[ Focus: Apprenticeship policy ]
and building services employers – as the bedrock industries for apprentice training – would not be prepared to endorse any reforms that undermined their apprenticeships. This has become known as the ‘gold standard’ for construction apprenticeships. In recognition of this industry’s support
for apprenticeships, the ECA was invited by government to join a panel of skills experts to contribute directly to the development of the Holt Review. ECA group chief executive officer Steve Bratt has since met with skills minister Matt Hancock, where he reinforced the industry’s position. The ECA believes that the voice of established apprentice industries can be of real value in the broad dialogue around securing apprenticeships for the future, and has asked government to demonstrate commitment to nurturing experienced apprenticeship sectors, as well as encouraging new entrants.
The ECA says: ‘A key objective of our work has
This could give employers greater control in specifying and defining the content of their apprenticeship
been encouraging government to remember the effectiveness and success of established apprenticeships that represent the gold standard in apprentice training, and helping government to understand how it might balance its measures for reform of apprenticeships as a whole, with the needs of employers to be in control of defining their competence requirements.’
Next steps Government has indicated it intends to implement many of the Richard Review recommendations, as a broad platform from which the future of apprenticeships can be built, taking the finer detail from a ‘Richard Review: Next Steps’ consultation exercise recently completed by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS). Its intention is to allow employers to be at the centre of defining the standards and scope of the learning required for each job role. Other plans are for apprenticeship assessments to become more independent and trusted by employers – something that the ECA has deemed essential, given the concerns around sub-standard training within the apprenticeship programme. The ECA’s input into the Next Steps
Case study: apprenticeships mean business for Clarkson Evans
Gloucester-based Clarkson Evans secured the Electrical Contractor of the Year competition in 2012 by demonstrating how, at a time when many competitors were scaling things back, they’d invested in an ambitious expansion plan and increased their market share through innovation. HR and Training Director Lindsey Young explains how apprenticeships are at the core of this success: ‘During 2012 we recruited nearly 100 electrical apprentices. We’ve been
training large numbers since 1998, but 2012 was a record year for us in terms of new starts, and we’re still recruiting now. At a time when many other businesses are reluctant to recruit due to economic uncertainty, we’ve taken a long-term view and actually increased our investment in training to prepare for when the industry picks up. It’s played a key role in helping us increase turnover from £8m for our 2008/2009 financial year to £19m in 2011/2012. ‘In 1998, when we started training apprentices, we employed only 35
staff. Today, we have a workforce of more than 450 staff and around 70 per cent of them completed apprenticeships with us. It would be impossible to recruit this many qualified staff who fit in and understand our company ethos.’
consultation process set out the case that one size does not fit all, in terms of the needs of apprenticeship industries, which represent very diverse businesses and career paths. But it emphasises the broad basis for a quality- and employer-led apprenticeship process provided by the electrotechnical apprenticeship model. The ECA says: ‘While we would not agree with everything set out in the Richard Review, we are reassured by the fact that that, broadly, Doug Richard appears to have arrived at the same conclusions both about the need to safeguard standards, and for every apprenticeship to be defined and led by its employers.’
The new look apprenticeship So what is the new apprenticeship infrastructure likely to look like, and what will it mean for employers? Firstly, the government has called on employers to take ownership of their apprenticeship and its end test – something we already do well in this industry through the employer-defined assessment of competence unit, the AM2. There is an indication that employer
representatives, in the form of consortia of employer-led bodies such as trade associations, will be expected to exert leadership in managing apprenticeships, and their underpinning occupational standards and qualifications on behalf their industry going forward. This could give employers greater control in specifying and defining the content of their apprenticeship.
52 ECA Today September 2013
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