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Credit support urged to boost apprenticeships


JTL, THE LEADING


training charity for the building services engineering sector, has warned that British banks are blocking businesses from providing employment opportunities for young people, as they refuse to provide credit support. In a JTL poll of employers in the electrical, plumbing and heating sector, an


overwhelming majority (93 per cent) said that they would like to take on an apprentice if they had the resources to do so. However, 66 per cent of those respondents said they had no plans to take on an apprentice in 2012. The survey found that bank support – or the lack of it – was a major issue, with 60 per cent of those polled saying


that more banking support would enable them to win more work, and so take on apprentices.


Denis Hird, chief executive of JTL, commented: ‘Firms in our sector only get paid when a contract is complete. So to win work, they need cash up-front to pay staff and buy materials. In these thorny economic times, many SMEs don’t have this cash to hand and so desperately need support from the banks; but this has all but dried up. As a result, firms can’t even bid for new work, let alone take on a new staff member to train up.’ Last year, JTL received 25,000 applications for only 2,500 electrical, heating and plumbing places, meaning 90 per cent of applicants had to be turned away. He concluded: ‘It’s misleading that young people are being pushed towards apprenticeships when employers simply can’t create enough places to go round. Our own study shows that 44 per cent of firms have slashed their apprenticeship budget since National Apprenticeship Week began in 2008.’


PLAYING A ROUND WITH SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC


If you haven’t sent in your entry form yet for the Schneider Electric ECA and SELECT national golf tournament 2012, now is the time to get it in. The popular tournament, which last year attracted more than 780 entrants, is being staged for the 28th time this year, with a series of regional heats played at 11 top-quality golf courses beginning in May and running until August. The national final of the competition will be held over two days on 12-13 September at Hawkstone Park Golf Club, Shropshire. The dates of the regional heats are as follows:


Region Ireland


North East South East South West South Wales North East/


North West Scotland Location


Lisburn Golf Club, County Antrim Garforth Golf Club, Leeds


Westerham Golf Club, Westerham Isle of Wedmore, Somerset Marriott St Pierre, Chepstow


West Midlands Derbyshire South


Marlborough Golf Club, Wiltshire De Vere Carden Park, Chester


Greater London Welwyn Garden City Golf Club, Hertfordshire


The Blairgowrie Golf Club, Perth


National final Hawkstone Park Golf Club, Shropshire


Date


Thurs 3 May Tues 15 May Thurs 17 May Weds 23 May Tues 12 June


De Vere Slaley Hall, Northumberland Thurs 14 June Marriott Breadsall Priory Golf Club, Tues 26 June


Weds 27 June Tues 3 July


Weds 18 July Thurs 9 August


Weds 12, Thurs 13 September


Competition entry costs £30. For more details and entry forms, contact the tournament administrator Sophia Cooper, at Schneider Electric Ltd, Tel: 01952 209 668 or email: sophia.cooper@schneider-electric.com


EAL slams moves to downgrade vocational qualifications


EAL has condemned the cull of vocational qualifications from school league tables. More than 3,000 vocational qualifications regarded as equivalent to GCSEs in current league tables will be reduced to 125, with just 70 counting towards the main performance measure of five A* to C grades.


The changes result from


Professor Alison Wolf’s review of vocational education, and will impact on 14-16 performance


tables from 2014 onwards. Ann Watson, managing director of EAL, said: ‘This is a huge blow to public perceptions of the vocational route – and it is naïve to think the damage will be limited to those qualifications that will be absent from future league tables. It is a grave concern that qualifications like Performing Engineering Operations are suddenly less attractive for schools, because the government’s criteria deem


them unfit for performance tables – this despite the great potential they offer for pupils to develop an interest in practical learning, secure jobs and progress in their learning to Advanced and Higher Apprenticeships.’ Watson concluded: ‘Vocational qualifications such as these are trusted by industry employers to provide vital skills for the workplace. We urge schools to look beyond the performance measures to assess their value for pupils.’


March 2012 ECA Today 7


SHUTTERSTOCK/AUREMAR


SHUTTERSTOCK / ANDREY SHADRIN


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