Business, enterprise and energy minister Matthew Hancock has said that to plug the engineering skills gap, there needs to be a focus on quality apprenticeships and more needs to be done to inform schoolchildren about different opportunities from primary school age.
The Low Pay Commission has recommended that government increase the Apprentice Rate by 2.6%, to £2.80 per hour. The rate applies to all apprentices in their first year and 16-18 year olds in any year of an apprenticeship.
The Prime Minister said: "You need to explain both to people. This is not a criticism of teachers but most teachers did A-levels, filled out a Ucas form, went to university. They are very familiar with that path and we need to make sure the careers advice in schools offers both the pathways."
Ed Miliband has pledged an “apprenticeship guarantee” as well as 80,000 new positions a year in England if his party gains majority control in the UK's upcoming general election.
According to a new report from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, young people face a postcode lottery when trying to find work experience, with employers in some parts of the country almost twice as likely to offer it as their counterparts in other areas.
The online events map tracks all of the events and activities of National Apprenticeship Week, so you can see at glance what is going on near you.
Speaking on 4th February at a Commons opposition day debate on apprenticeships, shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said that the coalition government has “downgraded” apprenticeships and taken Britain “backwards” on productivity.
According to a new report from the Local Government Association, too many teenagers in England are dropping out of school or college or failing to pass their courses due to poor careers advice, which costs the country over £800m a year.
With the 2015 general election just months away, functional skills specialists bksb look at what the major parties are saying about apprenticeship programmes.
Apprentice Eye recently caught up with Aadil Seedat, apprentice at Notch Communications. He has been working as a technical developer apprentice for three months studying towards a digital marketing qualification through training provider Arch.
