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Apprenticeships in Rural Enterprise. - 27/07/11

APPRENTICESHIPS IN RURAL ENTERPRISE

You may be aware that the Government has highlighted apprenticeships as a key pathway in training and developing people, and at a time of much cost cutting, are aiming to provide increased funding to support this route. They are looking to grow the number of apprenticeships on offer to school leavers and adults already in jobs.

What you may not be aware of however is:

  • Apprentices have to be employed, so there is a need to engage more employers!
  • How Apprenticeships can benefit employers?
  • What apprenticeships looks like and how they are delivered?
  • Young people in Rural areas find it difficult to find apprenticeship!

Employers and apprenticeships:

Apprenticeships have been in existence in certain industries such as engineering and construction for many years now, but in the last twenty years we have seen huge growth in the numbers of sectors developing them and the breadth of businesses offering them.

Apprenticeships are designed by employers for employers, and therefore tailored to meet the needs of each specific industry sector.

There are now almost 200 different career choices on offer in 80 different business sectors and over 85,000 employers offering Apprenticeships in more than 130,000 locations.

What these employers regularly say is that apprenticeships can improve an organisation’s productivity and profitability, and are an effective means of filling skills gaps in current and future workforces. Other business benefits, such as lower training costs through to increased staff retention are also regularly mentioned and the following statistics support further the use of apprenticeships. 

  • 77% of employers believe apprenticeships make them more competitive;
  • 76% say that apprenticeships provide higher overall productivity;
  • 80% feel that apprenticeships reduce staff turnover;
  • 83% of employers rely on their apprenticeships programme to provide the skilled workers that they need for the future;

What is an apprenticeship?

Firstly, apprentices are employed by you and so you will be expected to pay them and offer them typical rights as an employee – holidays with pay, sick pay, etc.

If they are aged 16 to 18 then any other costs of their training will be fully funded by the government. If they are 19 to 24 then there is an expectation that you will pay something towards the costs. Anyone over 25 then the expectation is that employers will cover the full costs.

Apprentices learn mainly on the job, building up knowledge and skills, gaining qualifications and earning money, all at the same time.

A typical apprenticeship framework contains:

•        a work based qualification such as a NVQ (National Vocational Qualification)
•        a knowledge element or technical certificate such as a BTEC or City and Guilds certificate / diploma.
•        Functional skills such as english, maths or IT.

There are three levels of Apprenticeship available:

Intermediate Level Apprenticeships

Intermediate apprentices work towards work-based learning qualifications such as an NVQ Level 2, Functional Skills, and, in some cases, a relevant knowledge-based qualification such as a BTEC.

Advanced Level Apprenticeships

Advanced level apprentices work towards work-based learning qualifications such as NVQ Level 3, Functional Skills, and, in most cases, a relevant knowledge based certificate such as a BTEC. 

Higher Apprenticeships

Higher Apprenticeships work towards work-based learning qualifications such as NVQ Level 4 and, in some cases, a knowledge-based qualification such as a Foundation degree

Apprenticeships typically take between one and four years to complete, depending on the type of framework. There is no set time to complete an Apprenticeship as they vary widely in content and size. The length of time taken will depend on the ability of the individual apprentice and the employer's requirements.

Some bigger employers manage their own apprenticeship schemes but smaller ones tend to use work based training providers to help with the delivery. These providers are accredited, Ofsted inspected and are able to draw down funding to deliver the apprenticeship and will support your organisation with recruitment, business advise,  learner assessment and knowledge delivery, throughout the duration of the programme.

Apprentices in Rural Areas.

There seems a fair amount of evidence that young people in rural areas are finding it more difficult to find apprenticeships and so are having to follow more typical educational routes like sixth form, FE colleges and university. No one is suggesting that this is not appropriate for many young people but experience shows that traditional education doesn't suit all and doesn't always prepare young people for the world of work. It's also likely that it is not supporting the broader rural agenda and economy, leading  to many more people looking to the more urban areas for their futures.

So we are hoping you are interested in exploring further how using apprenticeships can support and develop your business, and at the same developing employment opportunities for young people in your area?

Mike Askew from the Staffordshire Providers Association who along with a colleague, Kim Cook from the Hereford, Worcester and Shropshire Association have approached WiRE to see if through the network there is sufficient interest to raise the apprenticeship issue and to link our members with local providers to generate apprenticeship numbers, or at least to consider any barriers to this as a government initiative.

For further information on apprenticeships then www.apprenticeships.org.uk is a really good “one stop shop” for information.