700,000 learn on job in apprentices boom
Apprentice numbers are bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels - just as industry chiefs are crying out for skilled workers. The number of people starting new apprenticeships reached 347,920 in the academic year 2021/22, eight per cent up on the 321,440 in the previous academic year.
An increasing number of industries - including hospitality, agriculture and construction - are currently trying to keep up with the demand for skilled workers.
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And it appears the training-on-the-job schemes are not just for young people, with just under half (47 percent) of those wanting to learn new skills aged over 25.
Under-19s accounted for 22 percent and those aged 19 to 24 made up 31 percent.
Younger apprentices are attracted to traditional trades such as construction, engineering, manufacturing, and agriculture.
However, the Department of Education data also revealed that older workers were more attracted to apprenticeships in the health and care, business and administration, and education Sectors.
Health, public services and care had the largest intake with 99,740 apprentices, followed by business, administration and law with 93,480.
Engineering and manufacturing technology was the third largest sector, followed by retail and commercial enterprise, then construction.
The new apprenticeships introduced in 2017 now last a minimum of a year and more than 700,000 are currently training through apprenticeships.
COMMENT BY BARONESS RUBY MCGREGOR-SMITH
I know all too well from my time as president of the British Chambers of Commerce about the worrying labour shortages many companies are facing and the impact this is having on their productivity.
There is a debate to be had on the rights and wrongs of allowing more migration so companies can source skilled staff from overseas as a quick fix. But the underlying priority needs to be improving how we upskill our own workforce from school leavers and all through working lives.
We must never forget about the untapped talent who just needs the right support to achieve great things. Massive progress has been made with transforming the quality, and public and business perceptions, of work-focused training and this momentum, must be maintained. Engagement is on the up and we need more employers to invest.
This training is world-class and it's the common-sense way of solving staffing problems. Starts went up by 8 percent last year and more than 700,000 people are now on apprenticeships.
Satisfaction rates typically top 80 percent. Demand from school leavers for many apprenticeships outstrips that for Oxbridge places. These days, apprenticeships are a minimum one-year long and at least six hours a week must be spent learning the more technical side of jobs at college.
As well as the traditional trades, apprentices can train as economists, nurses, aerospace engineers, countryside rangers, laboratory scientists, graphic designers and archaeologists from entry up to senior management degree and post-graduate level.
This has been achieved through reforms allowing businesses to design training, with support from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. They tell us what's needed to fill their skills gaps.
We're doing the same with higher technical qualifications and T Levels, which stand out because of lengthy work placements, typically lasting 45 days. Workers need meaningful skills and better help finding those training opportunities.
The good news is schools are being forced to provide careers advice on technical as well as academic education opportunities.
I've noticed lots more people talking about apprenticeships, which do not involve tuition fees, as a quality alternative to university.
Employers are thinking more than ever about all this too. I know from running a FTSE 250 firm how important it is to invest in brilliant people .
Success and growth are dependent on a dynamic talent pipeline.
- Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith is chairwoman of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) and former president of the British Chambers of Commerce
