Apprenticeships: Some Flaws

There have been recent media stories reminding us all about the importance of looking at policy detail, this time on apprenticeships.

This policy has faded from view after the outrage when the current wave of apprenticeships were voted through.  I think people genuinely just forgot about such matters once they go out the headlines, which is why it is important for some one to keep track.

The outrage was generated when George Osborne set an obvious elephant trap for Labour when he included a scheme for three million apprenticeships in the 2015 government's new welfare bill imposing deep cuts.  The trap was to get Labour to vote against the cuts, and then portray Labour as being against training people for jobs.  Acting Labour Leader Harriet Harman sought to sidestep the trap by abstaining at Second Reading and moving reasoned amendments later.  Anyone familiar with Parliamentary protocols would know that Second Reading is for the principle of the Bill, and detailed criticisms are made in amendments.  Some Jeremy Corbyn supporters (it was during the Labour Leadership race tried to portray this as just failing to oppose the government.

The Bill is designed to charge an apprenticeship levy on all larger employers and then to allow them to claim some of the money back if they take on apprenticeships.

We now have more detail on how the policy is working in practice:

• Some "apprenticeships" are actually just low paid work that does not actually rain people.
• Some apprenticeships are things like MBAs that employers are claiming for that they would almost certainly support anyway.
• Some school are paying the levy but can't claim monetary support because there are no recognised apprenticeships in the teaching profession.

In other words, these are all means to claim the money for work that isn't justified or in the case of schools a financial hit without the ability to get the money back.

That is why you need continuous scrutiny of policies not just relying on the headlines.