on behalf of the Learning and Skills Council identified that the 76% of employers asked, stated that apprentices helped them … Continue Reading

Small businesses are now more optimistic about their immediate sales prospects, according to the latest Quarterly Survey of Small Business in Britain by The Open University Business School in association with Barclays Bank and ACCA.

The survey of 848 small business respondents was carried out by the enterprise research team at the Open University Business School, who collected questionnaires and interviews with SMEs during the second quarter of 2009.

While almost half (49%) of small firms reporting that sales were down over the year, the good news is that fewer firms are now expect to cut employment, and 62% of small … Continue Reading