Government 'must do more to promote apprenticeships'
27/01/2012 16:02
The government has been called on to do more to promote apprenticeship schemes across the UK in a bid to get more young people into permanent jobs. Nick Linford, managing editor of FE week, said the quality of apprenticeship programmes across the country is in need of improving, as last year there were in excess of 10,000 apprentice starts, but the length and in-depth training being offered to young people is, in some cases, not as good as it should be.
He commented: "Quite a lot of pressure is building and I think there is an acceptance now that the eye may have been taken off the ball and they need to make sure that they don't allow that to continue."
Mr Linford added that while it may only be five per cent of courses that are not up to scratch, this minority is causing difficulties for the 95 per cent of quality schemes, as they have eroded public confidence in this career path over recent years.
Next month will see the launch of Apprenticeship Week 2012 across the UK, with the event to take place between February 6th and 10th.
It has been running for the last four years and aims to raise the profile of apprenticeship schemes among employers, individuals, teachers, parents and the media.
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