Page 10 - MarketTimesDecember2014
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  REPORT
Market Times • December 2014
Huddersfield market apprenticeship scheme takes off By NICOLA GOULD
  Chris Cotton, Huddersfield market manager, is pictured with Sue Weston who manages the Kirklees Council’s Apprenticeship Hub
Mica Samuels, 19, who has progressed to managing a stall, is enthusiastic about the apprenticeship scheme
Beth Taylor,19, an apprentice with The Wig People on Huddersfield’s Queensgate Market
really well and is making a very positive contribution to the markets that have taken it up. “Some of the apprentices have changed their perception about markets and are spreading the word among young people that they are a great place to shop. And the employers are really committed to giving the apprentices the best possible start in market trading and a retail
career.”
In Kirklees, the council jumped at the
opportunity and have match funded the £1,500 Government grant.
Sue Weston, manager of The Apprentices Hub for Kirklees Council, said: “At the Hub we are trying to break through the fog that surrounds apprenticeships and provide unique, bespoke apprenticeships just for markets.”
Amanda Issott, a work-based learning tutor with The Source, said that markets were the ideal place for retail apprenticeships.
“Apprentices in large shops may find they are placed in sales in one particular department, but
  Ann Jones, a team leader with The Source at Meadowhall, which manages apprenticeships, is pictured with Amanda Issott, a work-based learning tutor with The Source
EAT your heart out, Lord Sugar. The National Market Traders Federation Apprenticeship scheme, which aims to bring new blood into the markets industry through a Government-funded initiative, is building in strength.
And in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, Queensgate Market is positively ringing with the sound of those famous words — you’re hired!
To date, 12 apprentices are in place and more are set to be taken on in the coming weeks and months. Some are taking their first tentative steps into the workplace and are delighted to have the opportunity to learn and gain qualifications whilst earning a wage in the busy market.
Others are taking on management tasks and building careers in the markets industry at the same time as gaining NVQs at Level 3.
Market Manager Chris Cotton said the scheme had really taken off following the appointment of The Source at Meadowhall, which specialises in recruiting and placing young apprentices and
supporting them through their learning period. Ann Jones, a team leader with The Source, said: “We currently have apprentices in Sheffield
and Huddersfield markets.”
She explained that The Source interviews and
recruits the apprentices and oversees their placement with market traders who are happy to take on the responsibility of ensuring they receive a solid grounding in market trading.
Work-based learning tutors are tasked with supporting the apprentices, and The Source also provides advice and support to the market trader employers, some of whom may be taking on staff for the first time.
Market traders receive a grant of £1,500 for each apprentice they take on. Typically, the grant comes through within 13 to 22 weeks and it can be spent on anything from wages to new equipment to help expand the business.
The employer pays the apprentice a minimum wage according to age, starting at £2.73 an hour. Ann said: “The apprentice scheme is working
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