Apprentices scheme concerns
AMBITIOUS Government plans to offer every school leaver an apprenticeship from 2013 must be supported by assistance for businesses if the proposal is to be a success, according to the North East Chamber of Commerce.
The NECC backed the Government’s push to improve the skills of future employees and said the move to enroll more than half a million youngsters on apprenticeships was a bold initiative that would ultimately help firms tackle skills shortages.
However, the NECC is concerned that without the right support for businesses that do not currently offer apprenticeships, the scheme will ultimately prove unsuccessful.
NECC is writing to the Government to express fears that many smaller firms will be expected to offer apprenticeships, despite not having the resource available to do so.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families set out the headline targets in the draft Apprenticeship Bill.
Last year, 183,000 people in England and Wales took an apprenticeship, but by 2020 the Government wants that number to hit 500,000.
