Would you encourage kids into apprenticeships?

Comment

Kevin Thrower, skills manager for the National Skills Academy Process Industries, has a 15-year-old son who is currently considering his career options. He says: "I would be delighted to see him enter the process industries on an apprenticeship scheme. Over the last decade perceptions have gradually shifted and the process industries are now seen as clean, high-tech sectors with attractive, rewarding careers on offer for young people.

"By the time they near the end of their programme, [apprentices] have a head start over new graduates who have to come in and learn the business from scratch. Vocational training is a springboard to a great career - many of the leading process industries employers have ex-apprentices who have gone on to become senior managers, technical experts and many even sit at board level."

Do you agree, or are there issues that would prevent you from wholeheartedly encouraging kids (your own or anyone else's) into apprenticeships in the UK process industries?

Please send your views to: patrick.raleigh@centaur.co.uk

Your feedback is much appreciated

Patrick Raleigh, Editor

Readers' Viewpoints:

Many thanks for the following comments from: Maria Marling, Waldon Ltd; Simon Bedford, Stadco Ltd; Athanasios Patsos, Corus RD&T; Mark Hudson, Cummins Generator Technologies; Donna Green, Pascall Electronics; Nick Lambourn, OLE (UK); Norman Black; Dave Anderson, Jim Groves, Metal Treatments/ Quality Engineer, Magellan Aerospace ( UK ) ...

In reply to the below information on apprenticeships - I am a Business Administration apprentice dealing with commercial issues in an injection moulding company manufacturing for the automotive industry called Waldon Ltd. I have visited areas such as Personnel, Wages, Sales, Quality, and will be moving to Planning/Purchasing in a month or two. I left school at 16 as I did not enjoy 6th form or know my set career
path. From the hands on experience I have gained, a B-Tech qualification in business and NVQ courses the company have sent me on, I have been accepted into Swansea University on a BSc Business Management with Marketing course. I believe that this apprenticeship has given me good business logic and experience, which text books could never offer! I now have a head start over graduates as I have seen real problems within a business! I would recommend apprenticeships to anyone! It not only gives you excellent experience and qualifications of your trade, but introduces you to 'the real world'.
Maria Marling, Waldon Ltd

I would and am encouraging my son into engineering, The chance of an apprenticeship are minimal but he has no chance of a job when he leaves school and I think UK engineering has a good future.
Simon Bedford, Manufacturing Engineer, Stadco Ltd

Reading the article about apprenticeships, I believe they can offer a great opportunity for young people to get 'their hands on work' early on. The experience they could get from this sort of work can be very constructive for their future career. One point that should be noted is the fact that they should be offered similar opportunities for academic qualifications. The apprenticeship without 'academic support' such as a degree, MSc or PhD might lead to a position where the young person cannot evolve further. Bearing this in mind, doing a placement whilst studying for a degree, might prove more rewarding for the future than an apprenticeship.
Athanasios Patsos, MSc, AMIChemE, Corus RD&T, Environment Department, Swinden Technology Centre, Rotherham

I myself was an apprentice at Cummins Generator Technologies. I feel that going through the apprenticeship scheme gave me the in depth product knowledge that I require to cost reduce the product ranges while understanding the build issues that the operators have or may have due to the changes I make. I also feel that being an ex-apprentice has helped me gain the respect of fellow workers, including shop-floor and at staff level. I firmly believe that completing the apprenticeship at Cummins has helped my career at this company, so to answer your question. I would definitely encourage kids into apprenticeships.
Mark Hudson
Cost Reduction Project Leader, Cummins Generator Technologies 

I am a woman of 40 with two teenage daughters, aged 15 and 18. I have spent a lot of my adult life moving through different jobs, regretting that I did not push on to Uni and pursueing a degree.
Now I am in my first year of day release at college, (ONC Mechanical Engineering) in a class of boys the same age as my eldest. I am entirely envious that they are working their way through their respective companies trying out each department, gauging their interest, understanding and enjoyment of each task and all the while being paid, which in turn, accomodates all of lifes youthful experiences such as driving lessons and holidays abroad.
Their broad range of experience benefits both them and the company, providing a general commercial understanding of how the business works, that is enviable in those so young.
I now highly rate apprenticeships and am only sorry that there are not many to be had, and that they are not sold convincingly either at business level or within schools.
Donna Green, Pascall Electronics Ltd, Ashford, Kent

I think it is a great idea, and one of the best ways to get a basic understanding. It may be necessary to do a day release at college as well, but this form of training produces the best engineers.
The biggest problem for employers is that there is no financial support for small companies that would welcome the chance to take on young keen staff who want to develop. Too much emphasis is placed on degrees, many of which have no relevance to today’s UK careers.
OLE develops and manufactures digital pressure gauges and monitors and is trying to produce more. Salary levels are so high that getting staff that can help us develop products is difficult. We would be happy to take a little longer and train a couple of apprentices to grow with the new products and business.
Nick Lambourn, OLE (UK) LTD, South Mundham, Chichester

It depends on the individual first and foremost, my concern for current teenagers is what the process industry in the UK will be like in 10/20/30 years time. Most people currently believe young people will have to retrain a number of times during their careers, for this reason I would not encourage someone into an apprenticeship in the process industry as it is not like a degree where you can always to refer back to ‘Mechanical Engineering Degree’ for example, and use that to go into any number of areas from engineering to business to personnel to academia, etc, etc.
Norman Black (Contact details supplied)

I missed a golden opportunity to send my son, who at the time was nineteen, to attend a TTE (Trades Training Enterprise) being run by ICI, Chemira + others in Ellesmere Port. I did not take the opportunity as I considered that one member of the household being subjected to chemicals was enough.
In hindsight, my son now 35yrs old and attending night school to get an electrical qualification, would have had a better career and earnings for the last 16 years. I myself missed out on an apprenticeship when I left school and eventually joined the Royal Air Force to get a trade.
Trade training in any discipline will not necessarily lead to a life long career in that trade but the training will give that individual capabilities to go in whatever direction their dreams / aspirations may take them. If that person wants to sample life at a distance many countries welcome trades people with open arms, strange that foreign countries place such high value on skilled people, a lesson our governments are long in the learning.
So yes I think trade training is a wonderful way for young people to start their working lives.
Dave Anderson (Contact details supplied)

While agreeing with the sentiments and potential advantages of the apprenticeship scheme in general, however I fear there are many companies out there who view skilled, experienced, qualified, knowledgeable staff as over-worked under-appreciated redundancy fodder in the chase for cost-cutting (and management bonuses?) – at least as far as my experiences of general and specialist chemistry, engineering, construction, defence, aerospace, consultancy industries. Sorry to sound a negative note.
Jim Groves, Metal Treatments/ Quality Engineer, Magellan Aerospace ( UK ) Ltd, Bournemouth