{"id":41862,"date":"2021-03-08T12:05:42","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T12:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/?guid=bd255ecb83ba1cf0a6ad0b589e5ff57e"},"modified":"2021-03-08T12:05:42","modified_gmt":"2021-03-08T12:05:42","slug":"microsofts-apprenticeship-connector-will-help-smbs-find-digital-apprentices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/microsofts-apprenticeship-connector-will-help-smbs-find-digital-apprentices\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft’s Apprenticeship Connector will help SMBs find digital apprentices"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n Keumars Afifi-Sabet<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n

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8 Mar, 2021<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n<\/a><\/p>\n

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Microsoft has partnered with the job-seeking platform GetMyFirstJob to launch an online hub that will connect UK organisations seeking to recruit digital apprentices with a wide pool of prospective applicants.<\/p>\n

Apprenticeship Connector will simplify the recruitment process by listing vacancies across Microsoft\u2019s network of partners and customers, which young jobseekers can access to seek new opportunities. The firm said its partners and customers will also be able to promote their vacancies to a larger and more diverse range of candidates.<\/p>\n

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\nGetMyFirstJob was chosen as the ideal partner platform in light of its recognition that traditional recruitment processes were exacerbating existing batteries to social mobility. Its own platform has sought to\u00a0channel skills into the right areas<\/a>, reaching more than 4.1 million users in 2020.<\/p>\n

The partnership aims to solve the specific\u00a0problem of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) struggling to recruit the right candidates\u00a0while also aiming to\u00a0raise the diversity<\/a>\u00a0of new recruits generally.<\/p>\n

\u201cDigital apprenticeships are one of the best routes to well-paid careers in businesses of all types, not just in tech,\u201d\u00a0said Microsoft\u2019s UK CEO, Clare Barclay<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s why we have worked hard over the past 10 years to help provide thousands of people with the skills and training needed for the in-demand jobs of today and tomorrow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYet even in the current jobs market, the reality is there are many vacancies going unfilled. I encourage anyone thinking about getting started in digital to visit The Microsoft Apprenticeship Connector and take the next step.\u201d<\/p>\n

Microsoft also shared some statistics highlighting the tech recruitment problem in the UK, also\u00a0referred to as the digital skills crisis<\/a>. For example, the UK needs more than three million skilled people in technology roles by 2025, while almost half of UK businesses are also looking to recruit workers with the same technical skills, ranging from data analytics to cyber security, regardless of sector.<\/p>\n

Last February,\u00a0experts urged the government to reform its apprenticeship scheme<\/a>\u00a0after it fell short of its own targets. Figures at the time showed that the number of people starting an apprenticeship between August and October 2019 fell to 125,800 – down from 132,000 the previous year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This represented a 4.7% drop,\u00a0although the situation is even bleaker today.\u00a0The latest ONS figures<\/a>\u00a0show that new starts between August and October 2020 fell by a staggering 27.6% to 91,100. The\u00a0effects of COVID-19 would have certainly played a role<\/a>, although it nevertheless feeds into a long-term downward trend.<\/p>\n

The UK chancellor, Rishi Sunak, also last week stressed the importance of apprenticeships as he was\u00a0outlining the latest Budget<\/a>. He doubled the cash incentive for employers to hire apprentices and introduced a new flexi-job programme that would allow apprentices to work with a number of different employers within one sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to see Microsoft using its technology expertise to make it easier for people to engage with these fantastic opportunities,\u201d Sunak said. \u201cAs the world becomes increasingly more digital, these skills will play a crucial role in helping us build back better from the pandemic.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keumars Afifi-Sabet<\/p>\n

8 Mar, 2021 <\/p>\n

Microsoft has partnered with the job-seeking platform GetMyFirstJob to launch an online hub that will connect UK organisations seeking to recruit digital apprentices with a wide pool of pr…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":433,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/433"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41862"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41862\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41863,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41862\/revisions\/41863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icloud.pe\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}