Concerns over apprenticeship proposal

9:18am Thursday 31st July 2008

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BUSINESS leaders in the North-East are writing to the Government to express their worries that small firms may be expected to offer apprenticeships without having the resources.

The Government plans to offer every school leaver an apprenticeship from 2013.

But the North-East Chamber of Commerce yesterday said the proposal must be backed by assistance for businesses if it is to be a success.

The chamber is writing to the Government to express its concerns.

A spokesman said the chamber backed the Government’s push to improve skills and said the move to enroll more than 500,000 youngsters on apprenticeships was a bold initiative that would ultimately help firms tackle skills shortages.

However, chamber members are concerned that without the right support for businesses that do not currently offer apprenticeships, the scheme will ultimately prove unsuccessful.

Skills policy advisor Joanne Lavender said: “For certain sectors of our economy, apprenticeships are established and recognised as a valuable way of entering the workforce.

“The challenge we see for the North-East is how to encourage firms to offer such schemes. While larger companies have the infrastructure in place to take on school leavers in apprenticeships, many smaller firms do not have the capacity to take on school leavers in this way.

“In its current state, the Draft Apprenticeship Bill is long on rhetoric but short on measures that would encourage businesses to offer such places.

“We trust that the final, published Bill, will take into account our concerns.”