EARLY CAREERS
AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
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Our research has shown that 81% of members have no confidence that students leaving school at 16 have the right level of employability skills, and 77% say that school leavers’ business awareness was poor.
The Apprenticeship Journey, a recent report by The Federation of Small Businesses’ (FSB), found that 30 years of constant change to the apprenticeship system has undermined their value in the eyes of all involved. The Government wants to increase the number of apprentices and expects to invest around £1.5 billion in them for the year 2012-13, and while the FSB supports this proposal, it wants to see a better quality programme. John Walker, National Chairman, FSB, explains why…
A
ll apprenticeships need to be a high quality route into work that provides full training for a career in a
chosen industry. Apprenticeships must have the same parity of esteem as an academic, university-based education in the eyes of teachers, students as well as business people and parents. We believe that if the Apprenticeship Programme becomes a quality product that the number of people choosing an apprenticeship will naturally follow. In England there are only around 11 apprentices for every 1,000 employees, compared to 39 in Australia. To increase these numbers we want to see Government work with employers to produce an agreed definition of an apprenticeship. We believe this will help improve the ‘brand’ in the eyes of business and ultimately make them more relevant. In our report, we also called for the Government to put employers at the heart of the system. We believe that businesses should be able to draw down funding from Government rather than go through providers. This would mean the business could buy what the apprentice needs and not what the provider wants to deliver. This will make an apprenticeship much more relevant for businesses meaning they could be more likely to consider taking an apprentice on. But it isn’t just the brand image that businesses have a
problem with. The FSB believes that all school leavers, whether going on to further academic or vocational study or straight into the workplace, should be equipped with the right skills for the workplace. Our research has shown that 81% of members have no confidence that students leaving school at 16 have the right level of employability skills, and 77% say that school leavers’ business awareness was poor.
Apprenticeships need to not be seen as ‘catch-up courses’. Businesses don’t want to have to teach basic functional skills that schools should be responsible for. Getting the early education system right will naturally increase the status of apprenticeships as these basic functional skills then won’t need to be part of the apprenticeship.
Once the quality of apprenticeships has been
addressed, then we feel that it will become genuinely demand-led. Furthermore to ensure that the young person is ready for the responsibility of an apprenticeship, schools must work closely with small businesses in their local areas. This could be through encouraging business owners to become a school governor, providing work experience, becoming a mentor or providing careers guidance and education. Many businesses want to work with schools, but find it difficult to know how to approach them. We would encourage schools to be innovative in the way they expose students to business. It should be done as often as possible, with a wide variety of industries, and go beyond the traditional ‘work experience’ that many young people complete. In short, businesses and schools need to work together. The FSB is planning to host a series of events that bring schools, colleges and business together to talk about what each group needs to make this work. If the young person doesn’t have the basic skills to operate in the workplace the apprenticeship won’t be successful. Real world experience of the workplace is valued by employers, not least because it helps them to develop key employability skills. Developing the quality of apprenticeships is the way to make this happen.
www.fsb.org.uk
GRADUATE RECRUITER 13
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