{"id":14971,"date":"2018-04-13T14:55:32","date_gmt":"2018-04-13T13:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=14971"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:59:03","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:59:03","slug":"barista-apprenticeships-misusing-apprentice-levy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=14971","title":{"rendered":"‘Barista’ apprenticeships?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Nearly half of all government-approved apprenticeships \u00e2\u20ac\u201c including KFC and Pizza Hut servers and Starbucks baristas \u00e2\u20ac\u201c do not meet the traditional meaning of the term, according to a new report.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The report from the think tank Reform<\/a> published today (April 13) found that 40 per cent of apprenticeships officially approved by the government and listed on its apprenticeships website<\/a> fall well below international standards.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Researchers for the report say that some rogue employers may be using the apprenticeship levy in bad faith to get subsidies from the government.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The levy, introduced last year, requires all employers that spend more than \u00c2\u01413m a year on wages to pay 0.5 per cent of their total wage bill into a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098digital account\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 secured by HMRC. \u00c2\u00a0Employers can then draw on the fund to pay for training.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The levy was meant to encourage employers to take on more apprentices but it has been criticised for being too bureaucratic and complex. The levy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s botched roll-out was also blamed by Unite last month for a 26.5 per cent drop in apprenticeship starts this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The think tank Reform also criticised the government for letting employers decide what counts as an apprenticeship.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Low skill ‘apprenticeships’<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWith hundreds of millions of pounds available in government subsidies for any training course that is labelled an \u00e2\u20ac\u0098apprenticeship\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, some employers have used this opportunity to rebadge an entirely inappropriate set of training courses as \u00e2\u20ac\u0098apprenticeships\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 when they are nothing of the sort,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 noted Reform senior research fellow Tom Richmond.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He added that the list of roles now counted as an \u00e2\u20ac\u0098apprenticeship\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 includes \u00e2\u20ac\u015bserving customers in a delicatessen or coffee shop, working on a hotel reception desk, performing basic office administration and serving food and drink in a restaurant.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Indeed, the official government website for finding apprenticeships has many such examples.\u00c2\u00a0 One role as a Pizza Hut \u00e2\u20ac\u015bapprentice guest server\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/a> is 14 months long and, at the lower end of the pay scale, pays only \u00c2\u01414.20 an hour \u00e2\u20ac\u201c just above the apprentice minimum wage rate of \u00c2\u01413.70 but well below the standard adult minimum wage of \u00c2\u01417.83 an hour.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The apprenticeship, hardly any different from a server role that pays at least the minimum wage, requires apprentices to \u00e2\u20ac\u015baccurately take orders\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 and ensure the \u00e2\u20ac\u015bfood looks tasty and appetising\u00e2\u20ac\u0165. \u00c2\u00a0A KFC \u00e2\u20ac\u0098hospitality team member\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/a> apprenticeship \u00e2\u20ac\u201c lasting 12 months and paying \u00c2\u01414.05 an hour \u00e2\u20ac\u201c requires trainees to \u00e2\u20ac\u015bcook fries and\/or other miscellaneous products of the company\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 among other duties.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Richmond criticised such \u00e2\u20ac\u015blow-skill training courses\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 because they \u00e2\u20ac\u015bdo not meet either the historical or international definition of an apprenticeship.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe financial implications of this widespread rebadging and relabelling of courses are significant,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAlmost 40 per cent of the new apprenticeships designed by employers are merely \u00e2\u20ac\u0098apprenticeships\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in name only. Our calculations show that \u00c2\u0141600 million will be wasted each year on such courses. This will, in turn, lower the value and prestige of apprenticeships in the eyes of young people, parents and politicians.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s growing pool of poor quality apprenticeships was compared to those in other countries such as Germany, where apprenticeships tend to last at least three years and encompass a much broader range of skills, even in hospitality and retail.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For example, German hotel apprenticeships \u00e2\u20ac\u201c beyond training apprentices in reception, housekeeping and serving \u00e2\u20ac\u201c also train them in other areas such as inventory management, stock control, promotions and marketing, managing employee shifts and handling complaints. These apprenticeships last a full three years.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Levy reform call<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n

Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail highlighted that Unite has \u00e2\u20ac\u015bconsistently supported high quality apprenticeships of which there are many good ones across a myriad of industries, such as engineering, construction and aerospace.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere are also some unscrupulous employers which are exploiting the levy system \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and these practices need to be stamped on hard,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe, alongside many employers, believe that three year plus apprenticeships enable young people to hone their skills in their specialist trades \u00e2\u20ac\u201c currently, employers can offer a 12 month apprenticeship and still qualify for financial support.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere may be a place for a 12 month apprenticeship in some sectors but, on behalf of young people especially, we believe all sectors should be more ambitious,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Cartmail went on to say.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHistory tells us that not enough employers are stepping up to the plate to offer the high quality apprenticeships that the UK so desperately needs to tackle the UK skills gap and shortages. It is paramount that there is a new generation of young skilled workers to underpin future growth in the economy.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She pointed to the example of the construction industry, where she said \u00e2\u20ac\u015bthere is no shortage of young men and women wishing to take up apprenticeships.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHowever, Unite research has shown that overall only 11 per cent of these applicants gain a construction apprenticeship. This drops to nine per cent for BAEM applicants and just six per cent for women.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cartmail urged caution on Reform\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s findings, saying that \u00e2\u20ac\u015bthere is a concern that this study from a centre-right think tank could be used as an argument for employers not to pay into the apprenticeship levy.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe believe that this would be very wrong as the levy should be robustly assessed, in particular its impact on the ability of SMEs to provide good quality apprenticeships on the scale prior to the levy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s introduction.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite has called for a trade union voice<\/a> in the Institute of Apprenticeships which administers the levy \u00e2\u20ac\u201c unions after all have been instrumental in promoting and developing high quality apprenticeships \u00c2\u00a0in workplaces where they have put apprenticeships on the bargaining agenda.<\/p>\n

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

Nearly half of all government-approved apprenticeships \u00e2\u20ac\u201c including KFC and Pizza Hut servers and Starbucks baristas \u00e2\u20ac\u201c do not meet the traditional meaning of the term, according to a new report.   The report from the think tank Reform published today (April 13) found that 40 per cent of apprenticeships officially approved by the government […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14972,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[878,260],"wps_subtitle":"Employers slammed for using levy to fund low-skill roles","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14971"}],"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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14971"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26275,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14971\/revisions\/26275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}