New West Midlands chief on why apprenticeships work
Apprenticeships work
Stephen Lilley explains why he is relishing the challenge of becoming the West Midlands’ first regional director of the National Apprenticeship Service and why it is in all employers’ interests to play their part.
Contrary to the views expressed in some quarters, apprenticeships still very much exist. In fact, there are more apprentices in training today than at any time in our history.
In England there are over 200,000 apprentices in 130,000 businesses spread over 80 sectors, with the proportion of apprentices successfully completing their training also at its highest level.
Meanwhile the breadth and quality of the apprenticeships approach has been expanded to adults right up the working age range.
All of this represents a great achievement and is testimony to employers’ ongoing commitment to staff development and apprenticeships in particular.
However, it is not enough. My job, as the West Midlands’ first regional director of the National Apprenticeship Service, will be to work with employers to maintain and increase that momentum.
A little over two years ago, a report was published that spelled out the future as far as raising skill levels is concerned. The Leitch Review of Skills set out clear recommendations about the sort of structures we need if we are to build a modern, knowledge-based economy fit to compete in a global marketplace.
One of the main headlines that came out of that review was the target, which the Government has adopted, of more or less doubling the number of apprentices employed in England by 2020 – to around 400,000. Here in the West Midlands, that means we are looking to increase numbers to approaching 50,000 from their current level of just above 22,000. By 2020, one out of every five young people will be an apprentice.
Meanwhile, the number of apprentices in the West Midlands aged 19 and over has risen to more than 13,200 – an increase of more than 50 per cent in the past year.
Since last autumn, the growing economic crisis has seen a shift in priorities to help people facing the threat of redundancy retrain in preparation for new employment. The Learning and Skills Council and Jobcentre Plus have worked in close partnership to create an integrated service for those in simultaneous need of support in accessing training, skills and employment opportunities.
But embedded even within that emergency response has been the core message – we will support businesses to continue investing in skills, whether through flexible shorter training packages through the Train to Gain skills service or through longer term frameworks of which apprenticeship is the exemplar.
The new National Apprenticeship Service has been established to lead this work and drive the skills agenda forward. This service will be responsible for all aspects of funding, coordination and delivery of apprenticeships through England.
It is the first time that there has been an agency solely focused on apprenticeships. Critical to its success will be the launch of a new, online vacancy matching service.
For too long, we have wrestled with the problem of how to increase employers’ awareness of the benefits of employing apprentices and their willingness to recruit them. We have listened to employers and devised a system which we hope will break down many of the barriers they have talked about.
The result is the creation of a virtual “marketplace” in which would-be apprentices, learning providers engaged in training apprentices, and potential employers of apprentices can assess their mutual suitability.
Employers who have never previously taken on an apprentice can access advice and practical support in finding a learning provider with whom they can work in partnership to deliver the training and continuous assessment apprentices will require.
The service has been up and running since the start of the year and, in keeping with the “can-do” spirit for which the West Midlands is renowned, I’m delighted to say that the West Midlands can boast a pair of firsts – the first vacancy to be advertised on the system and the first person to be “matched” with an employer and embark on an apprenticeship.
Meanwhile, aspiring apprentices can search and apply for vacancies posted by partnerships of learning providers and employers. They system will retain their job preferences and, each time they log on, alert them to suitable vacancies. From later in the year, they can receive notification by e-mail or text message.
It’s a pragmatic approach to removing long-standing obstacles that have stymied both employers and would-be apprentices. Now the job is to grow the number of employers using the service.
Employers who already have apprentices feel that apprenticeships make their businesses more competitive and productive, help to reduce staff turnover and are cost effective while leading to a more motivated and satisfied workforce.
Powerful messages irrespective of the downturn, but even more vital given the importance of skills to employer survival in the current economic climate.
Investing in apprenticeships is good for business and remains a key driver of improving economic performance.
The funding and support is there – the launch of the National Apprenticeship Service gives us, for the first time, an agency dedicated solely to ensuring that apprenticeships are at the centre of recruitment and training best practice for employers and learners of all ages.
The economic downturn presents enormous challenges for employers. Our intention is to minimise the pressures as far as possible. We want business leaders and employers to be confident that investing in skills at this time will be essential in being ready to take advantage of the opportunities that recovery will bring.
My role as the first regional director of the National Apprenticeship Service will be to ensure that every business that could benefit from employing an apprentice gets the opportunity to do so and to increase the perception – particularly among young people – that an apprenticeship is a high quality option and that, by becoming an apprentice, they are laying the foundations for future career success.
