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NOVEMBER 2015 PRO INSTALLER
PRO SKILLS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Apprenticeship numbers
hit record highs
The number of people signing up to learn vital skills while earning
a wage on an apprenticeship has soared to a record level.
According to the latest
figures, more than 872,000
are enrolled on Government-funded apprenticeships; the highest amount
ever to be seen.
There are also unprecedented
numbers of people taking part in
higher apprenticeships, with some
30,000 trainees working towards
gaining top-level skills in a range
of sectors, including construction.
In addition, it has been revealed
that 2.38 million apprenticeships
were created during the course of
the last Parliament.
Data from the Office for National
Statistics (ONS) has also revealed
that unemployment has fallen to a
seven-year low, while the number
of people in work has shot up.
It is thought the boost to on-thejob training programmes has been
achieved through reforms such
as the move to ensure large-value
Government contracts commit
firms to taking on apprentices.
Ministers are now aiming to
provide a further three million
apprenticeships by 2020.
Skills Minister, Nick Boles, said
that steps are being taken to make
sure apprenticeships deliver the
best results for individuals, businesses and the economy.
“Our apprenticeship reforms
are helping to build the modern,
highly skilled workforce British
businesses need,” he said.
“We are committed to delivering
three million apprenticeships by
2020 because that means more opportunities fo r our young people,
more growth for our businesses.”
CITB estimates there will be over
22,000 construction apprenticeships starts across the UK in 2015,
which is an increase of approximately 11% when compared to
2014.
Traineeships are also proving
popular, after some 19,200 people
signed up to such schemes in the
last academic year.
The ONS statistics show that the
number of people out of work
dropped by 79,000 to 1.7 million
in the quarter to August, a figure
not matched since the summer of
2008.
Over the same period, employment jumped by 140,000 to hit
31 million, which represents the
highest total since records began
in 1971.
Joblessness among young people
has also sunk, with the amount of
unemployed youngsters who are
not full-time students at just 6.2%
of the population - the lowest
level in a decade.
Source: www.citb.co.uk
Work experience
‘key to plugging
skills gaps’
Work experience is crucial to ending skills
gaps in the workplace, according to a poll of
leading figures from business and education.
In the survey, which was
carried out by the British
Chambers of Commerce
(BCC), the majority of
respondents said work
placement schemes
should be offered to all
school children under
the age of 16.
The poll of 3,500 leaders
from businesses, schools,
colleges and universities
found that a third of firms
do not offer work placements, though many said
they would if they had more
information.
According to the results,
there are also a wide
range of work experience
schemes on offer, including
two-week placements and
visits for groups of youngsters.
John Longworth, director
general of the BCC, said
that work experience can
play a vital role in driving
down youth unemployment
levels.
“Business and school
leaders are clear - we won’t
bridge the gap between the
world of education and the
world of work unless young
people spend time in workplaces while still at school,”
he said.
“Work experience is
crucial to bringing down
our stubbornly high youth
unemployment rate. It will
help close the yawning
skills gaps reported by frustrated businesses across the
UK, who face huge difficulty
filling vacancies at every
level.”
Gillian Econopouly, Head
of Policy at CITB, said:
“Young people can only
make informed decisions
about their future careers
if they have a real grasp of
what is on offer. In construction, we have worked
with industry to launch the
Go Construct web portal to
showcase the wide range of
careers available.”
Compulsory work experience was scrapped by the
coalition government in
2012.
But participants in the
BCC poll said that ministers
should recognise the importance of work experience in
giving young people a taste
of working life.
The findings show that
just 12% of large firms with
more than 250 employees
offer no work placements
at all, while 59% of small
to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have no such
schemes in place.
Calls have now been made
for both big businesses and
SMEs to offer work placement programmes.
Mr Longworth said that it
is vital that “every school
pupil has the chance to feel
the energy, dynamism, buzz
and challenge of the workplace for themselves.”
Source: www.citb.co.uk