The BBPA is looking into developing a brewing sector apprenticeship. Clearly with the introduction of the apprenticeship levy from April this year it is important to have the right training courses in place and we believe this process will be an important development for the sector. The process is outlined in the attached document. To take this forward the sector will need to get a group of at least ten employers who are willing to develop the standards for the apprenticeship and preferably have an intention to employ apprentices at this level. There should be a mix of large and small companies and BBPA will be seeking input from SIBA and other breweries outside of the membership, as well as liaising with other bodies in the sector, such as the IBD.
The BBPA is now requesting that members share this with relevant HR colleagues and ask for nominations to take forward this process. In terms of workload the BBPA and other bodies will provide the secretariat resource and we will endeavour to keep member commitment to a minimum. It is envisaged that this might involve a meeting every two months and a request for comments in the interim period. The whole process should take around 9-12 months. This would be confirmed at a start-up meeting, which we would look to hold in March.