{"id":11307,"date":"2017-01-31T17:23:12","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T17:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=11307"},"modified":"2017-01-31T17:23:12","modified_gmt":"2017-01-31T17:23:12","slug":"bonkers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=11307","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Bonkers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Although trade unions are at the forefront of delivering and supporting apprenticeships across all industrial sectors, it was revealed on Friday<\/a> (January 27) that not one trade union representative will sit on the new Institute of Apprenticeships board.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The snub was among the latest instances demonstrating that the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new Apprenticeship Levy, which is set to come into effect in April, is not fit for purpose.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite acting general secretary Gail Cartmail condemned the lack of a trade union voice on the board as \u00e2\u20ac\u015bbonkers.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are part of the solution,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she told UNITElive, and explained how trade unions promote high-quality apprenticeships.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe encourage the promotion of diversity in the take-up of apprenticeships,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe protect the apprenticeship brand. Apprentices\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 mentors are our members. We fight fiercely for quality and we promote scale by collective bargaining and our relationships with clients.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cartmail pointed out that it was trade unions, for example, that negotiated with the French energy company EDF an apprenticeship ratio which is now binding in the contract for the building of the Hinkley Point C project.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis ratio is sustainable for the lifetime of the project and will create an apprentice footprint,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bNobody else did that; trade unions did.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government has the capacity to put this right,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Cartmail said of the omission of trade union representatives on the Institute\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s board. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhy wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you want social dialogue on such a non-contentious issue?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bA trade union voice is a voice for quality, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a voice for diversity and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a voice for accountability,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke agreed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Another blunder\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“This is another blunder by the government,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bDay in and day out unions like Unite are working with companies on skills and apprenticeships. Unite has thousands of members who train apprentices and have hands on experience to the highest level. For them not to have a voice through their union is a retrograde step.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cartmail explained that in Germany \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a country which has no skills shortages in any of its sectors, unlike the UK which is plagued by them \u00e2\u20ac\u201c social dialogue with trade union representatives on boards goes without saying.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bNobody questions trade unions, the German equivalent of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), or the German education establishment all have a seat at the table and each voice is respected equally,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhenever they see the potential for any skills shortages they recalibrate accordingly and everyone plays by the same rules. And the German economy is booming.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The news that there would be no trade union voice on the apprenticeships body board comes just as the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) published today<\/a> (January 31) a scathing report of the new Apprenticeship Levy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Levy, which will in effect constitute a 0.5 per cent tax on employers whose pay bills are more than \u00c2\u01413m, is supposed to help fund apprenticeships but it has been fraught with delays on detailed guidance from the government for companies, who now have only two months to prepare to implement it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The IFS has warned that the apprenticeship levy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s associated targets \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the government aims to create 3m apprenticeships by 2020 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c will sacrifice quality schemes at the altar of quantity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The apprenticeship levy is expected to generate \u00c2\u01412.8bn by 2019-20, however the IFS warns that just \u00c2\u0141640m will be spent on training apprenticeships, with the majority of the levy spent in other areas. The IFS also warns that half of the new apprenticeships will be offered to people over the age of 25, rather than recent school leavers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe desperately need an effective system for supporting training of young people in the UK,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Neil Amin-Smith, the report\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s author. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut the new apprenticeship levy, and associated targets, risk repeating the mistakes of recent decades by encouraging employers and training providers to re-label current activity and seek subsidy rather than seek the best training.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Burke argued that the \u00e2\u20ac\u015breport must serve as an urgent warning to the government in its rush to get ‘bums on seats’; it is in danger of undermining its own policy.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis money must be ring fenced for high quality apprenticeships and not be allowed to leak away into other forms of training,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Burke pointed out that the Engineering UK trade body has said the UK will need 182,000 new engineering workers each year until 2022. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has also noted that there are over 7,000 skilled jobs currently unfilled in the auto sector because of skills shortages.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe won’t be able to compete on the global market if we have massive skills gaps and we rely on low-skilled apprenticeships just to hit government targets,” Burke said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cartmail said the situation was just as dire in construction.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Perfect storm\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe [construction] skills shortage and skills gap threatens major projects\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 ability to deliver on time and to budget,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe \u00e2\u20ac\u0098perfect storm\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 is in part the reliance of many major contractors by-passing their responsibilities and relying on false self-employment through a supply chain of sub-contractors. This is not sustainable.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe Greater London Authority reported that despite a building boom in London the capital is the lowest ranking in the number of apprenticeships per head of the population,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd, shamefully, of the 1,560 apprentices in the capital in from 2015 to 2016 not one was female or from an ethnic minority background.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cartmail explained that the sort of good-quality foundation apprenticeships which Unite supports are \u00e2\u20ac\u015boften the best deal a young person can have\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to take out loans, they earn while they learn, and they should be covered by a collective agreement so they get the apprenticeship rate that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s negotiated by a trade union,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She went on to say that apprentices on such schemes have a mentor who is craftsperson or tradesperson who helps set them on a path towards a lifelong career.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe apprentices we send out as ambassadors are solvent, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re confident, they have a great relationship with the employers who have invested in them, and they have real job security,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Cartmail noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey usually have a car, often they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re saving for their own home even \u00e2\u20ac\u201c good apprenticeships can be a great success story.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Burke said it is these \u00e2\u20ac\u015bgold-standard apprenticeships\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 which Unite is lobbying for \u00e2\u20ac\u201c ones \u00e2\u20ac\u015bwith real transferable skills leading to decent, well-paid jobs at the end of the apprenticeship.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Beyond giving young people, who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve suffered so much under the twin burdens of financial crisis and austerity, a pathway to a bright future, Burke said that high-quality apprenticeships are \u00e2\u20ac\u015bessential if we are to have an industrial strategy that works and boosts productivity and tackles increasing skills gaps.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Under the shadow of Brexit, the UK will need such a boost in productivity if it is to chart a successful future outside the EU.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe challenges faced by the economy of Brexit and leaving the single market will not be met unless there is a stable highly skilled labour force for UK employers to draw from,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Burke warned. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWithout this we will see industries across the economy from construction to highly skilled enterprises struggle to stay in business.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although trade unions are at the forefront of delivering and supporting apprenticeships across all industrial sectors, it was revealed on Friday (January 27) that not one trade union representative will sit on the new Institute of Apprenticeships board.   The snub was among the latest instances demonstrating that the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new Apprenticeship Levy, which is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10951,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[260,44],"wps_subtitle":"Unite slams apprenticeship board snub","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11307"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11307"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11308,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11307\/revisions\/11308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}