The last student generation before the rise in tuition fees began university last month. There has been debate over alternative career options for those who cannot afford, or do not wish to burdened with a huge debt when they leave university.
One of these options is apprenticeships and the government has done much to encourage organisations to put these type of schemes into place.
For example the government has pledged a £25 million Higher Apprenticeships Fund this year to assist sectors including manufacturing, information technology and engineering.
Apprenticeship schemes are important because they offer options to the many young people who are entering over-subscribed professions; contributing to youth employment.
Currently only 12% of 11 to 16 year-olds claim to understand what a career in our industry might involve. This is a disturbing statistic; young people cannot become passionate about a career path they know nothing about, and without new blood, industries such as manufacturing will stagnate.
Britain should be proud of its manufacturing heritage.
At Sharpak our reputation for developing industry-first packaging solutions is one we have worked hard to establish, and the UK in general has a great reputation for innovation. It would be a shame to see this disappear.
The problem Sharpak is experiencing is that because not enough people are opting for engineering professions this leads to a recued number of quality engineers. It’s no surprise when the best trained apprentices are being approached by larger organisations.
For smaller firms this is a key issue. SMEs are working hard to develop tomorrow’s young talent and yet, we are having the legs cut out from under us once apprentices are trained.
Unlike in other professions there isn’t a queue of graduates or apprentices waiting to take the place of someone leaving the organisation.
Just 4% of undergraduates study engineering which is not enough to sustain a good talent pool for industry. There is also no legislation, or guidelines to stop this taking place. As a result, smaller firms could invest budget in training and developing young people over a three or four year period, to not see any return on investment.
This could be the undying reason why many firms are wary of investing in apprenticeship schemes, because of the concern that once trained larger organisations will swoop in and steal them away. Smaller firms cannot afford the cost burden of this.
At Sharpak, our established apprenticeship scheme has benefited local youngsters.
We started the scheme because we identified a shortage of good, young trainee engineers, and we also wanted to create employment and training opportunities for students in the area. We’re really proud of the work we have done.
What we are suggesting is industry, the government and schools work together to revitalise the sector and bring more young people into industry.
We also call for a review of apprenticeships schemes to ensure they are more appealing to both organisations and young people.
Andrew Copson, managing director of Sharpak Yate, Bridgwater and Holland
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