Apprenticeships

APP 37

Written evidence submitted by the Edge Foundation

Summary

Are apprenticeships of a high enough quality to benefit apprentices and their employers? Should there be more Level 3 apprenticeships?

1. It is important to disentangle the threads of this question. Advanced Level Apprenticeships (level 3) are different from Intermediate Level Apprenticeships (level 2). As we explain in this submission, they appeal to different individuals and different employers. Delivered well, both achieve high quality standards and promise good returns on investment. While there is a sound economic case for expanding Advanced Level Apprenticeships (ALAs), it would be a mistake to do this at the expense of good-quality Intermediate level Apprenticeships (ILAs ).

2. Secondly, "quality" can be defined in a number of different ways. One approach is to look at the way apprenticeship training is delivered, and at the number of people completing their apprenticeships. On both counts, there has been good progress in recent years. Completion rates for apprenticeships are now comparable to completion rates for full-time degrees.

3. Another approach is to look at the economic returns achieved by employers and individuals. While returns are generally positive, they vary between sectors of the economy. As the National Audit Office has reported, " While the Department [for Business, Innovation and Skills] and the [National Apprenticeship] Service have targeted some specific sectors, this has not been based on evidence of economic returns." [1]

4. The rapid expansion of very short apprenticeships in some sectors of industry has harmed the reputation of apprenticeships. This trend has been encouraged by over-ambitious targets. Charged by Ministers to deliver a large number of new apprenticeship places, government agencies have given large businesses money to convert existing employees into apprentices, even where this leads to little extra training. In some cases the process amounts to little more than awarding qualifications to people who are already skilled: virtually no training is offered at all.

Is the extra funding promised by the Coalition Government necessary for apprenticeships? How can this funding best be spent?

5. Successive governments have subsidised apprenticeships for two main reasons. First, skills have an impact on productivity and the UK’s position in a competitive world: investment in training is an investment in the future success of the UK economy. Second, training can help inexperienced individuals enter (or re-enter) the labour market: this is important for social as well as economic reasons.

6. Funding is necessary because some employers are reluctant to take on apprentices, for a wide variety of reasons including financial uncertainty and the weakness of the economy . Many smaller firms fear that apprentices will leave as soon as they complete their apprenticeship. Others are reluctant to provide more than the bare minimum of training needed to do a particular job, with no regard to the longer-term prospects of the apprentice. Financial support is necessary to help overcome these barriers. However, some current expenditure constitutes "deadweight": that is, payment for training that would have taken place anyway. As noted already, there has been considerable growth in the number of short apprenticeships which offer doubtful value for money, and in sectors which offer relatively low returns to employers and apprentices alike. It is essential that future funding is better targeted, encourages the expansion of apprenticeships in sectors that offer the best returns, and overcomes barriers to take up – particularly among small firms.

R ecommendations

 

7. In order to get best value from finite resources, we need to –

a. Save money by tackling deadweight. It makes little sense to pay for training that would have happened anyway – particularly in sectors where there are low returns from investment in apprenticeships, and particularly if the reason for doing so is to help government agencies achieve unrealistic targets. Similarly, people should be labelled as apprentices only if they are getting training and development: there is not much value in paying solely for the assessment of pre-existing knowledge and skills. Money saved here should be redirected to areas of higher priority.

b. Give extra support to apprenticeships which bring the biggest benefits to individuals , such as Advanced and Intermediate Level Apprenticeships in engineering, manufacturing and construction. Some employers in these sectors are finding it hard to offer apprenticeships because of the state of the economy. Using funds saved by tackling deadweight, we should help them by increasing the training subsidy and offering direct support for apprentice wages.

c. Make sure public sector employers provide a growing number of apprenticeship places. Local authorities, health trusts and a wide range of other public sector agencies provide apprenticeships already, but there is room for many more. Every time there is an entry level job vacancy, public sector employers should consider advertising it as an apprenticeship opportunity.

d. Encourage more employers to offer apprenticeships by funding more Apprenticeship Training Agencies (ATAs). In this model, the ATA acts as the apprentice’s employer and places them with a host employer, in return for a fee. This provides extra flexibility for apprentices and employers alike. If an apprenticeship cannot be delivered entirely by one employer, the ATA makes sure the apprentice gets experience with another. This helps increase the availability of apprenticeships in sectors dominated by small businesses.

e. Encourage more employers to offer apprenticeships by funding more Group Training Associations (GTAs) . GTAs provide shared training and assessment services to member companies. They exist mainly in the engineering and manufacturing sectors. Previous attempts to develop GTAs in other sectors of industry have failed because financial support for running costs has been withdrawn too soon. GTAs take a long time to get going and need much more support than they have been offered in the past.

f. Set sensible targets. Apprenticeship policy should focus on significant gaps in the labour market and on training which delivers a high long-term return on investment. Quality matters more than sheer quantity.

g. Accept that there are no quick wins. If there were, we’d have implemented them years ago. Increasing the supply of good quality apprenticeships takes time, and consistency is better than constant change.

h. Take care when adding extra content to apprenticeship frameworks. If we add too much to existing apprenticeship frameworks, some individuals and employers will walk away – leaving us in a worse position than before. The key is flexibility: the new SASE frameworks (Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for England) are already too prescriptive.

i. Make sure new requirements can be delivered. We want 16-18 year olds to improve their numeracy and literacy, but they will only make good progress if they get the right support from the right people and in the right way. Apprentices understand maths and English better when they are taught in context (eg maths for engineering), but people who are good at teaching a vocational subject may not be comfortable teaching maths. We need to invest in training and development so that (a) vocational teachers improve their teaching of maths and English, and (b) maths and English teachers can teach their subjects in a vocational context. Maths and English qualifications must also be appropriate to the context: for most apprentices, GCSEs are not the answer.

j. Encourage progression from Intermediate to Advanced Level Apprenticeships. Once they have completed an Intermediate Level Apprenticeship, many people have the potential to step up to an Advanced Level Apprenticeship. Likewise, apprentices should be able to progress to Higher Level Apprenticeships and higher education. If their employer s cannot offer immediate progression, they should be entitled to return to learning later.

k. Tell young people about apprenticeships. Many young people hear little or nothing about apprenticeships while they are at school, especially if they are academically able. They need to know that apprenticeships can be a route to a good career, and that a growing number of people go on to higher education after completing their apprenticeship.

l. Tell teachers about apprenticeships. In a YouGov survey commissioned by Edge in 2009, 16% of teachers in state secondary schools said their knowledge of apprenticeships was good or very good; 50% said their knowledge was poor or very poor. Compare this with their knowledge of university degrees: 70% good or very good, 10% poor or very poor. If students are unsure which path to take, teachers can tell them a lot about degrees but hardly anything about apprenticeships. This needs to change.

m. Tell MPs about apprenticeships. In November 2011, Edge commissioned ComRes to survey 150 MPs. Overall, 41% described their knowledge of apprenticeships as excellent or good, while 72% have a good or excellent knowledge of degrees.

n. Tell university admissions tutors about apprenticeships. The Government is right to expand Higher Apprenticeships at level 4 and above, including access to Foundation Degrees. Apprenticeships can be an effective route to higher education, but many admissions tutors hold back (a) because they don’t understand what apprentices are capable of and (b) because many ALA frameworks don’t attract UCAS points. In addition, apprentices may need extra help with some skills such as essay writing: anyone on an Advanced Level Apprenticeship should be entitled to take an extra "access to HE" unit.

o. Celebrate success. Many individuals and employers benefit from apprenticeships. Completion rates have risen in recent years and are now on a par with completion rates for degrees. We need more people to recognise their success through events such as Apprenticeships Week a nd VQ Day ( an Edge Foundation initiative ) . As the government has proposed, there should also be apprenticeship "graduation" events to mark individual success.

p. Create a bigger evidence base. While there is evidence that apprenticeships bring benefits for employers and individuals alike, we know remarkably little about the career paths of former apprentices. Anecdotal evidence suggests many apprentices go on to senior positions, including running their own businesses. Further qualitative and quantitative evidence would strengthen the case for expanding apprenticeships in the future.

About the Edge Foundation

8. Edge is an independent education foundation. It is dedicated to raising the status of technical, practical and vocational learning so that all young people have the opportunity to achieve their potential and the UK’s future workforce is equipped with the skills to be successful in the modern, global economy. Edge believes that "learning by doing" should be valued equally with academic learning and that all learners should experience a mix of academic and practical learning. Edge believes there are many paths to success.

Detail

Why we subsidise apprenticeships

9. Successive governments have subsidised apprenticeships for two main reasons. First, skills have an impact on productivity and the UK’s position in a competitive world: investment in training is an investment in the future success of the UK economy. Second, training can help inexperienced individuals enter (or re-enter) the labour market: this is important for social as well as economic reasons.

10. Apprenticeships therefore serve three purposes:

· Meeting employers’ current and future skills needs

· Providing work-based training and qualifications for young people at the start of their working lives

· Retraining adults for new careers

Meeting employers’ current and future skills needs

11. The skills needed for any given job vary very greatly. In some cases, job-specific skills and knowledge are so elementary that they can be achieved literally within days of starting; in others, workers need high-level qualifications before they start, and become fully proficient only after a long period of on-the-job training and development.

12. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) produces forecasts of trends in the labour market. This isn’t easy, given uncertainties in the UK and world economy. However, UKCES estimates that the labour market might create an additional 1.96 million jobs between 2010 and 2020. They add that –

The most significant growth (in percentage terms) is anticipated to be in IT services and ‘other’ business services, followed by hotels/catering, health/social work and miscellaneous services with significant growth also in construction and retail. In terms of the absolute number of jobs, the dominant growth sectors are also expected to be in Other business services (over 1.3 million) and health, education and social work (over 570,000) followed by retail, hotels/catering and miscellaneous services (all over 300,000 jobs). [1]

13. A particular challenge will be meeting demand for people with level 3 skills. Looking ahead to 2020, UKCES forecasts that on present trends,

… there will be significant underachievement of the Level 3 Ambition, with 19% qualified at this level compared with the target of 28%.

14. There will also be a huge need to replace people who leave jobs, for example because they retire:

Replacement demand is expected to be around 11.5 million over the next 10 years, nearly six times greater than the net ‘expansion’ demand of around 1.95 million.

15. This means that while there will be a relative increase in demand for people with level 3 skills, there will still be a significant absolute demand for people with level 2 skills. Both of these challenges can be met, in part, through apprenticeships.

Young people at the start of their working lives: Advanced Level Apprenticeships

16. When Apprenticeships were developed in the 1990s, it was generally assumed that young people would be recruited at the age of 16-18, and the first route to be developed – Modern Apprenticeship at level 3 – was positioned as an alternative to A levels. Ron Dearing said Modern Apprenticeships aimed to –

… to attract able young people to develop their careers through the work-based route on a fast track to NVQ level 3. Subsequent options include proceeding to higher education, perhaps through a sandwich course, or continuing to develop a career through full-time employment. In consultation, employers have underlined their interest in attracting young people who would otherwise have chosen to take A levels. [1]

17. However, Level 3 Apprenticeships – now known as Advanced Levels Apprenticeships (ALA) – have struggled to compete with A levels. Provisional figures show that only 4,200 16 year olds and 9,400 17 year olds were participating in ALAs in 2010. They were easily outnumbered by the number of 18 year olds participating in ALAs – 18,900 – and indeed by the number of 19-24 year olds starting ALAs in 2010-11 – 49,900. [2]

18. In other words, a growing number of young people choose an ALA after rather than instead of A levels or equivalent qualifications: in this sense, the ALA has become an alternative to immediate entry to higher education.

Young people at the start of their working lives: Intermediate Level Apprenticeships

19. Advanced Level Apprenticeships are the normal entry point for new recruits in only a limited number of sectors – particularly engineering, where there has been a shift from unskilled/semi skilled operatives to employing fewer but better qualified staff. Elsewhere, level 2 – the Intermediate Level Apprenticeship – remains the more common entry level.

20. Today’s Intermediate Level Apprenticeships (ILA) can be traced back to the Youth Opportunities Programme, which aimed to combat youth unemployment by giving young people work experience and the opportunity to develop at least some job-related skills.

21. YOP and its successors – the Youth Training Scheme and Youth Training – were heavily criticised. Many young people failed to gain lasting benefit because their training was at best unstructured and uncertified, and at worst non-existent. Some employers viewed trainees as cheap, disposable labour. Others complained that their trainees were not ready for work, citing communication and numeracy skills as particular weaknesses.

22. In 1996, Ron Dearing proposed replacing Youth Training with a new programme of National Traineeships. In his vision, National Traineeships would bring the benefits of Modern Apprenticeships to a wider audience of employers and young people. They would meet employers’ needs for people with level 2 skills, while equipping young people with broader knowledge and skills, including communication and literacy.

23. The development of National Traineeships started in 1996 under the Conservative Government and was completed by the Labour Government after 1997. Within a few years, they were renamed, and became part of a wider Apprenticeship "family".

24. Level 2 apprenticeships (today’s ILAs) have always been more popular than ALAs. One reason is that they can be accessed by young people with relatively modest prior attainment – typically, fewer than five GCSEs at grades A* to C. This means they do not compete directly with A levels: rather, they are an alternative to full-time vocational courses in schools or further education, jobs without training, or unemployment. Secondly – and as noted already – level 2 is a more common entry point than level 3 in many sectors.

25. In 2010, 48,100 16-17 year olds and 28,500 18 year olds were participating in ILAs [1] . Overall, therefore, ILAs outnumber ALAs by more than two to one amongst young people aged 16-18. ). In some sectors an Intermediate apprenticeship is the required ‘entry level’ and allows the young person to obtain employment and carry out the job role to the required standard. This is the case for some construction trades, for example, where practical competence is more important than technical knowledge.

26. In recent years, there has been a rapid growth in the number of 19-24 year olds taking part in apprenticeship programmes. In 2010-11, 87,700 19-24 year olds started an ILA in 2010-11, while 49,900 started an ALA. For many young people, apprenticeships offer a second (or third, or fourth) chance to find the right career path. Equally, there is evidence that employers actively prefer to recruit people in this age group. In her review of vocational education, Professor Wolf said –

As National Apprenticeship Service officials, the Association of Learning Providers and individual providers have confirmed to the Review, it is now much easier to find apprenticeship places for those over 18 than under 18. Most employers interviewed for this Review also confirmed their reluctance to take on 16 and 17 year olds as apprentices, citing health and safety concerns which must also, one assumes, apply to the shrinking number of ‘normal’ hires. [2]

Retraining adults for new careers

27. In 2006, Lord Leitch published a landmark report on adult skills [1] . He proposed that by 2020, 90% of adults should be qualified to at least Level 2, up from 69% in 2005. He also called for an increase of 1.9 million in the number of level 3 qualifications awarded over the period to 2020.

28. Importantly, Leitch also pointed out that at the time of writing, more than 70% of the 2020 working age population were already over the age of 16. Accordingly, his targets could not be achieved solely by improving success rates amongst young people.

29. The Labour Government responded by rolling out the Train to Gain programme, which focused on helping people achieve a first level 2 or level 3 qualification. After the 2010 General Election, the Coalition abolished Train to Gain in order to make Apprenticeships more widely available to adults retraining for new careers. In 2010-11, 65,000 adults aged 25+ started ALAs and 109,000 started ILAs [2] .

Are apprenticeships of a high enough quality to benefit apprentices and their employers?

30. This begs several further questions, including –

· What can we say about the quality of current apprenticeship frameworks?

· What do individuals and employers want from apprenticeships?

· Who decides the content and structure of apprenticeships?

Quality

31. Quality is sometimes measured in terms of success rates and inspection reports. On this basis, apprenticeships generally shape up well. Success rates have risen to around 75% in recent years, which is similar to average completion rates for full-time degree programmes [1] . And according to Ofsted –

There has been a substantial increase this year in the percentage of independent learning providers judged good or outstanding; from 47% in 2009/10 to 55% in 2010/11. [2]

32. Another way of measuring the quality and effectiveness of apprenticeships is to analyse wage and employment benefits experienced by former apprentices. In 2007, Steven Macintosh reported that –

… a recognised apprenticeship is associated with a 15 percentage points higher probability of employment amongst young men (17 percentage points amongst young women), with an 18 (19) percentage point effect observed for Level 3 Modern Apprenticeships for young men (women) and 13 (9) percentage points for Level 2 Modern Apprenticeships for young men (women). [3]

33. Macintosh also investigated wage returns to contemporary Apprenticeships – what he called Modern Apprenticeships. He reported –

… substantial wage returns in 2004/5 to Modern Apprenticeships, of around 18% at Level 3 and 16% at Level 2, compared to individuals whose highest qualification is at Level 2, or at Level 1 or 2 respectively.

34. The National Audit Office has also reported positive wage returns:

We analysed data on the wages received between 2004 and 2010 by employees who had completed their apprenticeship. These employees achieved higher wages than similar employees who had not completed an apprenticeship. In particular:

· Completing an advanced apprenticeship was associated with wages that were 18 per cent higher.

· Completing an intermediate apprenticeship was associated with wages that were 11 per cent higher. [4]

35. Benefits are felt by employers , too . In 2008, the Warwick Institute for Employment Research reported on case studies in six sectors: engineering, hospitality, retail, business administration, social care and construction:

Overall, the evidence points to employers obtaining a range of qualitative benefits … from the Apprenticeship training in which they invest, but importantly that investment is recouped in monetary terms within two to three years in most instances. If the employer can retain the Apprentice for a few years they will obtain a positive return on their investment. [5]

36. Taken together, this evidence suggests that – on average – apprenticeships are of a good quality and provide long-lasting benefits to individuals. However, some apprenticeships provide better returns than others. Steven Macintosh found that wage returns to apprenticeship are generally higher in manufacturing, engineering and construction than in service industries. Similarly, the Warwick report suggests wide variations in the costs incurred and benefits achieved by employers who take on apprentices.

37. With variability comes criticism. If some apprenticeships are over-subscribed and provide outstanding benefits to individuals and employers alike, why can’t they all be like that? The answer is, of course, that circumstances differ widely between sectors and indeed, between employers within a single sector.

38. When politicians, academics and journalists praise apprenticeships, they are usually talking about ALAs. This example comes from the Wolf Report:

Places on the best Apprenticeships, such as those provided by Network Rail or Rolls Royce, are highly regarded by both employers, and by potential apprentices. They are more oversubscribed than the most desirable course at the best university. [6]

39. Similarly, Professors Fuller and Unwin praise what is clearly an AMA in a large business:

Company A manufactures bathroom showers and has about 700 employees. It has had an extremely well-established apprenticeship programme dating back over 50 years, which has been used to develop successive generations of skilled and qualified engineers and technicians … In Company A, apprenticeship lasts for four years. It involves engagement in a wide variety of departments within the firm, attendance at college to pursue vocational qualifications, and the opportunity to take part in residential, outward-bound style activities … Many of the company’s former apprentices have progressed to senior management positions. [7]

40. They compare this "expansive" apprenticeship with the apprenticeship model they saw in Company B, which they describe as "restrictive":

Company B is a small family-run company with around 40 employees, providing specialised steel polishing services to other businesses. The vast majority of its employees work on the shop floor as semi-skilled machine operators. Recently, the company turned to apprenticeships (in steel processing) for the first time, as a response to difficulties it was having in recruiting adults with relevant experience ... Apprentices learn on the job, by engaging in the practices of the shop floor with more experienced employees. They become fully productive in around six months. The apprentices do not have the opportunity to study for knowledge-based vocational qualifications, which could provide the underpinning theories and concepts of their wider occupational field and would facilitate their subsequent progression to higher-level study. [8]

41. Fuller and Unwin argue, overall, that –

… an apprenticeship characterised by expansive attributes will create a stronger and richer learning environment than one with restrictive features.

42. At the risk of over-simplifying, this could be interpreted as praise for "expansive" ALAs and, implicitly, criticism of "restrictive" ILAs. If so, it may lead the reader to believe that ALAs are always preferable to ILAs, whereas in reality, they serve different purposes. In many businesses, level 2 is the standard entry level for new recruits. ILAs provide a good framework for these jobs and are a good match for many young people, especially if they have not previously achieved a level 2 qualification or 5 GCSEs at A* to C. Level 3 is the minimum entry level in fewer occupations, and calls for recruits with higher levels of prior attainment. In addition, employers who expect staff to stay with them for many years are more likely to invest a large amount of time, effort and money in apprenticeships than employers who experience high rates of staff turnover. In other words, (a) ALAs and ILAs serve different purposes and (b) ILAs are always likely to outnumber the number of ALAs offered by employers.

43. We are very concerned that the quality and reputation of apprenticeships has been damaged by the culture of targets. As noted already, Steven Macintosh found that wage returns to apprenticeship are generally higher in manufacturing, engineering and construction than in service industries. However, apprenticeships have grown most rapidly in service sectors. Between 2002/03 and 2010/11, the take up of ILAs by 16-24 year olds grew most quickly in these sectors: leisure, travel & tourism (+249%), health, public services & care (+110%), and business, administration & law (+87%). In addition, retail & commercial enterprise accounted for more than a quarter of all 16-24 starts in 2010-11. These figures partly reflect the art of the possible: it has been easier to persuade large employers in service sectors to provide apprenticeship places than to find new places in engineering, manufacturing and construction, not least because of the state of the economy.

44. More recently, there has been pressure to deliver large number of adult apprenticeships. Faced with stretching targets, the National Apprenticeship Service has – not unnaturally – concentrated on businesses which are capable of delivering high volumes of apprenticeship places, such as large multiple retailers.

45. In addition, the National Audit Office has pointed out that –

A growing area for attention … is apprenticeships that are delivered very quickly. In 2010/11, 19 per cent of apprenticeships (34,600) lasted less than six months, with 3 per cent (6,200) lasting less than three. [9]

46. There are several problems with this, all of which tend to bring apprenticeships into disrepute:

· public money pays for training that would have happened anyway – so-called "deadweight"

· some employers re-designate existing staff as apprentices instead of recruiting unemployed people

· where apprenticeships tak e as little as 12 weeks to complete , staff with pre-existing skills are being assessed for qualifications solely to enable their employer or training provider to claim public funding.

47. In December 2011, Morrisons group HR director, Norman Pickavance, appeared to confirm that this was happening. According to the Guardian,

While Pickavance says Morrisons has always provided staff training, he makes no bones that the apprenticeship funding isn't paying for much in the way of further skills development. Rather, it pays for assessors who mainly spend their time in-store observing and accrediting employees' existing skills in order to award paper qualifications.

If that funding was removed, he [Pickavance] says, "we would continue with excellent training. But regarding qualifications, they're not necessary for our business, so we would stop and pause on that I think." [10]

48. Against this background, the government is right to target support to those apprenticeships and sectors which deliver the best returns.

What do individuals and employers want from apprenticeships?

49. In very broad terms –

· Young people choose an Advanced Level Apprenticeship because they have clear career ambitions and see ALAs as a fast track to level 3 skills, a stable job and good long-term prospects

· Some young people choose an Intermediate Level Apprenticeship because they, too, have clear ambitions and see ILAs as a way of getting entry-level skills and paid work

· Other young people are less clear about their ambitions: they choose an ILA because it’s preferable to full-time education or unemployment

· Adults choose an apprenticeship (at any level) because they need to retrain for a new career

· Some employers offer apprenticeships – particularly ALAs – because they want to recruit talented people for long-term careers, not just short-term jobs

· Other employers see apprenticeships as a means of filling current vacancies, don’t think in terms of long-term potential and don’t expect apprentices to stay with them for very long.

50. The key point is that apprenticeships operate like a market. There has to be an employer willing to offer an apprenticeship and an individual willing to take it.

51. There is very high demand for some apprenticeship placements. Young people clearly understand the potential benefits of working for – say – Rolls Royce or BT Openreach. Similarly, some occupations are over-subscribed because young people think they offer good long-term prospects, including the opportunity to run their own businesses: an obvious example is plumbing.

52. In other cases, the reverse applies: there are more places available than candidates willing to fill them. Historically, the hospitality industry has struggled to recruit people because of perceptions of long hours, relatively low pay and job insecurity.

Who decides the content and structure of apprenticeships?

53. Because individuals and employers want different things, apprenticeships involve compromise. An employer may wish to offer a bare minimum of training and development, linked to the current needs of the business. The individual may want more than the bare minimum, because he or she has longer-term ambitions.

54. Because public funding is at stake, the state has become involved in finding a compromise between the wishes of employers and the needs of individuals. Indeed, the state effectively acts on behalf of individuals in deciding what generic learning should be included in apprenticeship frameworks. The state protects the interests of individuals by saying to employers, "we will subsidise the cost of training new recruits, but in return you must work to nationally-agreed standards". The needs of employers are expressed by their representative bodies – particularly Sector Skills Councils. Standards drafted by SSCs and their partners are subject to approval by government agencies.

55. Some critics of apprenticeships feel the state has not done enough to protect the interests of individuals. Alison Wolf argued that apprenticeships for younger people should offer more in the way of "generalisable" education:

16-19 year olds apprentices are legally full-time employees rather than students; but they should, nonetheless, be primarily engaged in learning – including, primarily, generalisable and transferrable skills. The corollary is that their employers should be operating in part as educators as well as employers … any apprentice for whom an employer receives funding should, indeed, be engaged in broad learning, and not just on-the-job training or standard training of the type received by regular employees other than apprentices. [1]

56. Professor Wolf may well be right. However, we also have to consider how young people and employers might react to additional requirements.

57. Some young people choose apprenticeships because they are fed up with classroom study. Some take GCSE exams in English and maths several times without achieving the magic grade C: it may not be easy to make them carry on until they are 18.

58. The answer to that particular challenge should be to make maths and English more relevant to the jobs apprentices are being trained to do. Indeed, there are examples where this happens already, with good results. However, it isn’t easy to take best practice and implement it everywhere. One barrier is that people with the skills to teach – say – apprentice chefs might not have the skills to teach them maths and English as well: so who will?

59. There is also a tendency to assume that Apprenticeships have to be of a certain duration, when – in their modern form – they were designed to be flexible. Apprentices get their certificates as soon as they have demonstrated competence in the full range of work-based skills, and the required level of underpinning knowledge. A minimum duration is by its nature arbitrary, and may not bring any lasting benefits.

60. We therefore have to be careful not to put young people off the idea of apprenticeships. The same goes for employers. We want more employers to offer more apprenticeships. But if we ask too much of them, some will decide not to offer apprenticeships at all, or to limit opportunities to people aged 19 and over.

2 February 2012