Chloe Smith: Employers must take the lead on apprenticeships in Norwich

 

Chloe Smith, MP for Norwich North, recently joined an Apprenticeship Debate run by Youth Employment UK at the Emirates Stadium. The debate, part of the 4^th Apprenticeship 4 England Conference, asked if young people were ready to take up the Government’s pledge for 3 million apprenticeships over the course of this parliament. As Chair of the APPG on Youth Employment Chloe works closely with Youth Employment UK to promote best practice and overcome the challenges facing young people in the labour market.

 

Commenting on the event Chloe said:

 

“It was fantastic to be able to get the views of young people on the apprenticeship agenda. There are now more people doing an apprenticeship than ever before. In East Anglia we’ve seen 237,940 apprenticeship starts since 2010, with over 7,600 of these in Norwich. Nationally over 2.4 million people started an apprenticeship during the last parliament.”

 

Apprenticeships are now available in over 170 industries and 9 out of 10 apprentices stay in employment upon completing their apprenticeship. 82% of apprentices say their experience had improved their ability to do the job and 79% said that their career prospects had improved. What’s more the Skills Funding Agency found almost 90% of employers who take on an apprentice report benefits to their business.

 

Chloe said:

 

“The Chancellor has dedicated £1 billion for this but getting employers involved is vital. We’re bringing together some of the UK’s leading businesses to help raise the status of apprenticeships in the labour market.

 

“Almost three quarters of apprentices go on to do a job with the same employer they did their apprenticeship with, thereby demonstrating the confidence their employers have in them. What’s more up to 25,000 apprenticeship vacancies are available online at any one time, which shows just how much demand is out there.”

 

Speaking alongside Chloe were a panel of experts from YEUK, My Kind of Future, Nutmeg Media, AELP, Plotr and Skills First.

 

A key part of the Government’s long term plan for apprenticeships is to drive up the quality of courses being taken.

 

Chloe said:

 

“We need a system which is employer led and puts quality first, so that young people get a gold standard.

 

“The Government inherited a situation in which only half of apprentices in England reported receiving off-the job training and 1 in 5 said that they received neither on-the-job nor off-the-job training.  The Government has been putting this right and there's more to do, such as through using the Apprenticeship Levy to ensure both quantity and quality."

 

 

The Enterprise Bill, currently in the Lords, will protect the term “apprenticeship” in law, thereby preventing misuse. Apprenticeships must now last for at least a year, involve meaningful-on-the-job training, have higher expectations for English and maths, and involve more rigorous assessment and grading. Furthermore, only vocational qualifications which lead on to jobs, further study or university will count in performance tables.

 

Judgements on apprenticeship quality will be made independently of Government, meaning the 3 million target will have to be met the hard way, not by dumbing down quality.

 

As part of her work as MP, Chloe chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Youth Employment, which meets regularly to share best practice and highlight the issues which matter to young jobseekers. Recent meetings included careers education, DWP support and international comparisons. Locally Chloe founded the Norwich for Jobs project, which has succeeded in helping to halve youth unemployment in the city.