Apprenticeships continue to decline in Dorset
A Portland Councillor says "we should be alarmed"
Portland councillor Paul Kimber says the county should be alarmed that the number of young people in apprenticeships is falling.
He says the training route is a pathway to the county’s future and needs special attention to improve the figures.
“Our most important asset, is our young people,” Cllr Kimber told a Cabinet meeting this week.
His comments came after a report to Dorset Council showed that the number of apprenticeships has continued to decline.
The target for 2019/20 was missed, achieving 1.5% compared to a target of 1.9% although the county is performing better than the national average which has a rate of just 0.9%.
The report says that the figures were affected by COVID-19 for part of the period being monitored.
Dorset Council says it will continue to work across business networks to improve the creation and take up of apprenticeships across the area.
The council says it continues to use apprenticeships to develop its own workforce, and in quarter 3 the number of council apprenticeships rose to 136, an increase of 25 compared to the previous quarter.