A partnership has been launched to help make furniture and interiors businesses more comfortable with taking on apprentices.

Gloucestershire-based Apprenticeship Management Group has partnered with the Furniture and Interiors Education, Skills and Training Alliance (FIESTA) to launch what is being called Furniture and Interiors Skills Plus.

The Cirencester based trade apprenticeship specialists already has similar agreements with the Electrical Distributers' Association, the British Coating Federation and the Builders Merchants Federation.

Gary Baker, chairman of FIESTA, said: "Companies that sign up to Furniture and Interiors Skills Plus will receive advice and guidance on the best training that is available to the sector.

"Through Furniture and Interiors Skills Plus, micro and SME non-levy paying employers will be able to access a much wider selection of funded skills training, while large employers can outsource the apprenticeship management to obtain best value-for-money and real-time monitoring from their apprentice levy digital accounts."

John Henry, director at AMG, said the initiative aimed to enable employers in the sector to fill their skills gaps and look to establish training and progression plans both now and well into the future.

"Young people entering the furniture and interiors sector and existing employees wishing to up-skill are looking for learning opportunities and career progression, which is precisely what Furniture and Interiors Skills Plus will help them achieve," said Mr Henry.

"Business leaders wish to focus on their core business opportunities and do not need to spend their valuable time and expense on seeking to access opportunities in training that we will do for them.

"I am confident that they will be delighted at the outcomes the Furniture and Interiors Skills Plus team will achieve on their behalf."