PM announces greater ‘ease of use’ in improved apprenticeships
29 October 2013
Prime Minister David Cameron says that reforms announced to the apprenticeship system “will put employers in the driving seat”.
Tue, 29 Oct 2013Prime Minister David Cameron says that reforms announced to the apprenticeship system “will put employers in the driving seat”.
The new plans, unveiled by the PM at car maker BMW’s Mini plant in Oxford yesterday, also seek to ensure, in Cameron’s words, that “if you want an apprenticeship, we’re going to make sure you do the best apprenticeship in the world”.
Alongside employer-led design and improved rigour, apprenticeships will be graded pass, merit or distinction upon completion.
The reforms come after entrepreneur Doug Richard’s 2012 review of apprenticeships was welcomed by deputy PM Nick Clegg, as announced in National Apprenticeship Week in March this year.
A full report, The Future of Apprenticeships in England: Implementation Plan, is available online. It outlines plans for implementation, to be complete before the start of 2017-18. However, some reformed apprenticeships could be ready as early as the end of 2014.
Skills and enterprise minister Matthew Hancock says: “Our aim is that the new apprenticeships will focus squarely on rigorous training for learners and simplicity of use for employers. This will mean that our apprenticeship system will respond to the needs of the modern economy.
More than 60 companies, who together took on over 13,000 apprentices in 2011-12, are being named as ‘trailblazers’ for the new apprenticeships. These firms include BMW, alongside several major employers across various sectors. A full list is available in a guidance document for employers on the gov.uk website.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s head of skills and policy campaigns, Katerina Rüdiger, comments: “We welcome the government announcement to put employers in the driving seat of setting standards.”
“These announcements can mean only positive things as far as the future of apprenticeships is concerned, and this should be seen as a step towards making them equally an attractive prospect to young people and their parents as a university education has traditionally been,” she adds.
The new plans, unveiled by the PM at car maker BMW’s Mini plant in Oxford yesterday, also seek to ensure, in Cameron’s words, that “if you want an apprenticeship, we’re going to make sure you do the best apprenticeship in the world”.
Alongside employer-led design and improved rigour, apprenticeships will be graded pass, merit or distinction upon completion.
The reforms come after entrepreneur Doug Richard’s 2012 review of apprenticeships was welcomed by deputy PM Nick Clegg, as announced in National Apprenticeship Week in March this year.
A full report, The Future of Apprenticeships in England: Implementation Plan, is available online. It outlines plans for implementation, to be complete before the start of 2017-18. However, some reformed apprenticeships could be ready as early as the end of 2014.
Skills and enterprise minister Matthew Hancock says: “Our aim is that the new apprenticeships will focus squarely on rigorous training for learners and simplicity of use for employers. This will mean that our apprenticeship system will respond to the needs of the modern economy.
More than 60 companies, who together took on over 13,000 apprentices in 2011-12, are being named as ‘trailblazers’ for the new apprenticeships. These firms include BMW, alongside several major employers across various sectors. A full list is available in a guidance document for employers on the gov.uk website.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s head of skills and policy campaigns, Katerina Rüdiger, comments: “We welcome the government announcement to put employers in the driving seat of setting standards.”
“These announcements can mean only positive things as far as the future of apprenticeships is concerned, and this should be seen as a step towards making them equally an attractive prospect to young people and their parents as a university education has traditionally been,” she adds.
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