SKILLS
Times are changing for apprenticeships
Attitudes towards apprenticeship programmes among employers, young people and parents are on the up according to new research from business and financial advisers Grant Thornton UK. While new apprenticeships in the
East Midlands in the 2016/2017 academic year was down by 900 on the previous 12 months to 47,180, according to provisional figures from the Department for Education, Grant Thornton’s ‘Generation Apprentice’ research reveals a positive shift in attitudes. The study found 43% of
The Tech She Can initiative is committed to inspiring more women to join the tech industry
PwC joins drive to boost women in technology
PwC has joined forces with 18 major organisations to increase the number of females taking up technology roles in the UK. The launch of the Tech She Can Charter sees the industry commit to reaching more young females across the UK to inspire them to pursue technology careers. The Tech She Can Charter will tackle the
factors behind the shortfall of women in technology roles; currently only 23% of people working in STEM jobs are female. PwC’s research Women in Tech: Time to Close the Gender Gap reveals that only just over a quarter (27%) of females say they would consider a career in technology, compared to 62% of males. And only three per cent of females say it is their first choice of career. Without coordinated action at school age onwards to create a
sustainable pipeline of diverse tech talent, the UK could lose its competitive edge on the world stage. This could mean not being able to meet businesses’ technology skills needs, losing out on inward investment and creating inherently biased algorithms. Sheridan Ash, Women in Tech leader at PwC and The Tech She Can
Charter founder, said: “Waiting until women are entering work is simply too late - to boost the number of females in technology we need to take coordinated action to start inspiring girls to consider technology careers while they are still at school. “We need to work harder to raise awareness about the exciting range of
technology roles out there, in a sector that has the power to change the world. Technology is open to all and we need to get that message across.” Matthew Hammond (pictured), PwC Midlands Region Chairman, said: “The gender imbalance in technology roles is a key issue of our time
that we need to work together to address head on. If the sector and people in technology roles don’t reflect wider society there’s a real risk that the products and technology advances are biased. “The demand for technology skills from businesses is already reaching
critical levels and is only set to increase. This is our chance to build a diverse and inclusive pipeline of technology talent, which will help position UK businesses at the forefront of innovation and investment.”
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employers see apprenticeships as a way to offer young people more opportunity and 86% say they believe apprenticeships increase social mobility in their organisation. 77% of young people think apprenticeships offer good career prospects and 42% of young people feel apprenticeships and university degrees hold the same value. Despite the dip in the number of
new apprenticeships in the region over the past 12 months, nationally, employers are increasingly positive. Half of those questioned said
they intend to recruit more apprentices over the next five years and 79% say the Apprenticeship Levy has encouraged them to take on more apprentices. Tom Copson, who leads the
recruitment, school leavers and trainee programme at Grant Thornton’s East Midlands office, said: “With the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy and the wider changes to the apprenticeship system, employers should be exploring opportunities to think laterally about how they approach talent development. For employers looking to address the skills gap across all levels there are now new apprenticeship standards going all the way up to Masters level qualifications.”
Tom Copson
‘There are now new apprenticeship standards going all the way up to Masters level qualifications’
In 2013, Grant Thornton became
the first professional services firm to remove academic barriers to entry from its trainee selection processes. “We now know that this has had
a positive impact on social mobility, diversity and innovation without impacting quality,” says Tom. “The changing attitudes
represent an evolution in the expectations of young people and parents when it comes to learning beyond school.” This change in perceptions is
among the reasons 21-year-old Amy Pilgrim opted to join Grant Thornton’s school leavers trainee programme when she left school. She said: “I was won over by the
high standard of the school leavers programme at Grant Thornton, as I could be qualified in three to five years and earn a good salary while doing so rather than accrue university debt.” Last year, Grant Thornton UK was awarded first place on the first list of national employers to have taken significant action to improve social mobility in the workplace, The Social Mobility Employer Index.
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