Union involvement in apprenticeships and other youth programmes


In recent years unionlearn has expanded its support for union engagement in apprenticeships and a range of other youth skills initiatives, such as the government’s Traineeships programme (see page 35), including where access to an apprenticeship is either not readily available or not appropriate to the individual’s immediate circumstances. Unionlearn and affiliated unions are focused on ensuring a clear commitment by employers to high quality training and decent terms and conditions of employment in all youth skills programmes.


In 2014, 6,561 apprenticeships were supported by ULF-funded projects, well up on the 5,971 reported in the previous year. This work has ranged across a number of employers, and ULF projects continue to do well in this area, adding to existing apprenticeship programmes through strong union support for apprentices and promoting or campaigning for the recruitment of more (and higher quality) apprenticeships with employers.


In March 2015, unionlearn published a comprehensive report, Helping young people into work — raising the quality and quantity of apprenticeships. It sets out the wide range of union engagement strategies around apprenticeships and Traineeships supported by unionlearn (www.unionlearn.org.uk/publications/helping-young-people-work).


Traineeships


ULF projects have delivered a number of significant outcomes on Traineeships, a training programme for people aged 16 to 24, to help prepare them for an apprenticeship or job. Traineeships are designed for young people who are unemployed, have little work experience, and are qualified below Level 3, but who can be prepared for employment or an apprenticeship within six months. The Traineeship programme was introduced in 2013 and has three core elements. 


• a work placement;


• work preparation training; and


• English and maths support if required.


Traineeships are unpaid, but employers can cover travel and expenses and trainees can also receive Jobseeker’s Allowance. The 16-hour rule limiting the amount of training a claimant could do per week without losing benefits was removed in March 2014.


The rules around Traineeships are intended to be flexible and they can last anywhere up to a maximum of six months. They are designed so that providers and employers have the freedom to develop a training and work programme that best suits the needs of the individual trainee. 


In 2014, the TUC and CBI marked the first anniversary of the programme by signing a joint statement of support for those wanting to take part in the scheme.


Both the TUC and CBI support Traineeships as a way to get young people, who might otherwise struggle to gain a foothold in the labour market, into an apprenticeship or other job. They provide young unemployed people with an opportunity to undertake work experience placements alongside substantial, structured learning at a training provider, including working towards maths and English qualifications.


However, for Traineeships to genuinely help young people into work they need to be high quality. The joint statement stresses the importance of trainees learning relevant, transferable skills, having a proper induction into the workplace and receiving regular feedback from managers.


The issue of quality will be an ongoing concern for unions as the government announced at the end of December 2015 that lead training providers rated as “requiring improvement” and even “inadequate” by Ofsted will now be able to deliver Traineeships.


Currently, only those rated “outstanding” and “good” providers by Ofsted can deliver the programme. According to the government, the earlier restriction was to “ensure quality from the outset” and the change has brought Traineeships in line with rest of FE and skills provision.


There were 19,400 Traineeship starts in the last academic year and, according to provisional government figures, 7,600 people have started a Traineeship so far in 2015-16. The government is clearly concerned to increase these numbers, but at the expense of quality according to some. “In my view, the government has opened up the traineeship programme because they’re not recruiting enough people on it. They’re desperate for numbers,” said John Hyde, chair of HIT Training, which used to run Traineeships.


TUC deputy general secretary Paul Nowak described Traineeships as “an important first step towards the world of work for young people who are not ready to start an apprenticeship or find a job”. But he emphasised that they must include good training and work experience.


Unionlearn has produced a Traineeships charter to help unions negotiate for high quality Traineeships. 


An example of union involvement in a ULF traineeship project is detailed in the box below.