Event Apprenticeships: ‘Use it or Lose it’ says Realise          

21st February 17, UK: Realise, the event industry’s first approved training provider for event apprenticeships, have urged the industry to ‘use it or lose it’ when it comes to the apprenticeship levy, introduced by the government, that begins in May 2017. The company is also calling apprenticeships a once in a lifetime opportunity for the industry.

The apprenticeship levy will go live in May 2017, and will see a direct taxation on businesses with a payroll over £3m, which equates to 50-60 full time staff, and therefore effects many in the events industry, such as agencies, venues, hotels and supplier organisations. The levy is automatic, but employers can ‘draw down’ funds from it, for investment in the training of apprentices

“The money will be taken from businesses regardless, so it’s incumbent on us as an industry to use apprenticeships to get this money back and then to spend it on the training and development of new staff,” commented David Preston, Founder of Realise. “Basically, we either use the money or lose the money for the training. It’s a one in a lifetime opportunity for the industry to invest in the next generation of young talent.”

Realise launched earlier this year and remains the first industry approved training provider for level three apprentices. The company will be addressing the industry at International Confex with a session titled ‘Introducing the new Event Assistant Apprenticeship’ taking place 2nd March.

The industry now has a government approved apprenticeship scheme and a programme that has been created for the industry, by the industry. Last month FIRST agency – www.firstagency.com announced its hiring of the industry’s first event apprentice.