All funding for apprenticeships should be paid directly to employers rather than training providers, according to a report released today by the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee.
The committee has criticised the current training provisions for low-skilled young people, and has called for more apprenticeship opportunities for those not intending to pursue university, with larger roles for employers.
This would involve, says the report, ensuring that all apprenticeship funding, currently around £3,250 annually per apprentice, is paid to the employer within five years.
Currently, employers’ potential to reinvigorate apprenticeships is often overlooked by government, according to the report, which recommends they assume responsibility for the training of the apprentice or the outcome of the apprenticeship.
The committee notes also that the UK lags behind European countries in offering apprenticeships. In most European countries, apprenticeship is the main route to skills for up to half of all young people, and comparable opportunities are ‘desperately needed here, both for the benefit of the young people themselves and the long-term wellbeing of the UK economy’.
Lord Wakeham, chairman of the Lords Economic Affairs Committee, said:
“Vocational training has always been undervalued but it is now more vital than ever that we get this right in what is an increasingly competitive world economy.
“The government must now take concrete steps to tackle the longstanding problems hindering the development of apprenticeship. We wait to see what priority the new Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills gives to apprenticeship.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
