Plumber, electrician, builder ... and coder

Monday 18 May 2015

Apprenticeships have long been associated with trades but they will soon be available in finance and the digital sector.

The Trackers apprenticeship programme - which is run by Education but independent of any college or trainer provider - wants to offer teenagers leaving school the chance to work in a sector which is the engine of Jersey economy and another, which offers strong growth in the future.

To start off, Trackers wants to develop an apprenticeship scheme in the digital sector - a growing industry which is being promoted by Digital Jersey on behalf of the States. Coding, FinTech and the online gaming are seen as real areas of potential.

Stuart Penn, Assistant Manager at Trackers, said: "We are very much at the research stage at the moment so we're liaising with employers, Digital Jersey, Highlands College and many others to work out what a robust and effective digital apprenticeship could look like here in Jersey.

"Trackers has been a real success and we currently have 208 apprentices on the programme, studying and working in industries as diverse as bricklaying, brewing, dentistry and green keeping. The digital sector - and eventually finance - seem obvious next steps."

As part of its research, Trackers would like employers to fill out a quick survey, which can be found here.