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Engineering industry critics have suggested the government plan to boost apprenticeships to three million by 2020 is unrealistic.
Last month, the government revealed the members of the Apprenticeship Delivery Board (ADB), tasked with advising it on how to reach this target. The ADB will be chaired by apprenticeship adviser Nadhim Zahawi, Conservative MP for Stratford-upon-Avon, and David Mellor, who chairs the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network. It will also include David Abraham, chief executive of Channel 4; Mike Thompson, head of apprenticeships at Barclays; Andrew Parmley, an alderman of the City of London, and Rami Ranger CBE, chairman of Sun Mark.
However, Austen Adams, managing director of Nottingham engineering firm Avingtrans’ energy and medical division, said that to successfully advise the government the ADB should have people on it who are, or have been, apprentices.
“While the board is made up of people with a range of backgrounds and sector experiences, what is missing is a voice representing those who have been through the apprenticeship process,” he said.
“Without understanding what makes apprenticeships attractive – or what issues put potential apprentices off – it will be hard to attract the high-calibre apprentices the UK needs.”
Adams added that potential apprentices need to be shown a secure future career. “Poor-quality schemes, designed to tick funding boxes, pose a threat to longer-term uptake of the apprenticeship model. To succeed, the board needs to focus on supporting employers to deliver high-quality schemes in industries that have skills shortages and offer growth potential. That way, they’ll be delivering a sustainable route into employment that offers apprentices career opportunities and businesses the skills to compete on a global stage.”
Meanwhile, the government has proposed a law requiring secondary schools to work with apprenticeship providers and technical colleges to ensure all pupils are aware of apprenticeships or other vocational courses. Under the plans, staff from apprenticeship providers and colleges would visit schools and offer careers advice.
The move was welcomed by skills organisation Semta, which said that it would “outlaw” the academic “snobbery” that favours university admission over vocational pathways to work.
Ann Watson, chief executive of Semta, said: “Semta has been campaigning for years to end the snobbery that corrodes our economy. I applaud any measures that ensure young people are properly briefed about the life choices open to them.”
The goal of increasing apprentices to three million by 2020 was originally announced in 2014 as part of a plan to reduce youth unemployment.