Apprenticeships can help companies to future-proof their business and allow employees to earn while they learn, reports MAXINE GORDON

Blaze A Trail was the theme of this year's National Apprenticeship Week with the aim of highlighting the benefits of apprenticeships to employers, individuals, local communities and the economy.

The fact that the government training scheme needed its own publicity week tells us that there is still work to be done in "selling" the idea of apprenticeships and changing perceptions about what an apprenticeship is and who takes them up.

And it is proving to be an uphill struggle. The government reformed the apprenticeship scheme in 2017 by introducing a new levy on businesses with the aim of creating three million new posts by 2020. But latest figures show the take-up is down by a quarter with £2 billion from the levy fund left unspent.

But it's not all bad news. York College is one training institution that continues to buck the national trend. It has recruited in excess of 360 new apprentices this year and now has approximately 850 apprentices in training – 50 more than at the same point last year.

Kerry Jephson, head of business development at York College, said interest in apprenticeships had gathered momentum since the introduction of the employer apprenticeship levy.

All UK employers with a wage bill of more than £3 million per year pay the apprenticeship levy. The levy is set at 0.5 per cent of the value of the employer’s pay bill, minus an apprenticeship levy allowance of £15,000 per financial year. The funds generated by the levy have to be spent on apprenticeship training costs. The government tops ups the funds paid by the employer by ten per cent.

Kerry said: "Certainly, York College has seen a steady increase in enrolments, and young people especially are realising the advantages of being able to earn while learning."

She said the college delivered a range of apprenticeships covering occupational areas such as construction, which witnessed the largest growth this year. And she added that there were plenty of vacancies for apprenticeship opportunities all year round across a range of subject areas including business administration, hospitality, plumbing, hairdressing, IT and accountancy.

She said: “Apprenticeships are an ideal way to kick-start a career; they provide valuable on-the-job skills which are unique to apprenticeship courses.

"At York College, we work effectively with employers. They realise the value of taking on an apprentice and the noticeable impact apprentices have on their organisation. Employers tell us that apprentices help them to future-proof their staffing and business succession, they also think apprentices value this style of learning because it gets them into the working frame of mind."

And Kerry pointed out that apprenticeships were not just for school leavers. "More and more mature students are opting to study an apprenticeship to retrain or diversify their skill set in order to benefit their business and meet the organisation’s recruitment training plans," she said.

Meet York's apprentices

Maitiú Ó Fátharta, 30, stonemasonry apprentice

Maitiú gave up a career teaching maths at secondary school to study stonemasonry at York College, which led to an apprenticeship with Stone Edge, a contractor specialising in historic building restoration and conservation. One of its projects is the restoration and conservation of Pontefract Castle. While working for Stone Edge, Maitiú is also studying at York College for his Stonemasonry Level 3 to gain further knowledge and experience.

Maitiú said: “At school I was good at carpentry and metal work and now I enjoy working with stone.

"I can’t deny it was hard giving up a well-paid career to learn this new trade but it was the right thing for me. I think I have a natural aptitude for stonemasonry and in the future I look forward to keeping the heritage craft alive, working on interesting restoration projects. I would have found it close to impossible to get into a masonry job without the foundation of skills I developed at York College, and York College is the only northern training provider for stonemasonry.”

Adam Hickey, operations director of Stone Edge, said: “Taking on apprentices in these highly-skilled traditional crafts is essential to our business – and vital to the future of our sector of the construction industry.

"We are absolutely delighted to play our part in helping to build Maitiú’s new career and the team at York College is always a pleasure to deal with. Maitiú has slotted straight in to become a key part of our project at Pontefract Castle. We very much hope and expect that he will be with us for many years to come.”

Chantelle Lawrence, 28, applied science apprenticeship

Chantelle left Huntington School with ten GCSEs and went into catering, working for six years at the National Stem Learning Centre in York. She fancied a change and arranged some work experience in the centre's labs – and hasn't looked back.

Today, she is an apprentice laboratory technician at the centre, combining her duties there while studying for a qualification with York College.

Her day-to-day tasks are diverse. "One morning I could be making a representation of Roman and Viking faeces for primary science using homemade play dough and different pips, seeds and animal bones, and the same afternoon I could be preparing accurate chemical solutions for A-Level experiments using hazardous chemicals."

Chantelle said she felt fine about being a "mature" apprentice. "I was slightly apprehensive about starting an apprenticeship at the age of 26, but I soon realised that my age really didn’t matter, because my classmates are all doing the same apprenticeship, have a similar job role, and there is a huge overlap of interests within the group."

She said the apprenticeship had opened many doors. "Part of my job role is to train to become a facilitator, and begin presenting on some of the in-house courses we run at the centre, aimed specifically at technicians. My apprenticeship will be completed sometime this year, which will allow me to start enquiring about further education. I could seek out training to become a senior laboratory technician, apply for a job in industry, or look into the qualifications required to get involved in scientific research."

Helen Rose, laboratory manager at the National STEM Learning Centre, said: "We receive huge benefits by employing apprentices. The business is able to train and maintain a talent pipeline for hard-to-fill roles. Not only do our apprentices receive excellent on-the-job and college training, but our wider staff get the opportunity to progress their own skills in mentoring, coaching and supervision. In addition, we learn from our apprentices by harnessing their creativity and thirst for knowledge."

Owen Schofield, 20, accounting apprenticeship

Former Manor CE Academy pupil Owen is an accountancy apprentice with Evora Construction, York.

Owen said: “At primary school, after seeing an educational psychologist, I was diagnosed as dyslexic. Although I always managed to keep good grades in all subjects, I felt most comfortable working with numbers.

"After GCSEs I didn’t automatically think of an apprenticeship; I thought I should follow the natural path of A Levels and university. As I only gained a grade C in English my A Level choice was limited, and I struggled to stay interested in the subjects I was left with. I didn’t want to carry on and be unhappy for two years, so I began looking for different opportunities."

Owen enrolled in an apprenticeship and began studying for the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) qualification, which is internationally recognised and valued by employers.

He said: "I enjoy the balance of gaining relevant work experience and classroom contact, constantly gaining knowledge to further my career. Also, getting paid while gaining qualifications and experience is invaluable."

Richard Elam, managing director at Evora, said: “The business benefits of taking on an apprentice are significant. On a weekly basis, Owen has gained technical knowledge and input from industry professionals within the accounting field, giving an extra tier of training to that offered within the business. Over the last two years Evora has worked effectively with York College and their on-site assessors. The college has kept in regular contact with us to feedback on Owen’s progress, which has proved to be invaluable. It has helped us to refine our internal training plans. Throughout the two-year programme, Owen has gained immeasurable experience from peers within the group and other industries, which will stand the test of time for his future career and for our business going forward."

Details:

Find out more about apprenticeships at York College through its Business Development Unit

W: yorkcollege.ac.uk