Apprenticeships
University has been viewed as the traditional route to success, a good job and a fulfilling career but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the only route available. With 90% of apprentices going into work or further training, and 89% satisfied with their experience, something must be working. However, technical and vocational training has long been unfairly viewed as the poor relation of academic education.
From the governments ’Get In. Go Far.’ apprenticeship campaign and the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy, to the recent announcement of T-Levels starting from 2020. It appears as though efforts are being made to change the perception, quality and value of apprenticeships. Even with these developments, more still needs to be done to protect young people from poor quality apprenticeships and apprenticeships that aim to exploit them.
At this stage there are no definitive statistics stating exactly how many young people are being exploited by so called apprenticeships. More research in this area would go a long way in identifying the main issues young people face during apprenticeships; and also aid in the creation of additional avenues for support.
As mentioned on What’s Up TV, the Reform report entitled ‘The Great Training Robbery’ looks at the effects of the Apprenticeship Levy, to read the full report click the link below.
Regardless of any of this, a lot more needs to be done to ensure that apprenticeships are represented correctly. They are not just for those who didn’t succeed academically, they are not a lesser alternative to university and they are not only for manual jobs. The Institute for Apprenticeships is an organization that provides information and support about apprenticeships and their standards, to find out more head over to their website.
For more information about apprenticeships, follow the links below:
