Apprenticeships: A plan we need

First created in the Middle Ages, let’s give them a shake-up.

Apprenticeships have been long over-looked by both young people and their parents. But education isn’t always a linear path. We don’t expect it from workers in society, so why do we expect it from our learners?

Let’s be honest, doing an apprenticeship is a risk.

There are fewer testimonials from successful apprentices. And so fewer young people are hearing what the reality of apprenticeships. Making it harder for them to imagine what success would look like. Coupled with societal pressure, it’s difficult to go against the grain.

Also, is it’s really hard to imagine what an apprenticeship would be like, there aren’t TV shows about it*. Can you name someone who’s been an apprentice? And so it’s not part of the national conversation in the same way.

*For clarity, The Apprentice isn’t an accurate example of the schemes ran by organisations. (Alan Sugar is hiring professionals competing for investment in their business ideas)

“Why didn’t you want to go to university?”

My cousin is applying for an apprenticeship, he wants to stay close to home but wants to learn a trade that isn’t taught at university.

During the chat, he defiantly straightened his back and said: “I don’t think university is for people like me.”

His honesty was immediately interpreted to mean he’s not academic, not book smart. He was commended with a hint of pity. But apprenticeships today provide insights into professions without risking a £27,000+ investment. University can leave people struggling to access the job market. Especially if they don’t have the toolkit to network their way to a job.

No one I know has done one

Harder still, young people have been taught to take the same routes as their peers. Primary school, secondary school, college/ sixth form and then university. There aren’t many people who go to secondary school or into further education and pivot into different types of learning programmes. That makes doing an apprenticeship after full-time education a risky proposal. Unless someone in your community can champion their apprenticeship, you’re less likely to go.

The commercialisation of university education has caused uniformity in university experiences. Every young person has an image in their head of what they want their experience will look like. Wearing that mortarboard and robe is exactly the same no matter which university they’re in. The expectations are upfront, there’s no reason why they can’t be like the millions that have been through the process before them. That makes university a safe bet.

The same can’t be said of apprenticeships. Every company has a different culture and different expectations, so imagining a ‘day in the life of’ is harder. Job descriptions aren’t written consistently for the same or similarly named roles. Worse still, there’s a minimum pay range for apprentices. It sits below the national minimum wage, and so applicants are expected to find ways to top up their income. This often puts pressure on parents, whereas university offers grants and loans. Tempting isn’t it?

Apprentices often qualify for roles at the same level as their graduate peers. So the assumption that everyone must have gone to university. Once again, it’s removed from the national conversation.

Policy changes I would fight for:

1. One system for applying for apprenticeships like UCAS

Why are applications for apprenticeships scattered across the year? Having one system means apprenticeships are seen like university institutions.

For teachers, having one system makes them accountable for informing students about apprenticeships. It helps teachers track interest and gives them access to information in one place. That means that they can provide better support on the range of options available.

For employers, it’s a great recruitment marketing activity. Being cited on a third party domain boosts competition. It also encourages other employers to follow suit and carry out similar schemes.

2. Reward in line with the qualification earned

Currently, we penalise young people for choosing an apprenticeship. We lock them into one specific job type for the next 2 years. Ploughing through 2 years just to get a qualification isn’t good enough. Workers aren’t expected to stay in roles they aren’t happy in. Even at university, if you’re not enjoying your course you can change it. The risk of losing an entire qualification is too high a risk for some. Better pay scaling would actively reward people as they learn more skills. And if pay was consistent for apprentices people could move to companies more suited to them. And so, maintaining progression and knowing their worth.

Having rewards encourages people to stay on schemes. The current“stick” approach threatens the happiness of companies’ employees and isn’t ethical.

3. Encourage companies to adopt accelerated apprenticeships

Accelerated schemes give working people development options. They can deep dive into a new profession and try out tech that they wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to. This particularly works well in tech roles like data science and software development. Gaining exposure in these roles is hugely important for the economy of the future. Meanwhile, those skills haven’t been adopted into school curriculums, so encouraging exposure could reveal hidden talents in staff.

The schemes encourage employees to understand their customers’ needs in new ways. If successfully implemented, employers may find that people are more likely to stay. Retaining corporate knowledge and pivoting isn’t new, so let’s encourage it. Even if they go back to their previous job, they gain empathy in how other parts of the organisation works.

By having varied types of talent programmes, new audiences are more likely to apply. It’s important that the next generation of employees learn about different perspectives. Boardrooms with more women increase their financial revenue by 15%. By increasing having more diverse people on talent schemes we enhance the development opportunities for everyone.

Also, accelerated schemes encourage people in traditional industries to learn about emerging technology. The gateway encourages people to think about how they’re going to interact with new tech to stay ahead.

4. Create twinning apprenticeships with companies.

Just like twinning schools, apprenticeships could do job swaps with other companies.

It doesn’t matter if they’re an apprentice at a competitor, one day you’ll be trying to hire them. Get to know your talent early.

Currently, apprentices get experience in one company culture and values. But what if they switched places, and experienced different operating models? With more motivation and a wealth of ideas, they’d come back with a curious mind, and motivation to do the best job possible.

For the individual, it shows them what they value in their employers. It encourages apprentices to make more informed choices about their futures too.