I honestly don't know what these apprenticeships are that the government are constantly banging the drum about.When I served my apprenticeship it was for a four year period and I learnt a trade.I had to sign a contract of apprenticeship(indentures) along with my parents with my employer where they guaranteed I would be trained to a certain standard,My apprenticeship was overseen by the EITB (Engineering Industries Training Board) where one of their assesors would visit my employer to make sure I was being trained to the EITB standard.I attended college on day release where I studied a C&G course on mechanical maintenance craft studies.The first year of my apprenticeship was spent in the company's apprentice training school where we were trained on engineering machinery and did courses on welding,forging and engineering electrics.I then spent the next three years with skilled tradesmen who taught me my trade.When I finished my apprenticeship my indentures were we returned to me,i also attained the EITB certificates of engineering craftsmanship and C&G qualifications in mechanical engineering maintenance.I somehow don't think apprenticeships nowadays are anything like what I did,i get the impression they are just a glorified YTS.I'm not being snobby but how the **** can you do an apprenticeship in shelf stacking at ASDA ?
That's the proper apprenticeships they should never have gotten rid of, nowadays I think you have to go to college/uni to learn to be a carpenter!!! These apprenticeships are glorified office boys/girls to be honest, and are just a cheap way of getting staff in. They give young people/late teenagers experience and a route into work, but they generally do the same as the lowest paid workers already in the company, but for less money. They don't learn a trade/skill but get a foot in the door, with the hope they'll be kept on at the end of it (doesn't always happen). It's nonsense in the majority of cases, but in a few it does help kick start someone's career, without them having to waste 3 years and £27k going to uni!
I heard that the person that the Tories have made Culture Secretary, John Whittingdale, not only (as widely reported) hates the BBC, but also has a very, very close relationship to Rupert Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks. He was also a big player in the Leveson enquiry (read whitewash). Nice and impartial then, as the biggest winners in the decline of the BBC are Sky, and of course the Tories would benefit from the increased market share of the impartial reporting of the Sky, Channel 5, Mail, Express, Times, Sun, Sun on Sunday, Telegraph, Metro ect.
I think that proper apprenticeships still exist but with the demise of manufacturing in this country there aren't many of them
I found it interesting that at the BAFTA TV awards last week The Detectorists won the best comedy.This programme was show on BBC 4,if it wasn't for the BBC being able to make this programme because of the licence fee it wouldn't have seen the light of day
There are still the "proper" apprenticeships in things like plumbing, being an electrician etc... And also college routes for most of them too. The apprenticeships they are talking about are basically NVQs or QCFs I think they are called now and cover a very wide range of subjects. I'm actually in favour of these NVQ style apprenticeships. They don't teach you much (other than making sure your aware of your employment rights etc) until you get to quite a high level which goes beyond the apprenticeship, but it does give more young people a route into work provided the employer doesn't take the piss and automatically go for the lowest end of the payment spectrum just because they can (or there is a proper paid job waiting at the end of it).
Also afaik if you worked in asda and were offered an apprenticeship you wouldn't get an apprenticeship in shelf stacking, you'd likely be on a customer service apprenticeship I'd imagine. Or maybe some kind of warehouse management or something maybe? Edit: I googled it and it's "Retail Skills"
I think the apprenticeships are, in essence, a good idea - gives youngsters the chance to develop skills, experience and contacts they need in the jobs market, while giving them a route into work without paying out thousands of pounds for a qualification (degree/HND ect). But in my experience these apprenticeships are generally used instead of admin jobs, yet paid a lot less money - they are basically cheap labour, and in the worst cases the apprentices aren't kept on at the end of their term when they'll be looking for a full paid role, as another apprentice will take their place. The apprentice is left with only some basic admin/retail experience, with no project management, management, or experience with any (small)responsibility to offer another employer.
There are definitely cases where they are used instead of admin jobs, and I don't have a problem with that as long as there is a job at the end of it rather than as a way to get round paying the minimum wage. Also it depends on the employer as to how much real experience the apprentice will get, in some roles they will just do basic things whilst completing the qualification and in others the apprentice gets a real experience of working within an industry. I think the key is to get an apprenticeship at a decent company. It's worth remembering that admin is only one type of apprenticeship and they cover quite a lot of different job types.
He was accused of warning MPs not to call Rebekah Brooks to give evidence in the phone hacking scandal by Adrian Sanders. When asked who he most admired in the media he answered, "Rupert Murdoch". I think we all know what's coming next.
Coz they sounds snazzy and there's a certain amount of respect attached to apprenticeships? I mean if they called them a meaningless acronyms then it'd be easier to see how meaningless a lot of them are wouldn't it? Though saying that, as I said, there are some which are good, with good employers, and a structured college learning course behind it.
Why would you call anything something that it's not? It's all about branding. People who remember the original apprenticeships will hear the soundbites about creating x number of them and think it's good. They won't look into it too much, for the most part, so they won't discover the bullshit. You don't sell people **** by calling it ****.
