Apprenticeships can have positive effects

Jan 8 2008 by Keith Leslie for the Evening Gazette

TRAINING new talent is vital for the future of the Tees Valley economy. But apprenticeships need more support from employers. That’s according to KEITH LESLIE, apprenticeship business director at The TTE Technical Training Group.

THE Government recently announced plans for the creation of 120,000 new apprenticeships, which is, potentially, fantastic news for industry.

The timing is particularly pertinent for the Tees Valley after a number of recent announcements of inward investment that will put more pressure on this region’s skilled labour force.

However, without increased support of employers, industry cannot expect these apprentices to simply turn up on their doorsteps at the end of their training, ready to become effective members of the workforce.

In his report on the skills requirements of the British economy, Lord Leitch concluded that by 2020 there will need to be an increased number of employer-led apprenticeships with around 50% of the funding for training coming from industry.

The development of apprenticeships has to be a partnership between employers, trainees and training organisations and, through sponsoring apprentices, employers can have a massive influence of the development of the future workforce.

Projects including Sonhoe’s £2bn crude oil plant at Wilton International and SABIC’s £200m polyethelene plant are wonderful opportunities for the area, but industrial employers in this region are now facing up to how they meet the challenges their growth creates.

Thankfully, logistics dictate that supplies to support developments such as these are most efficiently sourced as locally as possible but, in terms of raw materials, machinery and IT support, if it isn’t available on the doorstep, it can be brought in.

The key resource, which is not as easy to import, or indeed source locally, is that of a workforce armed with the latest skills and knowledge that ever-evolving employers require.

While the region has a rich heritage in the petrochemical, processing, manufacturing and offshore sectors, the turnover of the workforce through aging alone is creating a considerable skills gap.

In the process industry in particular, it has been reported that, by 2014, the sector will be facing a skills deficit of 20,000 workers in the North-east.

Training organisations, such as TTE who have been supplying industry with ‘industry-ready’ employees through apprenticeships for more than 15 years, have developed to support employer requirements.

The speed at which industry is growing means that when apprentices have completed their training they have ‘hit the ground running’ when they start with their new employers.

To a large degree this is addressed through the structure of the apprenticeship framework where, after two years of off-the-job training, apprentices spend the final two years working on site for their sponsoring employer.

Therefore, employer-support means that apprentices are not only ‘industry-ready’, but also ‘company ready’ where, if jobs are available, they can smoothly integrate into the workforce on a full-time basis.

This has proven beneficial, but in some cases the demands of employers needs to reach further than offering work placements. For example, at TTE we have, in partnership with employers, devised bespoke apprenticeship programmes suited to the individual skills requirements of companies to create the foundations for made to measure workforces.

Companies like Cleveland Potash and, more recently British Energy, are benefiting from partnerships with training organisations that can provide the specific skills and competencies their business demands.

Historically, Cleveland Potash, which is part of ICL Fertilizers, one of the world’s leading suppliers of fertilisers, operated its own internal apprenticeship programme, which came to an end in 2000.

The company later engaged with TTE to address a future skills shortage due to the majority of its workforce consisting of mature technicians.

If industry is to address its skills challenges then it needs to, more than ever, realise the positive effects apprenticeships can have on the quality of their workforces.

By supporting apprentices throughout their training, employers can have an invaluable influence on the development of people who will become the future core of their skills base.