[ Focus: Apprenticeship policy ] The new structure introduces the potential for
government to negotiate the way in which it might fund apprenticeships in the future. A focus for the government is achieving value for money, so there is likely to be a funding review that relates to how government discharges its contribution and what it will fund. Government may ask each industry to agree the requirements of their apprenticeship, and funding will be tied into that – based on the components of the final framework arrived at by employers. The ECA has frequently campaigned for
better financial incentives for employers, and there are some indications that the government is considering a system of National Insurance rebates for companies that train apprentices. The mechanism for accessing apprenticeships will also change drastically, and pilots are currently under way to fund apprenticeships directly through local agencies called Local Enterprise Partnerships.
Leading from the front The ECA strongly encourages employers to engage with the new apprenticeship process, and to ensure that the work of ‘running’ apprenticeships is entrusted to appropriately mandated representatives. It says: ’If our apprenticeship is to remain in the hands of employers, it is essential that the consortia are properly representative bodies. Otherwise, we risk a repeat of what has happened with many of the new apprenticeship industries, where commercial interests with less legitimacy step in and take control. ‘Whatever we might read into these
developments as the new policy emerges, it is important that we maintain the ECA’s leadership stance, working with industry partners to define the competence standards that benefit the industry at large, and not just particular interests. This overhaul could represent a once-in-a-generation set of changes, and employers must retain control of the standards that underpin the industry’s skills and competence.’
World class skills
The two biggest apprentice skill competitions in the industry calendar are helping to showcase the level of skill held by the UK’s most talented electrical installation apprentices. Regional heats of the 2013 annual SkillElectric competition have taken
place across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Each of the regional winners will battle it out at the national final, which takes place at the UK’s vocational skills showcase, the Skills Show, at the Birmingham NEC in November. SkillElectric is a feeder route for competitors potentially to go forward
and represent their country in the bi-annual international WorldSkills competition – the world’s largest skills competition – which is headed next for Brazil in 2015. In July, Matthew Crane, who works for NG Bailey, bagged a bronze
medal for the UK at the WorldSkills 2013 event in Leipzig, Germany. Matthew has completed his apprenticeship and is now pursuing a BTEC in electrical engineering. The UK industry has demonstrated that it is among the top countries for electrical installation training in the world, meeting the demanding international standard in electrical installation with wins of a gold medal, a medallion of excellence and a bronze in the last three WorldSkills competitions. ECA training manager and WorldSkills UK training manager for
electrical installation, David Thomas, says: ‘The international competition is an opportunity for the UK industry to show off what we can do. Craft skills gained via a formal industry apprenticeship are at the heart of competing internationally, and all the competitors who have represented the UK in recent competitions have the foundation of a traditional craft apprenticeship.’
ECA Edmundson Awards: Feeding industry and workforce development
The ECA’s awards scheme, in association with Edmundson Electrical, was established in 1975 to recognise and promote the high standards of apprenticeship training and achievement that exist within ECA member firms. Nearly four decades on, the awards
continue to feed development among the ECA member companies who understand the business benefits of apprentice investment, and among the past competitors and winners –
many of whom now have careers at the forefront of the industry, as engineers, technicians, contracts managers and electrical contracting business directors and owners. The event recognises achievement at regional and national level, and also benefits from the support of some of the electrical industry’s major manufacturers. This year’s winning apprentice and
adult trainee were announced at a prestigious event held at the Copthorne
Tara Hotel, central London, on 24 July. Benjamin Smith, 21, representing NG Bailey, and Sam Williams, 26, representing Bangor-based Owen and Palmer, scooped the Apprentice of the Year and Adult Trainee of the Year, respectively, surpassing hundreds of their highly-skilled peers within ECA member companies. To read what employers and past
competitors say about the competition, visit
www.eca.co.uk/edmundson
September 2013 ECA Today 53
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