Voice of apprentices – National Apprenticeship Week.

The best people to tell everyone about apprenticeships are apprentices themselves
By Sarosh Khalid

Now in its seventh consecutive year, National Apprenticeship Week (3-7 March) provides apprentices with the opportunity to collectively share and showcase their achievements, skills and experiences. It is also a significant platform to help raise the awareness and profile of apprenticeships amongst employers, individuals, teachers, parents, media and the wider community.

As a QA apprentice here myself, this week was very important to me and helped highlight the doors that are open for all apprenticeships.

There was no better way for me to share my experiences and express my opinions than to head on down to the ‘The Apprentice Debate’ to express my view, where joined by other QA apprentices, we addressed the current status of Apprenticeships and how significant issues could be resolved. Ben Pike, director of QA training and Matthew Hancock MP, Minister for skills and enterprise both attended as keynote speakers to endorse the opinions and values of the apprentices. Lizzie Moffatt and Andy Fowler, founding members of the IAC, who co-supported the event with EAL, described how apprenticeships changed their lives and why they think apprenticeships should be largely supported.

Ben Pike encouraged apprentices to address their concerns, such as careers information and advice, as well as recommending any improvements. Hancock shared his thoughts: “it needs to become the new norm, that when a learner leaves schools they either go to university or into an apprenticeship”.  He praised the government for funding and fully supporting the system and stated: “all sorts of things are taking place to drive up the registrations for apprenticeships – but employers are needed to come to the table”. The Minister for Skills and Enterprise expressed his view that employers need to promote the value that apprentices bring to their business: “things like IT that were not around 40 years ago are now a huge part of our economy, and apprenticeships are important for ensuring the right skills are in place”.

A recurring topic on the day was the lack of career guidance given to young adults - schools don’t seem to steer towards apprenticeships. Hancock’s response was: “that we’re also putting a stronger legal duty on schools to provide independent and impartial advice”.

I took the floor and with mic in hand explained that “there are cases where you will put an individual in front of an employer and they don’t get the job. I know apprenticeships are training programmes, but certain individuals lack the confidence and skills to communicate themselves well. There should be training and guidance in place before you sit these young adults in front of employers. Hancock’s response was:  “The very best people to tell everyone about apprenticeships are apprentices themselves”.

The debate covered many topics including: the wider perception of apprenticeships, professional accreditation, a national body to represent the voices of apprentices, and addressing the ongoing issue of stereotyping and gender imbalance in apprenticeships. The latter being a good point in case. I was sat in a room full of apprentices where the clear majority were young males - we need to ensure opportunities are for both men and women.

I also strongly believe that schools now have a legal responsible duty to focus on these schemes and promote them alongside other career options. It was an invaluable experience for me and the opportunity to participate in the debate alone increased my self-confidence. It was exciting and inspiring to see the next generation of professionals!