The National Audit Office has called for More Clarity Over The Future Of Apprenticeships

While the government plans to increase the number of apprentices has been widely met with praise, the NAO feel that there needs to be more clarity as to exactly what this means while making sure the apprenticeships are created where they are needed.

The hope is that apprenticeships can be linked to plans for wider economic growth by using apprentices to fill skills gaps. The report even said that the focus should be about which sector needs help filling vacancies rather than just an overall target number of 3 million apprenticeships created.

Market Forces

Currently, it is down to market forces to decide where apprenticeships are taking place, leading the Department for Education (who now have responsibility for the apprenticeships programme) to declare that they are “not directly involved in deciding where, or at what level, apprenticeships take place.”

However, the National Audit Office says that there needs to be “a clear rationale for how apprenticeships fit into the wider plan for productivity and growth,” adding, “without this strategic underpinning, there is a clear risk that the drive to deliver greater numbers is delivered at the expense of delivering maximum value.”

Institute Of Apprenticeships

However, the report did acknowledge that the apprenticeship programme is still in its early stages so hopes to see measures introduced to assess how the scheme is impacting skill levels, skills gaps and achievement rates among young people. There is also a stated need to look into earning potentials for different apprentices, with the report noting that there are significant differences in earnings for different apprenticeships but that the most common ones tend to command lower wages.

The NAO report even suggested that the newly formed Institute for Apprenticeships works to measure the success of the programme.

The Right Apprenticeships

Amyas Morse, the head of the National Audit Office stated, “The Department for Education needs to chart and follow a course from having a lot of apprenticeships to having the right apprenticeships in order to help improve the UK’s productivity and achieve value for money, in return for the costs of the programme.”

This view was echoed by the Shadow Minister for Higher Education, Further Education, and Skills, Gordon Marsden, who said, “The government needs to put extra capacity urgently into delivering the strategy.”

Marsden even called out the Apprenticeships and Skills Minister, saying, “Robert Halfron needs to lobby his Treasury colleagues to give the apprenticeship agencies the funding to carry this programme through properly.”

However, Halfron asserted, “Our apprenticeship reforms give young people a ladder of opportunity, provide employers with high quality apprentices and deliver real benefits to the economy. We are giving employers more power than ever before to design apprenticeships that are rigorous, robust and world class. The new Institute for Apprenticeships will ensure that apprenticeships are even more closely tailored to the needs of employers.”

Measuring Success?

It is certainly not a bad idea to implement systems for measuring the success of the apprenticeships scheme – both for business and for young people. While it may be too early to look into the success of the new trailblazer apprenticeships (those on apprenticeship degrees, for example, have not yet finished their first year!), it is certainly something that should be considered for the future.

Of course, with employers taking control of apprenticeships it is hoped that they would be creating roles where they are most needed – thereby naturally filling the skills gap – but it never hurts to make sure!