The Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Select Committee has announced it will be visiting Sheffield as part or its ongoing inquiry into apprenticeships.

The committee will hold a number of formal oral evidence sessions between March 5-6, 2012 with employers who promote or offer apprenticeships, as well as learners currently enrolled on apprenticeship schemes.

Adrian Bailey MP, chairman of the BIS Select Committee said: “Sheffield is home to a number of significant organisations and employers offering innovative and meaningful apprenticeship schemes.

“This is something that is being replicated right across the UK and is something the Committee wants to experience first-hand.

“Visiting Sheffield will allow the Committee to take evidence from a wide range of interested parties.”

The committee says other visits and formal evidence sessions will be announced shortly.

Written evidence needs to be submitted to the BIS Select Committee by the end of today, following a deadline extension last week.

“This is a hugely important inquiry; apprenticeships are vital to boosting employment and growth throughout the country,” Mr Bailey said.

“The Committee feels it is vital that apprenticeships are structured in such a way so as to maximise their potential and to provide young people in the UK with requisite skills for future success.”

The terms of reference for the inquiry are:

– How successful has the National Apprenticeship Service been since it was created in April 2009? Has it helped bridge the gap between the two funding Departments? (BIS and DfE)

– Is the extra funding promised by the Coalition Government necessary for apprenticeships? How can this funding best be spent?

– Are apprenticeships of a high enough quality to benefit apprentices and their employers? Should there be more Level 3 apprenticeships?

– Apprenticeship bonuses – how should they function? Will they encourage the involvement of more small and medium sized businesses to take on apprentices? If not what will?

– Is the current funding arrangement for training of apprentices of 100% for 16-18 year olds and 50% for 19-24 year-olds appropriate?

(Written evidence should be sent to the Committee using the following e-mail address: biscommem@parliament.uk)

More than a tenth of the staff at the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) will soon be made up by apprentices.

The organisation has hired nine new apprentices to join three existing learners at the company.

LSIS will soon be offering an additional two apprenticeships to make a grand total of 14 out of 130 staff.

Rob Wye, chief executive of LSIS said: “As an organisation better committed with driving improvement through the Further Education and Skills sector, we wanted to demonstrate our commitment to supporting apprenticeships – and what better way to do it than to employ apprentices ourselves.

“As huge numbers of young people are unemployed we are proud to be able to provide opportunities to learn on the job, to earn a competitive wage and to attend college on day release to study for a relevant, vocational qualification such as an NVQ.”

LSIS is a national organisation, based in Coventry, which employs apprentices in a number of divisions including IT, marketing and communications, finance and human resources.

Lizzie Stubbington, an apprentice in the LSIS Skills for Life and Employment team, left university in her first year because she felt she would learn more working ‘on the job’.

“I carefully considered my options before leaving university and decided an apprenticeship would be best for me. I feel at home in a working environment and I don’t feel like an apprentice, I feel like a member of staff,” Lizzie said.

The announcement forms part of the fifth annual National Apprenticeship Week, led by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS).

The Prime Minister has opened the bidding for the “Employer Ownership of Skills” pilot and announced a second round of funding for higher apprenticeships.

Employers can now bid for up to £250 million of direct public funding, bypassing colleges and training providers in order to deliver innovative apprenticeships and vocational training.

David Cameron, speaking on the second day of National Apprenticeship Week, said: “By making apprenticeships a gold standard option for ambitious young people, we are sending a message that technical excellence is as highly valued as academic prowess,”

“And by focusing investment where it is most needed to deliver sustainable growth and offering real ownership of vocational training to employers, we are equipping businesses with the skills they need to rebalance our economy and distribute opportunity more widely.”

Mr Cameron also announced the second round of bidding for the higher apprenticeship fund, worth up to £6 million and aimed at developing new schemes in the aerospace, energy and renewable technologies industries.

Skills Minister John Hayes said: “Clarity of policy and certainty of purpose in Government has delivered a record number of apprenticeships and driven up standards at every level.

“We must now go further to create new pathways to excellence for the brightest and best young people and help employers to secure the high-quality skills they need.”

The Prime Minister confirmed that small firms would be offered a £1,500 incentive, starting this week,  to hire their first apprentice aged between 16 and 18.

“I’m delighted to underline our commitment to strengthen our economy by helping employers take on apprentices and ensure that the UK workforce has the skills that businesses need,” Mr Cameron said.

“Under this Government apprenticeship starts are increasing at a record rate, with improvements across the age range, in all sectors, throughout the country.”

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) has launched a prospectus today explaining how businesses can bid for the first £50 million of the “Employer Ownership of Skills” pilot.

Charlie Mayfield, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES)said: “I believe that to improve both the quality and sustainability of vocational skills, we need a shift in the balance of power away from government and towards employers.

“They are the people who really know what their business needs to grow and thrive.”

The UKCES says successful bids should include an increase in the number of people taking part in vocational training, such as apprenticeships, and make a significant impact on employer productivity and growth.

Employer proposals need to be submitted by April 26, 2012, before final decisions are given in June and July.

(The UKCES prospectus can be downloaded here.) 

The ACEVO Commission on Youth Unemployment has criticised the government’s apprenticeship programme and current schemes designed to tackle youth unemployment.

A new report, chaired by David Miliband MP and titled ‘Youth unemployment: The crisis we cannot afford’, says the government could be doing more to help young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

The commission says the Youth Contract and Work Programme in particular will support only a small proportion of the people who need help.

David Miliband MP said: “Britain faces a youth unemployment emergency.

“This is a crisis we cannot afford.

“Government have set the right goal – abolishing long-term youth unemployment – but we will need big change if we are to achieve it.”

The commission says apprenticeship opportunities are “limited in supply” for young people, and attribute the record growth in framework starts to existing employees aged 25 and above.

The report states: “Many companies now put existing, older employees into ‘apprenticeships’ as a way of giving them training whilst on the job.

“We believe there is significant untapped potential for employers (particularly SMEs) to offer more young people apprenticeships as a high-quality route for their transition from education to a career.”

The report references the Wolf Report and says many vocational courses are “of limited value” to young people aged 16 and above, often encouraging them to enroll in consecutive short courses which offer little value.

The report states: “Whilst some apprenticeships are of very high quality, there is significant variation; employers also told us of their fears that the apprenticeship ‘brand’ could be damaged by indiscriminate expansion, and particularly by the use of apprenticeships to give older existing staff additional qualifications.”

The Commission also criticises the poor amount of awareness surrounding the apprenticeship pathway, claiming too few teachers understand the route or promote it to young people or their parents.

Recommendations in the report include bringing forward the third year of spending for the Youth Contract in order to try and double the number of subsidised jobs in 2012.

Other proposals include a UCAS styled system for apprenticeships, as well as implementing further safeguards to ensure quality is upheld in the apprenticeship programme.

Mr Miliband added: “Young people, government, communities and employers will all need to up their game if young people are to succeed in a radically changing jobs market.

“Our report sets out a practical routemap for how they can do precisely that.

“The crisis of youth unemployment can and must be tackled now.

“With action we can make a real difference across Britain.”

The report also proposes an entirely new programme for young people, called ‘Job Ready’, which would help young NEETs back into education or work.

The programme would be delivered by voluntary or private sector organisations in each local community and offer a ‘deal’, such as a financial allowance, subsidised transport or additional housing, to young people to ensure they stay engaged.

Sir Stephen Bubb, chief executive officer of ACEVO, said: “Youth unemployment has been a burning issue for voluntary sector leaders for years now.

“The current numbers only serve to reinforce that concern.

“Charity CEOs are ready and willing to be a key part of the solution, but we need Government and the private sector to work with us.

“The current crisis will only be solved if we see this as a priority for us all.”

More than one in five young people are now NEET, with a further quarter of a million now unemployed for more than a year.

The commission estimates youth unemployment will cost the exchequer £4.8 billion in 2012 – a figure higher than the 16-19 budget for further education in England.

The report states: “The human misery of youth unemployment is also a time-bomb under the nation’s finances.”

(Download the full report here.)