Apprenticeships

APP 91

Written evidence submitted by Liebherr-Great Britain Ltd

I am writing in response to a request from the National Apprenticeship Service requesting evidence be sent to yourselves reference the Select Committee enquiry into ‘apprenticeships’. I have been involved directly with apprentices for 12 years as an Instructor & Assessor for the National Construction College/Construction Skills and now Apprentice Programme Manager/Trainer for Liebherr GB Ltd.

Regarding the questions in the email i received, my responses are as follows...

I believe the National Apprenticeship Service has been very successful in promotion of apprenticeships and were battling when university was the ‘in thing’. They have campaigned hard and reached a wide audience and now that apprenticeships are being pushed by government i believe that they are and could continue to be a ‘one stop shop’ for things to do with apprenticeships. I know when i came into my current employment that the first organisation i went to was National Apprenticeship Service because it is widely recognised and are very knowledgeable about apprenticeships and very enthusiastic about them. I believe it has helped to bring together and deliver what BIS and DfE are trying to promote through collaborative ideas and thinking.

The extra funding is definitely what i hoped the Government would find because it now gives more businesses the opportunity to recruit apprentices and have them develop through training whilst carrying out their business objectives and therefore we end up with a fully qualified person that understands our product, business and work environment. Funding must be spent first and foremost on attracting apprentices, giving them options, encouraging businesses to ‘grow their own’ with support and ensuring the apprenticeship funding is not just a carrot for colleges and training establishments to dumb down the quality of the framework just because it is a large pot of money that is seen as easy wins. The establishment i used to work for were very much about chasing funding and using this as a conveyor belt for apprentices but because of their overheads, apprentices are now seen as costing money and it could be that they discontinue apprenticeships.

I do believe that the apprenticeships are of a high enough quality but there needs to be more done towards developing more progression routes and funding attached to it. People taking up apprenticeships need to have a clear path to success, especially if they are ambitious enough to want it. Level 1 apprenticeships in schools are a good idea which need to be developed so as young people have a good idea of what they want when they leave school and have some experience of a work environment. This will also help to improve the retention rate.

Apprenticeship bonuses? I was unaware that there was such a thing because this would encourage us as a small to medium sized business to recruit more apprentices.

I seriously think that you should be able to get funding for apprenticeships at any age and should not be restricted to 16-24 year olds. The funding should not be halved for 19-24. It should be 100% for 19-24 and half for all other ages with incentives to employ unemployed and upskill or re-train the workforce.

This is not exhaustive and is an opinion as well as taken from the support i have been given by NAS who i strongly hope are supported in their mission to engage people and

apprenticeships. I have had very good support and guidance from NAs and long may it continue as we look to employ more apprentices into all areas of the business.

Lee Mason

Apprentice Programme Manager/Trainer

9 February 2012