South West Regional Skills Enterprise and Employment Analysis 2007/2008

Final Report

4.13 Participation and provision

4.13.7 Apprenticeships

The LSC Strategic Analysis shows that in 2005/06 there were 10,672 learners undertaking apprenticeships in the South West and 4,011 undertaking Advanced Apprenticeships. In the South West region, the four most popular areas of study or learning for Apprenticeships and Advanced Apprenticeships are engineering, technology and manufacturing; hospitality, sports, leisure and travel; health, social care and public services; and retailing, customer service and transportation. The most popular areas of study are also those where there is skills shortage. This may indicate that learners are reacting to known skills shortages.

The 2004 National Employer Skills Survey reported that only 6% of businesses in the South West had employed an apprentice or had engaged one on a placement. The majority of apprentices (47%) in England were employed by employers with 200+ staff. Only 22% of employers with a staff size of 100 or less had employed an apprentice. This is clearly a concern for the South West region that comprises mainly small-sized employers outside the Bristol/Swindon area. The report also shows that there is little association between the recruitment of an apprentice and whether or not a company has vacancies or skills shortages in a particular area. It is a concern that take up of apprenticeships is low and they are not being used strategically to address skills shortages.

Issues also exist in relation to the performance of the Apprenticeship programme. Evidence suggests that(65) completion figures for NVQ Level 3 indicated that only half of the apprenticeship cohort had been retained on programme(66). The completion rate of the full framework is poor at 53% compared to 70 per cent in Train to Gain.

The Leitch Report emphasised that apprenticeships must meet the demands of employers. SSCs are currently involved in designing the frameworks and have input into qualification content. However, the LSC and QCA still have considerable control over content and funding. The Leitch Report proposed that the role of employers, through SSCs, should be strengthened. As with qualifications, the report proposes that SSCs should control the content of apprenticeships and set attainment targets by sector facilitated by skills brokers. This will enable them to simplify the apprenticeship process and ensure that apprenticeships meet employers’ needs. As with qualifications, it will ensure that apprenticeships continue to be economically valuable, both to employers and to individuals.

It also suggests that employers, through SSCs, should be responsible for stimulating demand for apprenticeships, and funding should be demand-led within the Train to Gain framework. This, along with advice from skills brokers, it suggests, should help to increase the number of apprenticeships to 500,000 a year across the UK. It also recommends that employers should be encouraged to operate more ‘bespoke’ apprenticeship programmes, innovatively delivered and with different types of funding incentives. SSCs should work closely with the appropriate funding bodies to see how overall apprenticeship funding can help to support this approach.

Finally, the report proposed that government work with the Commission and SSCs to boost the number of people in the UK participating in apprenticeships to 500,000 by 2020. It proposes that the Government builds on the success of the apprenticeship route, expanding it to become a pathway which is open to every suitably-qualified 16-19 year old. Given the voluntary nature of employer participation in apprenticeships, Leitch proposes that SSCs and skills brokers should work with employers to achieve the necessary increase in the supply of high quality places for young people and adults. As a result of this shared action, the Government is also asked to consider creating a new entitlement, as resources allow, so that every young person with the right qualifications should be able to take up an apprenticeship place.

This proposal has been accepted by the Government. However, the current low take up of apprenticeships by employers in the region will need to be addressed if this ambition is to be realised.

The Sector Analysis draws out some sector views on the nature of apprenticeships. Indeed, improving the supply of apprenticeship placements by employers was a key priority for action among 12 of the 25 SSCs reviewed. Skills for Justice, which has other traditional entry routes, and e-skills UK do not identify driving employer demand for apprenticeships as a major concern.

There is some concern across the different sectors about the ways in which apprenticeship systems are currently structured, with many regarded as being less than wholly effective. There is also a need to ensure that apprenticeships remain relevant. That said, the main challenge appears to be in increasing the supply of apprenticeships. Improve, for example, identify the sector as having one of the lowest take-up rates of apprenticeships alongside major skills deficiencies in craft skills, technical and machine operative levels, which apprenticeships could help to fill. Energy and Utility Skills see scope to improve apprenticeship supply, particularly in the waste sector. Pro-skills equally argue that the sector has a strong tradition of informal on-the-job learning but that 83% of employers feel FE colleges aren’t important in meeting their skills. Thus there is scope to widen use of apprenticeships but only if this is supported by improving the supply of apprenticeship placements by FE. The role of the Lifelong Learning sector in enabling this is important.

Construction Skills has identified ‘increasing the number of apprenticeships at Levels 2 and Level 3’ as a priority within their Regional Activity Template. SEMTA have prioritised improving the supply of Level 3 craft skills by expanding participation in apprenticeships, developing bespoke training programmes for employers. Even Skills for Health, where apprenticeships or vocational qualifications have not traditionally been widespread, identify the development of apprenticeship as priority for future action.

There is abundant commitment, but also clear concern about improving the quality and relevance of qualifications. Skillsmart Retail point to lack of take up of apprenticeships due to their ‘bureaucratic and inflexible nature’, arguing that employers will continue to rely on informal in-house training which currently dominates until quality issues are resolved. People 1st are looking for a 100% increase in the completion of apprenticeships. Even those sectors with a large number of apprenticeships, such as Summit, are keen to develop the system further.

The problem is not just limited to apprenticeship qualifications. e-skills UK point to the existence of 600 IT qualifications for their sector with very low completion rates, arguing for a radical rationalisation and the creation of a new modular qualification that records achievement at all levels as students progress, resulting in there being no such a thing as ‘drop out’. Improving delivery of flexible, bite-sized, work-based training solutions is a priority for pro-skills. Skillset is seeking to accredit FE and HE provision in film, television and interactive media and to develop qualifications frameworks for Apprenticeships and Foundation Degrees.

Conclusions

The apprenticeship programme is an important element of the work-based offer and will continue to grow in importance as an outcome of the Leitch Review.

The problems of poor completion rates is also an issue as is the low take up by employers. Links with the brokerage service will be critical in overcoming this. The LSC should consider introducing this as a target for the Train to Gain skills brokerage service.

Sector-specific initiative should also seek to overcome low take up rates at sector level.

(65) based on LSC data collected in 2003
(66) Emerging policy for vocational learning in England: will it lead to a better system? C Stasz and S Wright. Report by SKOPE for the Learning and Skills Research Centre, 2004.