This National Apprenticeships Week it is right that we celebrate the success of more than 750,000 apprenticeships powering skills and productivity in our local economies.
I have had the privilege of visiting more than 100 businesses to meet apprentices since I was first elected as MP for Peterborough. The breadth, talent and determination of these apprentices have been humbling, from butchers’ apprentices in Newborough and engineering students at Caterpillar in my constituency, to construction apprentices at Laing O’Rourke building a new Olympia, to, most recently, brilliant and creative learners at the Fashion Retail Academy.
One of the most inspiring days I have spent as an MP was meeting learners and employers at the National Theatre to understand more about how we support apprenticeships in the creative arts, a vital sector of our economy.
Apprenticeships are the golden thread that runs through growth, home building, net zero and getting more people into work. There is no industrial strategy without a skills plan as we don’t have the skilled workers we need for growth. If we want to reduce net migration we need to grow our own talent rather than rely importing skills. The new Government understands that which is why we are establishing Skills England and reforming the Apprenticeship Levy.
We can be proud of our long history of apprenticeships. This country was the first to pass a national apprenticeship Act of Parliament, with the Statute of Artificers in 1563. Our society and economy have changed dramatically since then, of course. What has not changed is the timeless requirement of educating the next generation, and ensuring that novices in the jobs market are set forth in the working world with all the pride and self-reliance of mastering a new occupation, profession or skill.
Over the past few years, there have been various reports into the workings of apprenticeships in the UK. From reading these reports, it is clear that the system is not working as it should. For example, at a time when there are nearly a million young people not in work, education, or training, is a national disgrace that the number of apprenticeships fell under the last Government.
Hardly any of the apprentices I have met say that their journey was made easier by careers support at school. That is why we need change in our careers service. We must make it easier for businesses to support learners and parents, and we need a step change in how we regard apprenticeships.
One of the biggest blockages is the cultural barrier. In too many parts of the UK, there is a hang-up about apprenticeships. So many parts of the system are obsessed with university. Of course, we should value our world-class universities and celebrate the hard work of our university students. As a former president of the National Union of Students, of course I recognise the vital role that British universities play in our national story.
However, apprenticeships should be seen as an equally valid alternative route, a legitimate way to gain skills and experience, and a vital contributor to our economic prosperity. Yet in our public policy and political discourse, often they are not. I fear that there is still a snobbery about apprenticeships in the UK that is not found in competitor countries such as Germany and Sweden, where apprenticeships are truly valued by society. In the UK there is too often a lazy and misguided assumption that apprenticeships are ‘second best; to degrees, and that apprentices are lesser in comparison with undergraduates.
We often use the phrase, “University is not for everyone,” as though university is the gold standard, and apprenticeships are the also-ran for second-class kids. The English class system exerts itself and places people into boxes, limiting horizons, prejudicing futures and stifling ambitions. This must stop, not only for the good of the brilliant, energetic, ambitious young and not-so-young people who embark on apprenticeships, but for the good of the economy. We will not secure growth with one hand tied behind our back.
For the UK to prosper, for businesses to boom, and for young people to get on in life, we need a vibrant system of apprenticeships in every nation and region of the UK. People with energy and enthusiasm must be matched up with the skills we need in the future. This creates the win-win – good for the individual who is learning and earning, and good for the economy as businesses thrive. This National Apprentices Week, let’s celebrate how far we’ve come, and redouble our efforts to make apprenticeships a central driver of economic success.
For the UK to prosper we need a vibrant system of apprenticeships in every nation and region
