Transcript Apprenticeships seminar - Education and Employers Taskforce

Apprenticeship Quality and
Growth in England: An
International Perspective:
Why Aren’t We As Good as the
Germans?
Richard Marsh - 2011
[email protected]
Contents
English Apprenticeship system background
Progress, successes and issues
International comparison
2
Apprenticeships in England
Overview
• Long history of Apprenticeships in England, literally for hundreds of
years
• Recent successive governments support for reinvigorating the
programme
• A managed programme with big government investment (£1.5billion in
2010/11)
• An expanding programme with over 400,000 apprentices on 200
Apprenticeships programmes in 2010/11
• Modern, online application, matching and support tools
• A programme for all ages (16+) and increasingly at all academic levels
3
What are apprenticeships for?
“Learning through practise alongside and
under the guidance of an expert practioner is
the most effective way, to transmit professional
experience and skills from one generation to
the next”
Dr Nyahn ‘rediscovering apprenticeships’ Springer 2009
Apprenticeships in England
Overview
• In England Apprentices are employed people who receive official,
structured training
• This is normally delivered 1 day per week at a vocational provider (college
or commercial company)
• They normally work 4 days per week or more
• But the programme is flexible – the employer decides how it is delivered
and the contents of the course
• High School (level 2) Technician (L3 Advanced) University (L4 Higher)
• Apprenticeships are for young people starting work
• Apprenticeships are also to upskill workers and make them higher skill
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Apprenticeships in England
Funding from Government for
Training costs = 100% age 16-18
Training costs = 50% age 19+*
The Apprentice’s wages are
paid by their employer
Each apprentice must
have a registered training provider
(which can also be their employer)
There 1,100 providers in England
Each apprentice must
have an employer and be paid.
About 130,000 employers in England
have apprentices
Government funded apprentices must study one of
200 Apprenticeship ‘qualification framework’ areas.
Frameworks are at European qualification framework
levels 2, 3, or 4
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* reducing to 40% age 25 and over, age relates to age at start of programmes
Rising numbers of apprentices
Academic
Year
Starts
2005/
2006
2006/
2007
2007/
2008
2008/
2009
2009/
2010
175,000
185,000
225,000
240,000
280,000
• 160,000* people started an Apprenticeship in 2001
• 400,000+* people expected to start an apprentice in 2010/11
• 500,000 year by 2014?
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* Figures rounded for presentation
2010/11
estimated
400,000+
Success rates
In 2000 – 70%* of starters did not complete their Apprenticeship programme
In 2010 – 75% *of starters will successfully complete their programme
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* Figures rounded for presentation
Most popular Apprenticeships
Framework and starts
2008/09
2009/10
Customer Service
22,100
29,400
Business Administration
20,500
26,500
Hospitality and Catering
16,100
20,900
Children's Care Learning and Development
16,900
19,600
Health and Social Care
12,000
17,400
Retail
10,700
16,800
Hairdressing
15,900
15,800
Engineering
14,700
14,500
Construction
15,700
13,400
Active Leisure and Learning
7,800
10,800
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Apprenticeship starts by
Academic Level
(Qualification Credit Framework)
Level
2008/09
2009/10
Level 2
155,300
187,000
31,700
20%
Level 3
78,600
85,400
6,800
9%
Level 4
100
1,500
1,400
n/a
Overall
240,000
280,000
39,900
170%
Starts are increasing at all academic levels
With Intermediate (level 2) starts rising fastest
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Difference
The Specification for Apprenticeship Standards
in England (SASE)
‘SASE’ sets out a common blueprint for all Apprenticeships from April 2011
Each framework contains 5 core elements delivered through a minimum of 280 guided learning
hours per year (although the average framework GLH is much more than 300)
1)Theoretical knowledge – understanding the vocational area and subject theory
2) Competence – assessment that you can perform the core job tasks well and consistently
3) Transferable Skills (English, Maths and option for I.C.T. )
4) Personal Learning and thinking Skills (PLTS) – learning to learn and work in teams
5) Employee rights and responsibilities – (ERR) what does it mean to be an employee?
SASE also requires all Apprenticeship frameworks include these non learning elements
• Equality and Diversity assessment – is the opportunity available for everybody?
• Entry Conditions – are the requirements of entry to the sector clear?
• Progression Routes – how to do you get to this level – where can you go after?
• A contract of employment and an Apprenticeship agreement (provider, employer and Apprentice)
Apprenticeship positives in England
• The size of the programme continues to grow strongly based on employer and
individual demand
• All Apprentices now have an employer and receive a wage
• It is an all age programme and covers many industries and job roles
• Employer and Learner satisfaction with their experience is improving
• SASE brings in a new standard for Apprenticeships in England
• Online matching service makes application and recruitment easy
“ The English Apprenticeship system is flexible and allows for tailormade training solutions for employers and this remains its inherent
strength”
Learning for Jobs, 2009 OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training, England
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Apprenticeship issues in England
• Not enough large sized employers offering Apprentice opportunities
• Quality is improving and good but pockets of bad practice still exist
• The Apprenticeship programme is still heavily segregated by sex and
ethnicity in some areas and sectors, reflecting the overall job market
• Growth in Advanced and Higher (level 3+) Apprenticeships has been
slower than in entry level 2 Apprenticeships, lowering the academic
mean of the overall programme
• There is a need to encourage more Science Technology Engineering
and Maths (STEM) based Apprenticeships
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International paradigms – English system
With 500,000 ‘in learning’ apprentices we now have probably the 4th biggest
Apprenticeship programme in the world after Germany, France, and Australia
in absolute terms (Italy also about 500,000 Apprentices)
Our success rates are also now amongst the worlds best
Our system is delivered through 1,100 high quality training providers to
employers who can choose between them – it’s a free market
Courses are based on employer needs and agreed occupational standards
Learning is personalised and tailored – not one size fits all
We have an all age, all sector programme with a single recruitment gateway
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International comparisons – are we that bad?
ISSUE
Not enough employers offer
apprentices in England
English Apprenticeships are
too easy / too short (Wolf)
English response
True but this is changing thanks to NAS and provider work;
•in 2008 130,000 workplaces had apprentices
•in 2010 160,000 had – even as PLA phased out
We are not at German / Swiss levels yet but getting better
In Germany employers have to join and pay the chamber of
commerce who conduct the work based assessment and still only
17% of SMEs in Germany have Apprentices
In France, Holland etc employers have to pay training levies etc
We operate an employer choice system – no compulsion
World bank 2010 – ‘UK easiest place in Europe to do business’
We have frameworks at levels 2-5 to suit the associated job roles
Short? – we offer a tailored programme based on a common platform
(SASE) which stipulates min hours of 280 GLH PA the ave is much higher
Our system is based on personalised learning– we are the most flexible in
this regards
English Apprentices are paid
too highly
But is low pay a problem? Employers could pay as little as £2.50 but
choose to pay £5ph average
(Steedman et al)
In 2010 25% of German Apprentices had to take on part-time jobs as
apprentice pay there is so low [BIBB 2010] and 67% were ‘dissatisfied’
with their pay
International comparisons – are we that bad?
We should pay employers to take
Apprentices (Wolf)
Growth has been achieved without subsidy
Dual system is better
An employer here can decide how they want training delivered
(College for key skills & theory
They can have a college based day release dual system or keep it
all in house – our employers decide not the state
Competency at workplace)
Payments could add another level of bureaucracy and risk
Employer choice / ownership
Yes they organise more of the training and pay for more of it
German employers have more
ownership
As above employers can organise it all (150 do) but most choose
to outsource it to the licensed gov provider
English programme is too
prescribed
SASE sets a min core only - employers and providers are free to
add as much as they want
Employers would not want regionalised or federal systems
(Germany / Switzerland etc) and already complain about
differences within the UK
Success rates
Now at 74% and comparable to others
Switzerland best at 90% (Steedman 2010)
Germany 75% average (Steedman 2010)
Our future plans
• Specification for Apprenticeship Standards in England will set a
new academic framework for Apprenticeships in England from
April 2011
• Major growth to be in academic Level 3 and above programmes
[Advanced and Higher programmes]
• Continue to make it easier and more rewarding for employers to
employ apprentices
• Use of competition such as World Skills London 2011 to embed
excellence
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The National Apprenticeship Service
• Founded in April 2009 to offer support to all parties
• Helps create new Apprenticeship markets
• Provides support to employers interested in starting Apprenticeship
programmes (30,000 since its inception)
• Informs individuals, stakeholders and partners about Apprenticeships
• Develops new internet based tools and guides apprenticeships.org.uk
• Oversees the growth of the Apprenticeship programme and monitors
quality
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For more information regarding Apprenticeships in England
please contact; [email protected]