We are now in the middle of National Apprenticeship Week and events have been going on around the country to promote apprenticeships and celebrate the achievements of apprentices and their employers.
Yesterday I was speaking at a City & Guilds and Business in the Community reception in parliament which brought together employers, their apprentices and parliamentarians to consider how we can create more apprenticeship places.
It was great to see that there were apprentices from Costain and Channel 4 there who had inspiring stories and were making great progress in these organisations. It was great to hear that Costain has grown its apprenticeship programme from five in 2008 to 41 in 2011 and hopes to take on 150 apprentices next year. Costain has really recognised the role that apprenticeships will play in diversifying their workforce and addressing succession issues as well as giving the company access to an inspirational talent pool.
So we need to look at how we can support not just the larger businesses, but also the smaller ones, to take on apprentices to address their skills needs. With over one million young people now out of work, it is clear that the government needs to do more to support businesses to create the apprenticeship opportunities young people need.
And it’s not just young people who need apprenticeships, our economy does too. City & Guilds research has found that creating one million extra apprenticeship places by 2020 would add over £4bn to the UK economy. Currently however, only five per cent of employers have apprentices in their businesses, and information about vocational routes is patchy.
So what can we do to support growth in apprenticeship places? I have developed five policy proposals that support the apprenticeship agenda:
– Foster the expansion of the Group Training Associations network to support SME Apprenticeships as well as new cooperative initiatives;
– Promote best practice on ‘buddying’: bigger companies working with smaller firms, including within their own supply chain, to create apprenticeship places;
– Refocus the government’s Growth and Innovation Fund – We would use its £60m currently underused and unfocused to boost the work of training organisations;
– Use public procurement to expand apprenticeships – Building on our existing commitment calling for the government to use its power to reward companies offering apprenticeships;
– Give businesses and industry a greater role in learning and training, to include quality control and a part in the reform of qualifications frameworks for apprenticeships as well as a direct involvement in careers guidance.
We must ensure that young people in particular have access to good quality careers information, advice and guidance with good information on vocational routes as well as academic ones. We must also create clear pathways through vocational qualifications to the highest levels so that talented young people can progress and be inspired to develop their skills.
The ACEVO Commission on Youth Unemployment, led by David Miliband, found that young people not going to university need clear, high quality options for progression and apprenticeships are a great opportunity to demonstrate that. To remain competitive in a global economy, higher level skills will be required, so we must continue to develop apprenticeships at higher levels.
As the City & Guilds report on the Economic Value of Apprenticeships demonstrates, building up our skills base can play a crucial role in boosting growth across the regions. Not only do businesses benefit from better trained staff, improved retention and reduced recruitment costs, but apprenticeships benefit individuals and our economy too.
Gordon Marsden MP is shadow minister for skills