Apprenticeships, have they had their day?

Why do you think they have had their day?

From what I've read, they seem to be making a comeback. I normally associate them with more manual, technical type industries, such as engineering.

I suppose you could have a web developer apprentice? In which case possibly

I'm just wondering if people still employ apprentices and whether they are then taken on after completing their apprenticeship. I was interested to see if they are filling spaces or not. 

Apprenticeships are definitely on the way back especially in the construction industry. There are also incentives for employers to take on an apprentice.

I think they are a great alternative to academic courses, as kids have different strengths. Maybe there was a bit of stigma or snobbery with old apprenticeship type schemes, versus university, and potential job prospects and salaries after completing both.

But i think now in the modern world, the image of the engineer is deemed to be "cooler" than maybe years ago. perhaps it was an image/marketing problem of apprenticeships that is slowly changing?

Is there a reason why you couldn't have a web designer type apprentice? Or is that overlapping into university courses?

Apprenticeships are most definitely on the rise at present. When you look at the current statistics, it's clear to see why...

Before I go onto some of the stats, it's probably best for me to start with what an apprenticeship actually is these days. Whilst it's true that apprenticeships were once associated solely with manual or vocational roles, that's no longer the case as you can now enter many professions through apprenticeship routes. Examples of this include the legal profession, accountancy, financial services and teaching.

Currently 47% of graduates are in non-graduate job roles.

27% of those who have done an apprenticeship earn more than graduates.

78% of apprentices go on to study at higher education level during their professional career, proving that apprenticeships needn't be a barrier to becoming highly qualified.

40% of graduates take more than 6 months on graduating to find a job (that's any job, not necessarily one they're qualified in).

The stats above mean that more and more A level students look to apprenticeships as their next step after school. I'm currently helping several find a suitable role for them in the West Yorkshire area, so if you want a high calibre school leaver in your business, come and have a chat ;-)

So, why would you as an employer take an apprentice on? Well, they're certainly cosrt effective. My recruitment service doesn't cost you anything as the employer because the training provider pays me.

If the apprentice is under 19, the training is fully funded. So that doesn't cost anything either. If you haven't employed an apprentice in the last 12 months and employ under 1000 people (that'll be most of you) you qualify for a grant of £1500 per apprentice (maximum of 10) which is paid after the apprentice has completed 13 weeks on programme.

It's not always plain sailing, this blog entry explains a more frustrating (and thankfully rare) side http://theapprenticefinder.wordpress.com/2014/04/03/no-names-no-pack-drill/.

Steve Richardson, you can have a Web Designer apprentice. How many would you like? I'm happy to help you recruit and source training.

If anybody would like to know more about apprenticeships, please feel free to contact me. My details are on my website which is www.theapprenticefinder.com.

I'll also try to answer any general questions here as well :-D

Interesting stuff, and thanks for the detailed response.

I can't help my cynical radar going off, I wonder if there is an element of govt stat fudging, by shepherding kids off to an apprenticeship to keep the unemployment figures down, but thats just me 

But some interesting stats there, especially 27% of apprentices go on to earn more than grads. That's the sort of publicity that will make it ever more popular!

If we were a web design company, then I'd seriously look at taking on a trainee/apprentice, and if you get a bonus as well, even better!

The telling stat for me is the 47% of graduates in non-graduate roles. It's not currently being highlighted enough yet (probably because the government don't want too many turning their backs on university just yet).

When I tell parents this, they suddenly become more interested in what I've got to say because they all know somebody who went to university who's now in a role they could have got straight from school.

Steve, I understand the cynicism, however it's not currently apprenticeships that's really keeping those figures down. There's something else (cue next detailed response) and that is a piece of legislation that came into being last September called Raising of Participation Age or RPA for short.

This means that anyone who has their 17th birthday in this academic year must now either go back to school, go to FE college, get an apprenticeship or get a traineeship. It's done wonders for the NEETS figures, however there is a bigger scandal brewing which won't manifest itself until the summer/autumn of 2016 (bear with me, this takes a bit of explaining).

The majority of schools now tell their pupils that they must remain in school for an extra year rather than give them their true options (as required by statute) because it means more funding for them.

In 2015 the RPA rises again to 18. If the current trend continues, there's a real crunch point going to hit. The reason for this is because of how the apprenticeship funding changes when someone gets to 19. Basically, anyone who is over 19 when starting an apprenticeship only attracts 50% funding to the training provider which means the provider then asks for a fee to help cover their costs. The knock on effect of this means that many employers will specifically request to employ someone under 19 as an apprentice rather than over 19.

So, the scandal that will hit in a couple of year's time is that a much larger number of people will leave school after their 18th birthday. If they then want an apprenticeship, they've got until their 19th birthday to find one or find their chances of getting one severely diminishing.

It's a problem I've already highlighted to my MP, but I think it largely fell on deaf ears. Of course there are several things the government could do to avert this, however as it won't happen until after the next election, my belief that they won't do anything and allow it to happen as the headline NEET figures will be much lower as a result.

Sorry for the long-windedness, just thought you might be interested in what's going on out there ;-)

Fascinating stuff, and not something I was aware of, so assume there's not too much publicity about this at the moment (unless it's passed me by!) Good old politics and education, always a ropey mixture, then throw in a general election...

Any apprenticeship questions, I now know where to go