Are UK apprentices being short-changed?

London – The Government is currently seeking to incentivise the rapid creation of many thousands of apprenticeships to plug looming skills gaps across the UK process industries.

In our viewpoint section, however, Richard Cook, production and personnel director of AESSEAL condemns what he says are current notions that good apprenticeships can be delivered by a 42-week programme.

“We must also stop devaluing ‘apprenticeships’; recognise them as a three- to five-year programme of skills acquisition to create competent machinists - quite aside from the development necessary to go into production supervision and management,” he said.

Indeed, Cook is scathing about training provision in general, commenting: “Some organisations are drawing down millions in EU funds and not meriting it.”

These comments suggest that the UK’s current ‘dash’ to apprenticeships could create more problems than it solves: churning out trainees who are largely ill-equipped to fill the demanding and high-skilled roles required by our industries.