Apprenticeships Up By 15 Per Cent As School Leavers Seek Alternatives To University

[Sancho Panza]

Telegraph 4/7/14

'Rising numbers of school leavers are preparing to shun university in favour of on-the-job training, it has emerged.

Figures show a 15 per cent increase in the number of 16 and 17-year-olds going straight onto an apprenticeship this year.

According to the Department for Education, almost 50,000 teenagers went into a work-based training course in the 12 months to March 2014.

This compared with less than 42,000 taking the same route straight from school in the previous 12 months.

Earlier this year, Sir David Bell, the Reading University vice-chancellor and former permanent secretary in the Department for Education, said on-the-job training was seen as an increasingly attractive option to 18-year-olds who want a good wage without being “saddled with debt”.'

Excellent news for our young people.A good start.

[Snugglybear]

Whether it's a good thing depends on the quality of the apprenticeships.

There are rather a lot of retail and care work apprenticeships, for instance.

Ideal for the employer - doesn't even have to pay NMW.

[doomed]

Well I have just heard on the radio that my local cab firm is offering apprenticeships. You really couldn't make this up.

[oracle]

Whether it's a good thing depends on the quality of the apprenticeships.

There are rather a lot of retail and care work apprenticeships, for instance.

Ideal for the employer - doesn't even have to pay NMW.

agreed.

if it's learning a trade of some kind, then it's most certainly a better alternative than spending years learning theory and not getting your hands dirty.

[SarahBell]

Whether it's a good thing depends on the quality of the apprenticeships.

There are rather a lot of retail and care work apprenticeships, for instance.

Ideal for the employer - doesn't even have to pay NMW.

Local council staff told me they'll have a new one next year. There's no jobs for the ones they've trained up and no money to keep them on to do level 3 of whatever it is they do. So they get the push (encouraged to apply for other jobs) and then a new one comes in.

[gf3]

Whether it's a good thing depends on the quality of the apprenticeships.

There are rather a lot of retail and care work apprenticeships, for instance.

Ideal for the employer - doesn't even have to pay NMW.

I still think it's better than turning out another million media studies graduates. I heard that there are more media study graduate each year than there are people working in the media.

Training however should be concentrated on jobs that earn above average wages. No point training more people into jobs that don't pay enough with there current staffing levels.

[Ulfar]

Apprenticeships should be reserved for skilled professions and should result in a professional qualification. Most of the jobs at a council should not need an apprenticeship, they are admin jobs and apart from being told what to do these jobs do not involve a trade able skill.

This is the problem with apprenticeships and internships, free or cheap kids followed by a churn every year.

Want to solve the problem, then require an employer to pay the apprentice/intern on the same pay scale as those already there, then guarantee a job at the end of it.

[MrPin]

Apprentiships are exactly the way some of my older friends became Accountants, or Engineers!

[interestrateripoff]

Local council staff told me they'll have a new one next year. There's no jobs for the ones they've trained up and no money to keep them on to do level 3 of whatever it is they do. So they get the push (encouraged to apply for other jobs) and then a new one comes in.

If they have got some skills it's not all bad.

However it would appear a system for keeping people off the dole.

[Ah-so]

Cost of university is probably over fifty grand all in. That is a lot of debt, before taking lost income into consideration.

It really takes a 2.1 from a Russell Group uni to make it pay, especially in the first decade if you are after jobs with big firms on grad schemes.

[Digsby]

Well I have just heard on the radio that my local cab firm is offering apprenticeships. You really couldn't make this up.

An apprenticeship in what, smoking fags and being terse with calling customers?

[Digsby]

I've interviewed a couple of dozen graduate candidates for computer programming jobs in the past year or two. All very well qualified with impressive academic records, but clueless, useless imo.

I welcome more school leavers taking apprenticeships. There is no substitute for experience, in my industry at least.

[Qetesuesi]

Well I have just heard on the radio that my local cab firm is offering apprenticeships. You really couldn't make this up.

+1000. As if they've still not heard of Google car and the like. What on earth is the point of taking on youngsters when in 10 years' time their 'industry' will be extinct?

[credo]

Whether it's a good thing depends on the quality of the apprenticeships.

There are rather a lot of retail and care work apprenticeships, for instance.

Ideal for the employer - doesn't even have to pay NMW.

Exactly. These apprenticeships are largely just a break for comapnies to employ young people below minimum wage. It's frankly disgusting practice. When I was in my teens I worked all kinds of jobs and was paid more than the going rate for these apprenticeships (about 2.50 an hour) and that was 20 years ago.

These days the jobs that I had would now be 'apprenticeships'.

[Blod]

Though I mentioned this in another thread. It appears that the cost of higher costs of education is now impacting the London Ambulance Service.

A solution now being considered is on the job training.

"There is evidence that people don’t want to or can’t afford to go to university to get qualified as a paramedic to even start a career. This means finding ways of having them work for us whilst they qualify and finding ways of funding their education or at least supporting it. We also have a real barrier to recruitment in terms of the having to have a C1 category licence and gaining this licence costs up to £1000."

From page 26 of this report, http://www.londonhealthboard.org.uk/London%20Councils/LHB20135Makingthecasecoverpaper.pdf

[Gigantic Purple Slug]

An apprenticeship in what, smoking fags and being terse with calling customers?

No, in completely ignoring the sat nav and driving a route 4x longer than you need to.

[doomed]

http://www.notgoingtouni.co.uk/advice/taxi-and-private-hire-apprenticeship-460

The taxi and private hire apprenticeship provides you with a structured training programme, as opposed to having to secure your license first and then, like many other drivers, having to find your own way from there.

Entry conditions for this apprenticeship start with licensing matters: obviously you’ll need a full driving license, but you’ll also need a category B license, for which you’ll need to train once you’ve reached the age of 17.

Edited July 5, 2014 by doomed

[SarahBell]

http://www.notgoingtouni.co.uk/advice/taxi-and-private-hire-apprenticeship-460

The taxi and private hire apprenticeship provides you with a structured training programme, as opposed to having to secure your license first and then, like many other drivers, having to find your own way from there.

Entry conditions for this apprenticeship start with licensing matters: obviously you’ll need a full driving license, but you’ll also need a category B license, for which you’ll need to train once you’ve reached the age of 17.

Don't quite understand that. What do they do that anyone capable of having acquired the right licences wouldn't already have managed to pick up on their own?

[Digsby]

Don't quite understand that. What do they do that anyone capable of having acquired the right licences wouldn't already have managed to pick up on their own?

They teach you how to "find your own way from there"! Edited July 5, 2014 by Digsby

[Dorkins]

Whether it's a good thing depends on the quality of the apprenticeships.

Judge for yourself, the apprenticeships are here:

https://apprenticeshipvacancymatchingservice.lsc.gov.uk/navms/forms/candidate/Apprenticeships.aspx

e.g.

Vacancy Description

The chosen Apprentice will work as a Junior Hairdresser. A junior plays an important role in the salon by maintaining health and safety and assisting stylists and their clients.

The Apprentice will be involved with reception duties, answering the phone and booking appointments for the Stylists, shampooing and general tidying of the salon.

Meeting and greeting clients, making tea and coffee and making sure that they are looked after while they are waiting to be seen.

Key Details

Vacancy TitleHairdressing Apprentice

EmployerThe Funky Barnet

Employer Description

Situated at Cemetery Junction in Reading, The Funky Barnet is a five star salon that provides the best, locally recognised, hairdressing services in the east of Reading. With a holistic and warm welcoming environment and relaxed and friendly service, our experienced, enthusiastic team addresses the diversity of the evolving fashion environment, whilst the salon supports an atmosphere for team members to achieve their respective goals and ambitions, whilst ensuring clients personal satisfaction and good growth for the business, staff, and customers.

Web Sitehttp://www.thefunkybarnet.co.uk

Vacancy Location

14 Wokingham Road

Reading

Berkshire

RG6 1JG

Working Week40 hours per week, shifts 10-5 or 11-8

Weekly Wage£ 107.20

£100 a week for 18 months, that should be pretty soul-destroying.

Still, at least they'll be learning valuable skills like making tea and writing appointments in the appointment book.

Edited July 5, 2014 by Dorkins

[Ulfar]

Judge for yourself, the apprenticeships are here:

https://apprenticeshipvacancymatchingservice.lsc.gov.uk/navms/forms/candidate/Apprenticeships.aspx

e.g.

£100 a week for 18 months, that should be pretty soul-destroying.

Still, at least they'll be learning valuable skills like making tea and writing appointments in the appointment book.

This is a false advertisement, an apprentice hairdresser should be learning to be a hairdresser.

What they want is a cheap receptionist. Proves the point that apprenticeships are open to abuse.

[tinker]

Don't quite understand that. What do they do that anyone capable of having acquired the right licences wouldn't already have managed to pick up on their own?

They've probably found some funding from the Government to maintain the mirage of training and low unemployment. Helping people into employment has been one of the growth industries of late; sadly for the most part they neither help nor usually lead to long-term, sustainable employment, but money slushes around and politicians can crow a bit about the pretend economy.

[boy, am I cynical these days!]

[Dorkins]

This is a false advertisement, an apprentice hairdresser should be learning to be a hairdresser.

What they want is a cheap receptionist. Proves the point that apprenticeships are open to abuse.

Yep. 40 hours a week for less than £6k a year and with no skills to show for it after 18 months. And this was just the first ad I clicked on, I wasn't even looking for a bad one.

[gf3]

This is a false advertisement, an apprentice hairdresser should be learning to be a hairdresser.

What they want is a cheap receptionist. Proves the point that apprenticeships are open to abuse.

Well who is to know how this will turn out. May end up day release at collage and become a hairdresser. Can't see any one applying that didn't want to go down that root.