{"id":3286,"date":"2015-03-11T16:16:09","date_gmt":"2015-03-11T16:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=3286"},"modified":"2015-03-11T16:16:09","modified_gmt":"2015-03-11T16:16:09","slug":"apprentices-locked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=3286","title":{"rendered":"Apprentices locked out"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own National Apprenticeship Week \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a week celebrating the positive impact training schemes can have for those seeking a way into skilled, well-paying work.<\/p>\n

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While many apprenticeships are\u00c2\u00a0little more than exploitative work arrangements<\/a>, there are some on offer that truly change lives. Building Lives<\/a>, a construction apprenticeship sponsored by the Construction Industry Training Board, was one such shining example.<\/p>\n

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But now, Building Lives may be, in fact, wrecking them, as hundreds of apprentices were very suddenly told they were at risk of redundancy last Friday (March 6), after\u00c2\u00a0funding for the apprenticeship was allegedly cut at the last minute<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Then, as four apprentices turned up on a scheduled college day yesterday at the Building Lives Academy in Hackney, London, they were locked out without explanation.<\/p>\n

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Dritan\u00c2\u00a0Dauti\u00c2\u00a0was nearing the end of the apprenticeship, and was filled with hope for his future.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been made redundant in 2011 and since then, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been in and out of jobs for years,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a two year apprenticeship, and I was supposed to finish in August. This was really a second chance for me. I really had been learning a lot. And then they just left us out in the cold.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Dauti\u00c2\u00a0explained that in meetings last week when the apprentices were warned about impending redundancies, all they were offered was a potential traineeship.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMany of us had almost completed the apprenticeship,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bA traineeship is something you take on before an apprenticeship. I was absolutely shocked what they offering. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like almost completing a bachelor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s degree and then being offered the so-called \u00e2\u20ac\u0098opportunity\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 to do your GCSEs. And to think this is all happening during National Apprenticeship Week.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Shocked<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Michael Reilly, another locked out apprentice, was also shocked by the treatment they received as they sought to attend their scheduled college day.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe were supposed to be there, and they treated us like criminals,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAll I could feel was distress and anger. I had put so much into this apprenticeship.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Michael\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cousin,\u00c2\u00a0Paul\u00c2\u00a0Reilly, who was also on the apprenticeship scheme, agreed.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAll of my effort, both manual and mental, had gone into completing this apprenticeship,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI had relied on it and based my entire future on it.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bev\u00c2\u00a0Carrington, one of the many women apprentices on the scheme, remembers signing the contract for the apprenticeship.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe were guaranteed the apprenticeship, and now they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve just kicked this out and locked us out without any support,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she explained.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Local Unite Community member Terry Stewart, spoke to the apprentices and offered to help. He then contacted Unite Community’s\u00c2\u00a0London co-ordinator.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bYesterday (March 10), Unite Community acted swiftly to bring four apprentices locked out of their college and issued with notice of redundancy into the biggest trade union in the UK to demand that \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Building Lives\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 makes good on its commitment to train 500 construction apprentices across London,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Unite\u00c2\u00a0Community\u00c2\u00a0Co-ordinator Janet\u00c2\u00a0MacLeod\u00c2\u00a0explained.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTerry recognised the injustice of locking out students from their own college and was determined to fight it under the banner of Unite Community,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite Community is very proud to support its industrial members in their fight for justice \u00e2\u20ac\u201c an injury to one is an injury to all.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MacLeod\u00c2\u00a0noted that the apprenticeship is particularly unique in that it draws people from all walks of life. Women make up 7 per cent of apprentices \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a very high proportion for a construction apprenticeship. 40 per cent are ex-offenders and half are minorities. The vast majority \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 89 per cent \u00e2\u20ac\u201c land jobs at the end of the apprenticeship.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is just the sort of scheme that the industry should be getting behind -\u00c2\u00a0not making redundancies before the end of the course,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stay tuned on UNITElive for the latest on the story, as Unite and the locked out apprentices work together in their fight for justice.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own National Apprenticeship Week \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a week celebrating the positive impact training schemes can have for those seeking a way into skilled, well-paying work.   While many apprenticeships are\u00c2\u00a0little more than exploitative work arrangements, there are some on offer that truly change lives. Building Lives, a construction apprenticeship sponsored by the Construction […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[260,232],"wps_subtitle":"Alleged proposed cuts to scheme sees hopes dashed for hundreds","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3286"}],"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=3286"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3290,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3286\/revisions\/3290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}