A new book on apprenticeships by The Association of Colleges and leading think-tank IPPR advocates apprenticeships as the best way to grow the UK economy.
In his essay, Martin Doel, AoC Chief Executive, proposes a move towards advanced craft apprenticeships based on the German ’Meister’ model, which offers progression for more experienced employees to further develop their skills in order to become highly skilled craftspeople, combining extensive knowledge or theory of the profession with wide practical skills.
The collection of essays explores the socio-economic role of apprenticeships against a backdrop of record levels of unemployment among young people and how policymakers can further improve the number and quality of apprenticeships.
The book also examines how employers can work with colleges to ensure they provide apprentices with the broad skills and depth of knowledge required to help them progress in the workplace or into further and higher education.
Mr Doel makes the argument for a ‘bespoke’ model of delivery rooted in the current apprenticeship system, but that is flexible enough to meet the needs of an inexperienced 17-year-old fresh out of school, or a more mature 27-year-old looking to deepen their skills and understanding and become a master crafts practitioner in their chosen field.
He says he would like to see a system that tackles the skills deficit and prepares young people for work while offering alternative routes of progression to further and higher education.
Mr Doel said: “Our member colleges believe that apprenticeships are a good thing and want to see sustainable models for further development of deeper learning within apprenticeships; there needs to be a focus on craft and expertise.
“What I am championing is a way forward that will embrace the more entrepreneurial culture of the UK; we want to see skilled apprentices harness their knowledge to entrepreneurial creativity.”
In his essay, John Hayes MP, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, makes the case for restoring the worth of apprenticeships and over-turning a ‘disdain for physical labour’ in order to rebuild a highly skilled workforce to help rebalance the UK economy and ensure sustainable growth.
He writes: “The benefits of such a change have the potential to reach far beyond the economy, helping to mould a more cohesive society. By recognising, developing and rewarding practical ability we can also inspire the many young people who do not want to follow a purely academic path.
According to John Hayes MP, apprenticeships can provide young people with the opportunity to develop high level practical skills that can also function as an alternative route to social mobility.
Tony Dolphin, Associate Director for Economic Policy at the IPPR, said that in the wake of high levels of youth unemployment there is an urgent need to create more paths to jobs, especially for school-leavers.
“We need to raise the number of high-quality apprenticeships as part of a strategy to raise employers’ demand for skilled workers in order to improve job quality and create more opportunities for people to develop their vocation, based on higher standards of products and services.”
