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Latest news and trends

Keep up to date with the latest developments in the skills landscape and read more about our latest releases, partnerships, events and insights. Working with over 2,800 organisations across multiple sectors, The Open University is able to share its vast experience and pedigree in work-based learning.

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OU shortlisted for UK Social Mobility Awards 2020

The Open University (OU) are delighted to have been shortlisted in the UK Social Mobility Awards (SOMO) 2020.

8th October 2020
Nurse walking

How Government funding makes nursing apprenticeships even more attractive to employers

The NHS and other healthcare providers in England are set to benefit from a boost to nursing apprenticeships thanks to new funding from Health Education England.  As part of the Government’s pledge to deliver 50,000 new nurses by the end of their current term, a £172m fund has been made available to encourage the uptake of Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeships (RNDA).

17th September 2020

"Absolutely go for it" says Tom, digital apprentice at Unilever

At just 20 years old, degree apprentice, Tom Amer has an enviable employment history and professional experience. Two years into his four-year apprenticeship programme, Tom has delivered million-pound savings to his employer, taught hundreds of young people to code, and been flown to New York to talk about it.

21st August 2020

Why young people need to develop skills for the 'new normal'

Covid-19 has had a huge impact on the employment prospects for young people. In fact, research shows that it’s young people who have been most hard hit by the pandemic and whose work opportunities are likely to be most affected going forward as the economic fallout continues

31st July 2020
Office and laptop

How investment in skills is inspiring confidence in business recovery

UK organisations anticipate that it will take 18 months to fully recover from the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent social distancing measures, with small businesses leading the way back to “normal”.

25th June 2020
Manager at PC

The Road to Zero - Lead the way in logistics and transport

As the logistics and transport industry is rising to the challenge of coronavirus with flexibility and resilience, it seems apt that the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport opted to move its annual conference online this year.

23rd June 2020
Louise from City of York Council

Exploring routes into social work through flexible programmes

The Open University has been training practising social workers for over twenty years. 250 social workers qualify with the OU each year, a total of 6,400 social workers since 1997

19th May 2020
Cornwall Council case study.
City of York Council case study.

Pioneering a new route into social work

There are many reasons why City of York Council decided to partner with The Open University to run its new Social Worker Degree Apprenticeship. One of them, according to Lesley Furnival, Practice Consultant in Children’s Social Care at the council, is that the apprenticeship has created a great learning and career path.

13th March 2020
Dr Mercia Spare

Inspiring the nurses of the future

Dr Mercia Spare has an inspiring career story to tell. Having left school with one CSE and college without any A-levels, she started her working life in a series of low paid industry jobs. Those jobs were okay but she knew that she wanted more from work. She wanted a job where she was caring for people, where she was making people’s lives better. She knew she wanted to be a nurse. “Nursing was my pathway,” she says.

27th February 2020

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