Apprentices get £15 a week pay rise
New measures to get more people into apprenticeships schemes have been announced.
Directgov announced this week that the lowest paid apprentices have received a pay rise of £15 per week, which takes the minimum wage for an apprentice up to £95 a week from £80 a week.
Although on average apprentices earn £170 a week, the pay rise has been welcomed and is aimed at getting youngsters on board for their career development.
Commenting on apprenticeship schemes in general, Fiona Murray, senior policy advisor at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said they "are a valuable route that all young people should be aware of, but at present the majority of young people are not."
She went on to say that more young people need to know about apprenticeships and in particular about the sort of wage return they actually get at the end of the apprenticeship.
The new £95 minimum will benefit around 26,000 apprentices, mostly those in traditionally less well paid sectors such as hair dressing and social care - of whom 90 per cent are women.
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As someone who heads up a training faculty within a college and has responsibility for apprenticeships, I can assure you that this has gone down poorly with local employers. There are no wage subsidies for employers in this scheme (and rightly so), and they are struggling to keep their staffing levels as it stands in the vain hope that it will be of benefit to them in the long term.
There are ways and means by which training providers can support them, such as not asking for their contribution to the costs of the course (which is permissible), but employers do not see this as much of an offer. Their view is that in times when we want to try and keep employment going, particularly youth employment, increasing the base costs of employing apprentices is counter-productive and should be temporarily delayed.
I agree that every measure should be taken to boost apprenticeships particularly now. Based on the comment above does this initiative fail to deliver?
It is increasingly difficult for young people to secure an apprenticeship and those who can't are sitting in the ante-room for long term unemployment. Not all employers can afford the cost of paying a wage but many would be willing to provide a placement which would allow the young person to develop the practical experience and on the job experience and the NVQ based underpinning knowledge at college or training provider. The whole skills agenda needs a rethink and employers are key partners and are just as important in the provision of the learning experience and should be offered a range of options both apprenticeships and placements.
I have to agree with the general views on this increase. While it may be laudable to raise the minimum wage in low-paid sectors, such as in hairdressing and in care, it is a fact that many employers cannot afford to pay such increases. As a consequence, they are more likely not to recruit or to recruit fewer apprentices rather than to try to find the additional money. It must be remembered that a new apprentice can offer very little to the business for some time and, in fact, can have a negative impact because of the additional need for supervision during the early months of training.
Given a choice between an Apprenticeship on £80 per week or no Apprenticeship, I think I can work out what most young people would prefer, especially during this current recession.