Can Apprentices Rescue The Economy? 15th January 2014

Skills Gaps In previous generations large proportions of school leavers, followed in family footsteps into the same or similar trade as their father. However, now that university is accessible to more young people, they have been drawn into the prospects of higher education. This led to traditional apprenticeship levels declining to their lowest in the 1980’s. More recently, graduates are finding it extremely difficult to gain employment in line with the qualifications that they have achieved, leading to a higher level of unemployment in young people and a lack of practical skills.

Work Age As less apprenticeships were undertaken from the 1980’s onwards, the average work age in manufacturing and engineering has increased significantly. In 2004 Caunton Engineering made a decision to tackle the aging workforce by recruiting 5 apprentices each year. The average age on the workshop is currently 38 years.

Benefits of Apprentices A report from the Centre of Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has found the average apprentice completer increases business productivity by £214 per week, leading to increased profits, lower prices and higher wages – this figure rockets to £414 for engineering apprentices.

A Way In Apprenticeships are a way of encouraging people into industry. The on-going development and improvement of these will bring greater focus on quality for both the learner and employers. Ensuring more people are getting into highly skilled and fulfilling jobs through apprenticeships can only help the economy and the businesses that they work for.

Promotion How do we raise the perceptions of apprenticeships and the benefits that they bring? Government bodies. Employers. The Industry Apprentice Council.

My Experience As part of the curriculum at the school I attended, all students were encouraged to study a vocational subject. My engineering teacher actively informed all of his students about apprenticeships. I was first introduced to Caunton when I was 15, I attended an interview for a work experience placement. I finished my advanced apprenticeship in July 2013 aged 19. I feel that my introduction to becoming and apprentice was very good, however the rest of the IAC members did not have the same guidance, and this appears to be a story shared by many young people.