‘Short sighted and short term’

Quality apprenticeships granting a proper qualification and offering pathways to high-skill, well-paid jobs – especially amid a sea of bogus training schemes for young people as they struggle with debt and low earnings – are needed now more than ever before.

But this week a prime example of a quality apprenticeship will no longer be available for the first time in its history. After being offered for 75 years at a helicopter repair site in Hampshire, the Fleetlands apprenticeship programme has now been suspended.

Vector Aerospace, which runs the Fleetlands site in Gosport and takes in about eight apprentices each year, announced that it would no longer be offering the training programme from 2017, citing a downturn in its workload after it wasn’t granted an expected contract.

The company had sought to secure the contract to retrofit an MoD fleet of 60 Chinook helicopters with a Digital Automatic Flight Control System (DAFCA), but aerospace company Boeing decided to carry out the work in-house.

The three-year apprenticeship programme offers young people hands-on training in maintenance, repair and overhaul of helicopters, as well as nationally recognised qualifications. On its website, Vector Aerospace notes that their apprenticeships are “among the best in the industry.”

Unite national officer for aerospace Ian Waddell said Vector’s decision to suspend their apprenticeship programme “marks a particularly sad episode in the site’s history.”

“It’s the first time in decades that no new apprentices will be trained, and it reflects the uncertainty that hangs over Fleetlands at the moment,” he added.

Earlier this year, Airbus had begun exploring a sale of Vector Aerospace, which it now owns. Fleetlands has in recent years also experienced a downturn in workload after the MoD’s Sea King and Lynx helicopters were retired.

Waddell pointed out that with the business up for sale and no clear view of workload for the site, members are “understandably anxious”, adding that “this short-sighted and short-term decision on apprentices does not help their mood.”

Urgent resolution call

“We’re seeking an urgent resolution to the sale process and to secure work for the site so that jobs are safe and apprentices can be hired once again.”

The news that Fleetlands’ historic apprenticeship would be suspended comes as skills minister Robert Halfon announced today (August 10) that long-awaited details of the government’s apprenticeship levy will be published at the end of this week.

Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke – who represents Unite in both the Science Industry Apprenticeship Working Group as well as the Automotive Industry Apprenticeship Working Group – warned that any further delays on apprenticeship levy guidance could spell disaster for apprentice intake especially in manufacturing.

The apprenticeship levy was first announced in the government’s 2015 summer budget and aims to help fund 3m apprenticeships by 2020. The 0.5 per cent levy is set to go into effect in April 2017 and will be imposed on all companies with a wage bill of more than £3m per annum. It will also apply to the public sector where employers will be expected to ensure 2.3 per cent of the workforce are apprentices.

“After chronic government delays, due to the reshuffle and a lack of clarity in how the levy will work, we’re hoping that we can get back on track with a government announcement this week,” he said.

“We have spoken to a number of employers and employers’ associations that we work with and they’re all of the view that unless the date for implementation of April 2017 is nailed down this week apprenticeship intake targets will not be hit.”

Burke explained that some employers have said apprenticeship numbers could be considerably down as early as this year’s intake in September, because in a climate of uncertainty over the levy, companies are halting plans for their apprenticeship programmes now.

Situation could worsen

There are real concerns that the situation could continue to worsen next year as well, he noted.

“Because of the lack of clarity from the government, some employers aren’t ready for the levy and don’t understand how exactly it will work,” Burke added. “The levy will be automatically collected through payroll, so there are worries that HMRC will simply begin collecting the money without companies having planned for it.”

“We look forward to more detailed guidance on the levy from the government,” he said. “Unite reps need to know the main outline of how the levy will work. The problems we anticipate if we don’t get on track now will not only affect manufacturing but a whole range of industries as well.

“We can’t allow what has happened with the world-class apprenticeships at Fleetlands to be replicated across the economy simply because of lack of clarity on the part of the government.”