There has been a sharp fall in the number of apprenticeships in the construction and IT sectors over the past five years.
There were 16,890 construction, planning and built environment apprentices in 2009-10, but this had more than halved to barely 8,000 just four years later. The construction industry has complained of an ageing workforce, but apprentice numbers suffered as companies struggled for work when they were badly hit by the economic crisis.
There were 10,510 apprentices who entered the information and communications technology sector in 2010-11, but this fell to under 8,000 for the following two years – still much higher than pre-financial crisis levels. Retail and leisure travel and tourism sectors have suffered declines since 2012.
There is also concerned about an apparent lack of take-up in certain sectors of high-level apprentices, which can lead to degrees by the end of the training.
By contrast, apprenticeships in health, public services and care shot up from 28,230 in 2009-10 to nearly 58,000 four years later. The number setting out in careers in agriculture, animal care and horticulture was up 22.4 per cent to 4,480 over the same time.
The Skills minister, Nick Boles, said: “We want far more employers to get involved in apprenticeships. This means making sure that we practise what we preach in government, so we’re going require all public-sector bodies – schools, hospitals, prisons and police forces – to employ apprentices.”
Caroline Williams, CEO Norfolk Chamber said “These statistics back up what we are hearing from our members. Many of our larger companies, especially in IT, are finding it hard to recruit the number of apprentices needed to meet their requirements. There continues to be a misunderstanding about the opportunities that especially the high level apprentices can bring to a young person. The drive to go to university is still strong for our more able students but we would encourage Norfolk’s young people and their parents to ensure that the apprenticeship route is considered carefully as a real alternative”
