Traineeships are short courses run with employers intended to form a “stepping stone” to Apprenticeships and other jobs for students aged 16 to 23.
The first courses began in August and so far the government says that more than 500 providers have pledged to take on trainees with 150 companies having expressed an interest in offering placements.
The idea is that students who are not ready to apply for an Apprenticeship can instead take the six-month Traineeship course, which will include a work placement of at least six weeks as well as work skills training and work preparation, such as CV writing and interview skills. Students will also receive support to improve their English and maths to GCSE A* to C level if they have not already attained this.
Schools are expected to play an “important role in referring interested people onto Traineeships”.
Skills minister Matthew Hancock announced the additional funding during a visit to Nottingham to meet some of the first students on the courses.
He said: “In time Traineeships will become the clear route for young people looking to get the crucial grounding they need in the world of work.”
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, welcomed the additional funding but raised wider concerns in light of Conservative proposals to cut benefits for under-25s.
There are currently nearly one million young people aged 16 to 25 who are not in education, employment or training and prime minister David Cameron, in his recent keynote address to the Conservative Party Conference, said that they should be “earning or learning”.
Dr Bousted said the proposal “raises questions about whether companies will be able to provide enough Apprenticeships, training places and full-time jobs for all the young people who are unemployed”.
For more on Traineeships, visit www.education.gov.uk/traineeships