Intelligent SME.tech Issue 33 | Page 7

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Amazon pledges to create 750 apprenticeships for SMEs
New BlackFog research : 61 % of SMBs were victims of a cyberattack in the last year
Amazon has announced that it will support the creation of more than 750 apprenticeships in 250 small- and medium-sized organisations across England by next year .
The 300 new roles over the next 12 months will be funded by Amazon in small businesses and organisations selling on the website , Amazon Web Services ’ ( AWS ) customers , creative industry partners and local authorities through the company ’ s apprenticeship levy .
The fund will cover a wide range of schemes , from digital marketing to visual effects artists , cybersecurity specialists and more . The schemes last between 12 – 48 months . Apprentices will also receive a mix of on the job and classroom training .
James Campanini , CEO of AWS reseller , VeUP , said : “ Enabling the next generation of young people access to high quality apprenticeship schemes is critical for both social mobility and economic growth . This initiative will open doors for hundreds of school leavers , allowing them to pursue exciting career opportunities in the high growth cloud industry , alongside on the job training .”
Sixty-one percent of SMBs have been hit by a successful cyberattack in the last year , according to new findings from BlackFog . The research study , which examined the business impact of cybersecurity for organisations in the US and UK , also revealed the growing importance of engaging with trusted partners to meet their security challenges .
Businesses are also falling victim to repeat attacks , with 87 % of IT decision-makers stating they had experienced two or more successful attacks in the past 12 months . On average organisations saw close to five successful data breaches , malware or ransomware attacks affecting their network .
Critically for SMBs , the main impact of an attack was
business downtime , which affected 58 % of respondents . The successful attacks also negatively impacted customer trust and retention with a third of all respondents reporting that the incidents resulted in the loss of customers . Worryingly , 39 % of organisations affected also reported a loss of customer data .
The data also revealed a significant rise in the number of women choosing to work for themselves , with an additional 93,000 self-employed women compared to the same time last year .
Andy Chamberlain , Director of Policy at IPSE , said : “ These figures mark a return to year-onyear self-employment growth for the third consecutive quarter . This is a very positive sign that the economy is perhaps starting to recover from the damage done by the pandemic , which put more than 700,000 freelancers and sole traders out of business .
“ A bigger self-employed population is good news for businesses looking to recruit flexible talent on an interim basis , at a time when economic conditions might make a permanent hire less attractive .
Boost in self-employed numbers “ a very positive sign ” for the economy
IPSE ( the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self- Employed ) has welcomed new figures from the Office for National Statistics ( ONS ) showing year-on-year growth in self-employment .
There are 154,000 more self-employed than this time last year . In total , there are now 4.4 million operating in the UK .
“ We know that people choose self-employment for overwhelmingly positive reasons , whether it ’ s to follow a passion , to work more flexibly or to be your own boss . That more and more people are choosing to strike out on their own once again is something to applaud .
“ As was the case throughout the 2010s , much of the past year ’ s growth came from greater inflows of women into self-employment – yet another sign that the sector is returning to pre-pandemic trends .”
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