Member Article

Apprenticeship take-up sees massive increase

The number of people taking up apprenticeships have increased by over 60% on 2009/10 figures, as young people turn to alternatives to traditional university education.

In 2010/11, 457,200 individuals from a range of age groups and across all sectors and regions started apprenticeship schemes. 76.4% of them successfully competed their apprenticeship.

Skills minister John Hayes believes the success of apprenticeship schemes is putting businesses on stronger ground to deliver a more balanced economy. He commented: “Clarity of policy, strength of commitment and certainty of purpose has delivered record numbers of apprenticeship starts, outstanding success rates and growth across all sectors.

“It is equipping young people with the skills that build prosperous careers, and forging communities in which the common good is served through creative endeavour and purposeful pride.”

The removal of red tape and new financial incentives for small firms will enable more employers to offer gold standard training to match and beat our international competitors.

NECC Director of Training and Skills Development, Patricia Wilkinson, said: “Today’s figures are outstanding and evidence that both businesses and prospective employees are increasingly recognising the value of apprenticeships as a way to grow talent and skills.

“Apprenticeships are an ideal way of addressing key business needs and recruiting and developing a highly skilled workforce that can be moulded to meet individual needs. They bring considerable value to employers, individuals and the economy as a whole.

“Given the evident success of apprenticeships, now is the time for the Government to provide further incentives by cutting bureaucracy for small firms and encourage more companies to embrace staff development via tax breaks.”

Tony Sarginson from EEF, the manufacturers organisation welcomed the news that apprenticeships are becoming popular, but noted that within the manufacturing and engineering sector, numbers have risen much more slowly.

He said: On the surface, the small increase in engineering growth reflects the slow recovery in our industries, and after many years of neglect of engineering apprentices the system now appears to be seems to be swamped by the big increase in what are really “new” apprenticeships.

“A few years ago this sort of work would have been done but not under the umbrella of an apprenticeship, and it does not show how long it can take to acquire an apprenticeship.“4

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .