Declining Investment in Apprenticeship Schemes Will Cause Long Term Damage to the UK Economy, According To Perspective

If theUK doesn’t continue to invest in apprenticeshipschemes, the country is going to have one of the lowest basic skill levels in Europe once the recession passes, according to Perspective, a leadingauthority in distributed learning and Learner Management Solutions.

With many sectors currently being hard hit by therecession, research has indicated that companies are becoming more and morereluctant to recruit apprentices and are generally cutting back on workforcedevelopment with some apprentices even being made redundant. Whilst this is ashort term answer to coping with the current adverse circumstances, the longterm effects of not investing in the development of young people throughapprenticeships has the potential to lead to a countrywide skills shortage.

Gary Harlock, Director at Perspective,commented: “Businesses on the whole have problems associatedwith recruiting and retaining the right people for the job. The provision ofapprenticeships provides an effective solution to developing and retaining acompetent workforce as well as filling skill gaps.  Apprentices across the UK not only have the potential to provide theeconomy with a highly skilled work force post recovery but, also have anessential part to play during the recovery.”

Apprentice Training schemesequip learners with the skills and knowledge needed to quickly becomeproductive and a valuable member of the workforce which in turn enhancesmotivation and efficiency at work.

 Experts predict that the current situation willlast about two years, therefore, with the average apprenticeship taking between2 and 3 years, if businesses stop investing in apprentices now, then at thevery point where the economy is predicted to begin to recover there will not beenough skilled employees or apprentices in training, or indeed graduating tomeet the UK’s emerging skill needs. 

To prevent this situation worsening, theGovernment has announced that it will increase investment for apprenticeshipsto more than £1 billion and is now offering credit of at least £3,000 toemployers to help cover the cost of training - with the hope that by 2013 there will be a further 90,000 young peopleparticipating in apprenticeships across the UK.

Students already taking part inapprenticeship schemes are providing the economy with a highly skilledworkforce according to Training Reports and, continued investment in thetraining of young people is vital to ensure that the UK is preparedfor the post recession future.

For further information regarding Perspectiveplease call 0121 506 9452 or visit www.perspective-uk.com.