Andrew Pakes MP
Chair of the Apprenticeships APPG“Let’s make our apprenticeship system truly the world’s envy,” writes Andrew Pakes MP, chair of the all-party Parliamentary group on apprenticeship.
It’s right that we celebrate the success of more than 750,000 apprentices who are powering skills and productivity in our local economies. In my constituency of Peterborough and across England this week, thousands of events will demonstrate how much employers, educators and communities value the earning and learning route.
We were the first country to pass a National Apprenticeship Act when the Tudor Parliament 1563 enacted the Statute of Artificers. It’s mind-boggling to think how much our society and economy have changed since then. Gross Domestic Product is more than 150 times greater since Elizabeth I, with our population increasing twenty-fold. What has not changed is the timeless requirement of educating the next generation and ensuring novices in the jobs market are set forth in the working world with all the pride and self-reliance of mastering a new occupation, profession or skill.
We are fortunate in this country that apprenticeship policy is pursued as a cross-party consensus. Margaret Thatcher’s government rescued the brand by creating Modern Apprenticeships in the 1990s. And Tony Blair’s administration built on this legacy to create a system with mass appeal, resulting in the largest expansion of apprenticeship places in British history.
Commentators will often cite Switzerland and Germany as world-leaders in apprenticeships. However, they fail to recognise that the UK has probably innovated the most in recent decades when it comes to creating an all-age, all qualification levels approach to work-based learning. No OECD country has as many higher-level apprentices โ in quality paid jobs from day one โ as a percentage of the workforce than we do.
I believe this is something not only to be hugely proud of, but something we should now build on for the future. Indeed, I would go further and say there are three policy steps we now need to build a political consensus on as we grow the apprenticeship system during the rest of this century: an era increasingly defined by automation and AI.
First, while anyone of any age should be able to embark on an apprenticeship, we must remember the vital role quality apprenticeships play in connecting the under-25s to the labour market. The record of the last government is stark: the number of opportunities for those leaving school and going into apprenticeship has slumped โ 40 per cent in England. This decline occurred as the number of young people not in education, employment or training climbed to 900,000. That’s nearly a million livelihoods lost to the productive economy and the dignity of work if we do not take bold action to turn this situation around.
This matters in a city like Peterborough where we have seen falling apprenticeship numbers and rising levels of youth unemployment. Iโm incredibly proud Peterborough has been chosen as one of the trailblazer pilots for youth employment launched by DWP. Just last month, I was pleased to co-host a NEETS Summit jointly with Peterborough College, ARU Peterborough, local businesses and providers to look at how we can make this work better in my constituency.
Second, we need to join up the apprenticeship policy with our plans to transform higher education so that it is fit for the twenty-first century. I am proud of the fact that so many working-class kids in my constituency are often the first in their families to go to university. However, I’m also conscious that student debt can be a barrier for some taking up these opportunities. Full-time residential degrees are not for everyone. But that doesn’t mean young people can’t turn their jobs, via paid apprenticeships, into relevant degrees.
Degree apprenticeships are a win-win: for taxpayers because employers pay for these courses from the Levy; for individuals because they are in productive paid employment from day one; and for society as a whole, because resources are better targeted towards the skills employers say they need. The challenge, however, is on the demand-side.
Third, we need to properly value and recognise the contribution of those who pursue vocational and technical routes to our economy. The fact is that the UK has a hang-up about apprenticeships. And so many parts of the system are obsessed with university. There is also an assumption – lazy and misguided – that apprenticeships are second-best to degrees, that apprentices are lesser beings than undergraduates. We use the phrase โuniversity is not for everyoneโ as though university is the gold standard, and apprenticeships the also-ran.
The English class system exerts itself, and places people into boxes, limiting horizons, prejudicing futures, and stifling ambition. This must stop. It must stop, not only for the good of the brilliant, energetic, ambitious young people, and not-so-young people, who embark on apprenticeships, but also for the good of the economy.
This is why we need change โ change in careers services, making it easier for businesses to support learners and parents, a step change in how we regard apprenticeships.
Insight from the Association of Apprentices
โApprenticeships offer exceptional benefits for individuals, employers, and the economy, with these benefits being most significant when apprentices complete their programs. Apprentices highlight that support networks, access to peer groups, and mentoring are crucial for their success. Our goal is to eliminate disparities in this vital support by collaborating with employers, training providers, and the government to enhance engagement, retention, and completion rates among apprentices.” – Emily Rock, CEO, Association of Apprentices
The Association of Apprentices (AoA) is a not-for-profit membership organisation created to connect apprentices in the UK for peer support, community and learning. It is free for apprentices to join, and our current 33,000+ members benefit from our networking platform, life and transferable skills development resources, and physical and virtual events. Through AoA, apprentices can now apply for the Post Apprenticeship Recognition Scheme (PARS) which recognises the unique skills they have gained from an apprenticeship and awards post-nominals.
Contact: hello@associationofapprentices.org.uk or visit: www.associationofapprentices.org.uk
For more of Chamber UK’s analysis on young people, education, and skills, please click here.