This week I attended a conference on the Future of Apprenticeships. During the conference a variety of speakers posed the question what is an apprenticeship? Representatives from the Department of Business Innovation and Skills, The British Chambers of Commerce and AELP argued that an apprenticeship was not in fact a learning programme but a job/employment, where significant elements of learning takes place. This is a really important definition and fits in perfectly with the Government’s current policy agenda of pushing hard on apprenticeship provision. However the programme becomes muddled when we consider who is responsible for paying.
The debate revolves around three groups, the employers, the state or the individual. Traditionally the onus of provision has fallen squarely of the shoulders of the state and the employer. The introduction of FE loans however may/will change how we think about apprenticeships.
The change in policy from the Coalition Government to-redirect funding for higher education from grants to loans is a bold decision. The introduction of loans, while reducing risk to the employer and the state will require a greater commitment from the learner which some may argued will improve quality – the magic word the Government is always chasing.
However while higher apprenticeships are slightly out of the remit of the Coalition’s current apprenticeship drive, loans seem to run counter to the current policy direction. The idea of having to take a loan undermines the idea that apprenticeships are employment, I don’t know about you, but I have never had a job interview where at the end I have been asked to take out a loan in order to complete my contract of employment.
Figures released yesterday also outline another problem which loans may cause, the fact that the British Public has become increasingly debt adverse. Figures released by UCAS show that applications to university have dropped by 50,000 places since fees increased to £9,000 a year, outlining that British young people are reluctant to enter employment already in debt.
While loans system will not be introduced to the majority of Apprenticeship Programmes, the loan system seems like a programme of back peddling on Government policy.
