'Next gen talent' | Virgin Media O2 creates new £1 million apprenticeship talent fund

Virgin Media O2 has announced it is creating a new £1 million talent fund to help charities, local authorities, small businesses and social enterprises train apprentices - removing financial and structural barriers that have long held smaller organisations back from investing in early careers talent. 

This initiative will allow organisations to access Virgin Media O2’s apprenticeship levy fund, using this to cover the full cost of apprenticeship training for eligible roles. The programme is specifically designed to support women and people from global majority backgrounds   looking to progress in a STEM-based role and will help build a diverse talent pipeline and leaders of the future.  

The fund, which will provide the full cost of training for eligible apprenticeships, has been developed in response to significant barriers identified in recent research. More than 3 million SMEs say hiring apprentices is simply not financially viable right now, with 35% citing cost pressure, 30% complexity of training programmes and over 800,000 (15%) saying insufficient levy funds are their key challenges.  

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With nearly four in five employers (79%) saying they would be more likely to hire apprentices if additional financial support was available, the scheme could unlock hundreds of retraining opportunities for young people and career-changers.