In Wednesday’s Queen's  Speech, David Cameron reiterated his commitment to creating 3 million more apprenticeships. 'A new Bill will help to create two million more jobs this Parliament. That means there should be a job for everyone who wants one – in other words, full employment. To help people get those jobs, we’ll train them … Continue reading Mr Cameron’s three million apprenticeships. Problems already? →

During the election, Tory promises to young people never got much further than David Cameron’s pledge to create another 3 million apprenticeships during the next parliament. He provided few other details apart from outlining how the new opportunities would be at least part financed by cutting benefits for unemployed young people. As well as promising … Continue reading Mr Cameron’s Three Million Apprenticeships →

  Desperate to have something new to offer, David Cameron now promises 3 million more apprenticeships during the next Parliament. Estimated at £300 million per annum, these would come at the expense of further benefit cuts for families and unemployed young people. According to the Tories, reducing total benefit eligibility ‘within the first few days’ … Continue reading Desperate Dave and the three million apprentices →

Statistics from the Skill Funding Agency show a fall in the number of apprenticeships starts for the twelve months to July 2014 –a total of 423,500 down from 510,000. This is mostly the result of a fall in the number of ‘adult’ (over 25) apprentices and in the practice where employers re-categorise existing workers. There … Continue reading Apprenticeships – a jobs and employment problem →

                                      Latest research on apprenticeships  http://radicaledbks.com/  Labour has promised to overhaul apprenticeships –correctly arguing that compared with the demand for them, there has been nowhere near enough and that most have been low level only lasting for a year, often in low paid sectors of the service economy rather than in manufacturing, engineering and construction. Until … Continue reading Ed Miliband and Apprenticeships →

Apprenticeship numbers continue to fall. Postscript to Another Great Training Robbery?  @  https://radicaledbks.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/postscript3.pdf

          10/7/14 Apprenticeships are not improving young peoples' skills enough to provide a real alternative to university,   according to new research http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jul/10/apprenticeships-failing-youth-unemployment-skills#start-of-comments