National Apprenticeship Week 2018: More than 8,400 roles up for grabs now – and the one job that pays the most

It’s National Apprenticeship week in the UK, and right now, figures show there are currently 8,400 positions up for grabs, in fields spanning from education to engineering and even trainee legal roles.

Job search-engine Adzuna, estimates there are currently 8,374 advertised apprenticeship vacancies available in the UK, offering an average salary of £14,759 – significantly more than the government’s £3.50 minimum wage for young, trained workers.

Where are they?

Those seeking immediate employment should look to London and the South East – where the vast majority of positions appear to be clustered.

Jobseekers seeking a training-scheme have 2,484 openings to choose from in the Greater London region, and 1,088 in the South East.

However, outside of the capital, there are also plenty of roles to be filled.

The cities home to the most advertised apprenticeship vacancies are Manchester (198), Birmingham (166), Leeds (127), Bristol (117) and Reading (110), all worth considering for potential applicants.

But what field offers the best pay?

Apprentices in the legal sector can expect the highest pay, with advertised wages in this area of £23,904.

Engineering placements follow close behind, with an average salary of £22,512 on offer for apprenticeship schemes.

Teaching placements (£20,814), consultancy positions (£18,864), and maintenance openings (£18,461) round-off the top five most lucrative apprenticeship opportunities.

However, these well-paid positions are not necessarily the most readily available.

The sectors currently offering most apprenticeship positions are IT (1,085), hospitality and catering (1,046), and teaching (740) while there are only 9 legal opportunities currently available in the entire country.

Doug Monro, co-founder of Adzuna, said: “Increasing apprenticeships is crucial to unlocking the skills crisis currently constraining our key industries.

“The government has set an ambitious target to help encourage young blood in skills shortage areas like engineering and teaching.

“Publicising and filling these opportunities will be key. Developing further flexible options like graduate apprenticeships will help encourage applicants who wish to study alongside learning on the job, and this should be expanded further.

“Another issue is that apprenticeships are currently clustered in the South East corner of the country, and opportunities in the other regions of the UK need to be fostered.

“With university tuition fees at an all-time high, more young people are looking at alternative ways to up-skill after school, without the hefty price tag.

“Apprenticeships offer a cost-effective way of training on the job as well as developing new talent in skills shortage areas. This makes them a win-win solution for both employers and job seekers.”

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Apprenticeships: Almost half of company managers fear Government will miss target as numbers fall

Almost half of the company managers think the Government will fail to hit its target of creating three million apprenticeships by 2020, new research has found.

The Government set the target in 2015 but official figures show the numbers of new apprenticeships slumped last year.

Of 1,640 managers polled by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), 51 percent expressed concern that the country will need greater investment in skills after Brexit as the number of EU migrants falls.

More than a fifth said delays in standards for apprenticeship schemes being approved and implemented had reduced the number of those taking them up.

About 900 new apprentices have been waiting to start an apprenticeship in management since the standard is approved in August, the CMI said.

When asked how the number of people taking up apprenticeships could be increased, 80 percent of managers said they wanted the freedom to spend the levy on small businesses in their supply chains.

The news comes as National Apprenticeship Week begins on Monday. It suggests further problems with the government’s programme intended to boost vocational education as an alternative to university.

The aims of the apprenticeship levy have been broadly welcomed by businesses since it was introduced in April last year. The CMI’s survey shows 63 percent agreed that the apprenticeship levy, which pays for the scheme, is necessary to increase employer investment in skills.

However, the way the levy has been implemented has attracted criticism from many firms. All companies with a turnover of £3m or more must pay 0.5 percent of their payroll costs into a central pot for training. But the understanding of how the scheme works and the benefits companies receive from it is poor and take-up rates have fallen.

According to the Department for Education’s latest figures, 114,400 apprenticeships were started in England in the three months from August to October 2017, 49,800 down on the same period the previous year.

Less than half of managers surveyed by the CMI said they expect that number of new starts to increase in the next 12 months.

Petra Wilton, the Director of strategy for CMI, said the Government now needs to do far more to widen access to the scheme and raise awareness about the benefits apprenticeships can deliver.

Apprenticeships and skills minister Anne Milton said the survey results showed managers back the levy. “I want businesses and everyone to get the skills they need to grow and feedback like this shows that apprenticeships are helping them do just that,” she said.

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Survey finds manufacturers divided over Apprenticeship Levy

Manufacturers are divided on the success of the Apprenticeship Levy, according to the In-Comm Training Barometer.

The survey, designed to assess UK industry’s propensity for training, revealed that just 55 percent of manufacturers believe it is working.

Of the 71 respondents, just over a fifth said they had taken on apprentices as a result of the Levy, which represents an increase in the face of an annual decline in the number of Apprenticeship starts over the last twelve months.

These results are due to be presented to Anne Milton, Minister for Skills and Apprenticeships, during a delegation to Westminster involving 50 employers and apprentices.

Gareth Jones, managing director of In-Comm Training said: “There has been a lot of debate around the success or failure of the Apprenticeship Levy and these results show the jury is still very much out.

“Companies are tapping into it and we have seen a number of them use it to increase or start using apprentices, which, compared to the national reduction in starts, has to be a good thing. Encouragingly, 89 percent also said they would employ apprentices in the near future.”

He added that anecdotal information received through the report indicates that managing directors and training managers believe there needs to be better communication, more transparency and an ability to use the Levy to boost other forms of training.

“A good number even indicated they wouldn’t mind going back to the old days of the Engineering Industry Training Board, where every firm paid a Levy but could spend the money on all forms of training, not just apprenticeships,” said Jones.

The In-Comm Training Barometer asked manufacturers about the new Trailblazer Standards – where employers dictate training according to their needs – with two-thirds saying they didn’t understand them and 87 percent of those respondents citing ‘content’ as the main stumbling block.

When it comes to the appetite for different types of Apprenticeships, only 32 percent of companies are prepared to let their apprentices stay off-site for 18 months to complete their full-time Apprenticeships.

“It is vital that a tri-party collaboration happens here and everyone plays their part…industry to allow individuals the time to learn, providers to deliver industry-led content at high levels with no shortcuts and Government with funded initiatives to help industry upskill and become more productive,” said Jones.

“Results from the Barometer also showed that companies, especially SMEs, aren’t preparing their workforce for the next industrial revolution, with just 45 percent of respondents saying they are futureproofing their skills for Industry 4.0.”

The Training Barometer was completed by small, medium and large manufacturers, supplying 12 different engineering sectors.

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Apprenticeship Levy a “lose-lose” scenario

Dame Judith Hackitt has called upon the government to rethink the Apprenticeship Levy, which she says has turned a “win-win” scenario to a “lose-lose” scenario. Dame Judith was addressing numerous captains of industry at the Semta Skills Awards in London.

During her speech, she said that the new system, which finances apprenticeships, needed urgent radical reforms to reverse the ‘collapse’ of new start apprenticeships.

“We are not asking for the levy to be scrapped but it does need a rethink if it is to achieve what we all want and what the UK needs for the future.

“We have seen the number of new starts collapse with many companies postponing or halting apprenticeships. What should have been a win-win has become a lose-lose.

“To train the talented individuals we are going to see here tonight costs more than £27,000. Providers are reluctant to offer courses, which cost more than the cap, so there is a need to recognize the true cost of different types of apprenticeship not have one simple cap.

“There needs to be greater flexibility for employers and providers to agree on payment schedules especially in sectors like ours where upfront costs are high.

“The expiry date of funds needs to increase – an average engineering apprenticeship takes 48 months.

“The rules on transfer of unused levy need to be relaxed – moving the current cap at 10% to 50% would stimulate levy funds being used across supply chains.

“The levy should be used for what it says on the tin ¬- apprenticeships, without dilution to fund other training schemes.

“And the process of approval of apprenticeship standards must be streamlined. We know that the IFA has taken time to set up, but if we are to achieve the momentum we need on apprenticeships we cannot have the delays and deferrals, which we have been seeing.

“We all need to work together to make this as easy to implement as possible, not create unnecessary obstacles when we all want the same thing – more and more young people taking up apprenticeships.

“These conversations need to continue elsewhere – and urgently.”

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People said I was ‘too smart’ to do an apprenticeship

Snobbery around not going to university didn’t stop Natasha Meek from finding another way to learn.

“But you’re smart.” This was one of the many responses I received when I told tutors and peers about my wish to go for an apprenticeship. It wasn’t until I attended the college that I realized that people had misconceptions about who should take on apprenticeships and that university places were for ‘gifted people’. Unlike most families, my parents were apprenticeship advocates – they both achieved their career goals through earning and learning. In many ways, I knew that I would too.

Pressure

However, there’s a great deal of pressure on A-level students to take a route that may not suit them. So much so that in January of last year I began applying to go university. I had always wanted to be a journalist but the course descriptions didn’t fit what I was after – university has to be a worthwhile choice if you’re signing up to years of student loans and debt. When I confessed to my tutor and friends that I didn’t want to spend three years of my youth at university, all of a sudden it felt like other students were part of a community of which I couldn’t be part. Classmates would ask me which university I had applied for, and as soon as I told them I hadn’t applied they would swiftly talk to someone else. I wasn’t like them anymore.

Understanding how you wish to start your career

It wasn’t until my college started an employment tutorial that I began to feel accepted again. I had a wonderful tutor who rebuilt my confidence and encouraged me to take on work experience. In every college, there should be more space for students to explore different options. Being an apprentice doesn’t mean you’re less clever, or better than anyone doing a degree. It’s about understanding how you want to learn and how you wish to start your career.

In November, I became an apprentice journalist at Johnston Press. So far, the 18-month apprenticeship has been a whirlwind of wonderful and challenging events. I spend three days a week at the office, one “news day” where I visit the court and one day studying for my NCTJ qualification at an accredited college. There’s something to be said for putting your studies into practice and the value of an apprenticeship lies in the ability to seek help from experienced professionals.

Meeting the PM

Last week I had the opportunity to speak to the Prime Minister Theresa May about the importance of apprenticeships and how we must eliminate the snobbery that still surrounds them. “We want to make sure other routes like apprenticeships and technical education are there but also are valued,” she said. As a young person, this ambition to build a country with a workforce based on both students and apprentices really resonates with me. We need to stop treating university like a one-size-fits-all form of education. The main way to create a united country lies in education, whether you choose academia or not. Apprenticeships and degrees need to have a guaranteed value. Students shouldn’t have to end up with £60,000 of debt for studying. Nor should apprentices have to manage on minimal wages.

The world is changing

Apprenticeships are not for short-term gain by employers and should be treated as a valid and valued option. Much like the stress of university interviews, searching for the right apprenticeship requires the same amount of resilience and determination. My advice to aspiring apprentices would be to tick off extra-curricular roles and make an effort to gain experience and useful skills. It’s time to get serious about the importance of education. Educate today’s youth and you educate tomorrow’s. The world is changing.

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House of Lords lambasts apprenticeship levy

Ahead of National Apprenticeship Week, members of the House of Lords demanded an explanation for the alarming drop in apprenticeship starts following the introduction of the levy.

Members of the House of Lords discussed the alarming drop in apprenticeship starts at a select committee on 27 February, concluding that the first year of the apprenticeship levy has been “woefully inadequate.”

The number of people embarking on apprenticeships fell by 35% in November 2017; and has plunged 60% since the levy was introduced.

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean was keen to know why a significant portion of levy money was spent on existing employees, rather than attracting new recruits. “Only 43% of employees on a level two or three apprenticeships were aware they were doing an apprenticeship!” he said. “Was the levy really designed to send senior people on MBA courses? Perhaps I’m being naive, but I didn’t think that was its purpose!”

Dr. Hilary Steedman, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics, explained, “It’s easier for providers who are struggling to recruit apprentices to offer apprenticeships to employees already in place.”

Many businesses are also stepping back until the dust settles around the confusion the new standards have created.

Professor Alison Fuller, Pro-Director (Research and Development), Institute of Education, said, “The levy has played a role in destabilizing the system. That isn’t to say it’s a bad thing to try and do, however, to make the employers an active partner will take time.

“There has been a view from a number of stakeholders to stand back and wait until everything calms down. We have seen this result in a drop in young people starting apprenticeships.”

“We are in a crisis of significant transition from frameworks to standards,” Anthony Jenkins said. “There are 200 standards, and another 300 in the pipeline. It will take another two to three years to complete.”

“Is this transitional, or have we got something badly wrong?” Lord Kerr asked. “A number of bigger companies have decided to treat the levy as a tax. They will carry on with the apprenticeship schemes but don’t expect to get anything back.

“A number of colleges have said that the job of setting standards is an extraordinarily bureaucratic job. If you’re saying finalizing standards will take two-three years, this transition period will last quite a long time. Should we be worried that it has increased the cost to businesses but produced a lower number of apprentices?”

Not necessarily, according to some members of the committee who believe that the emphasis should be on raising the standard of apprenticeships, rather than the number of them on offer. The majority of apprenticeships in the UK are level two – just above GCSE level. The skills crisis in the UK stems from a shortage of workers at level three or four.

Antony Jenkins, Chair, Institute for Apprenticeships, said, “We’re seeing a higher level of apprenticeships. It’s too early to see it definitively, but I think this is transitional and we are seeing some positives, such as higher quality apprentices.”

The assumption had always been that a significant amount of levy funding would be consumed by non-levy paying businesses, i.e. those too small to reach the payment threshold. Smaller businesses typically offer more apprenticeships, however, a myriad of red tape has prevented them accessing the funds they are entitled to.

Steedman said, “I am concerned that the emphasis in helping employers cope with these changes has been on levy-paying employers. These are tremendously important, but it has meant that the vast bulk of small companies who provide the majority of apprenticeships were just given a website and a number to call. It’s been made too complicated. It needs to be simplified.”

Lord Kerr of Kinlochard asked when we could expect to see the 3 million new apprentices that the government promised by 2020.

“We shouldn’t have the target and we shouldn’t be driven by it,” said Steedman. “I would like to see fewer apprenticeships and more apprenticeships going to young people. There are too many low-quality apprenticeships. Some young people on apprenticeships are not well served and they deserve better.

Jenkins said that the target is still achievable, however, it is the institute’s priority is to ensure high-quality apprenticeships over quantity.

“I had thought that was your job to deliver 3 million apprentices, Mr. Jenkins,” Lord Kerr quipped in response.

“The architecture of the whole system seems to be woefully inadequate,” Lord Darling of Roulanish concluded. “Everyone has a finger in the pie but no one is in charge, and if you look at it from the viewpoint of the apprentice, who feels they are being given an inadequate training service, they have nowhere to go.”

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Apprenticeship ignorance driving engineering skills gap warns report

A widespread lack of awareness over engineering apprenticeships is hampering UK industry’s ability to attract and foster the next generation of engineering talent, according to Engineering UK’s annual report.

Published ahead of Apprenticeship Week (5 – 9th March) the report claims that annual demand for people with “core engineering” skills stands at 124,000 a year, with an additional 79,000 workers needed each year in “related” roles – those that use engineering knowledge with other skills. Given the current supply of talent coming through the education pipeline, the annual shortfall is claimed to be up to 56,000.

Despite efforts to encourage uptake of apprenticeship the report points to low levels of awareness, with 58 percent of 11 to 14-year-olds surveyed in Engineering UK’s 2017 Brand Monitor, saying they know very little about apprenticeships and the different types of apprenticeships available. Understanding is similarly low among parents with only 46 percent saying they know what apprentices do and 55 percent having some knowledge of the different types of apprenticeships available.

What’s more, while apprenticeships have recently grown in popularity (2015 to 2016 saw a year-on-year increase in apprenticeship starts of 7.4 percent) early data for 2017 indicates numbers are dropping. This decline has coincided with the introduction of the apprenticeship levy, suggesting it is yet to have the desired effect.

Commenting on the research, EngineeringUK’s chief executive Mark Titterington said: “Together with government, we…need to ensure that apprenticeships that are offered are of a consistently high quality and that they are open and attractive to a diverse range of young people, particularly girls.

“The focus on what can make apprenticeships work, including looking at the impact of the levy, quality of current provision, and perceptions of young people, will be one of the topics that will be part of our new, extended research agenda”.

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