It's a double whammy celebration this week
This week is National Apprenticeship Week #NAW2018 and this year is the Year of Engineering #YoE so what better time to talk about the wonderful world of manufacturing and engineering apprenticeships!
Apprentices in our sector are awesome
This morning we joined EEF member B Mason & Sons at their site in Birmingham where the brilliant apprentices there spoke to BBC Breakfast's Steph McGovern about why they chose the apprenticeship route.
Proud to be training the next generation
Proud to say that many of B Mason & Sons Apprentices are trained at EEF's very own Apprentice Training Centre. Training the next generation is crucial if we are to secure the skills our sector needs now and in the future.
So tell me more about engineering apprenticeships I hear you cry.....
For a quick fix why not check out our infographic here.
But here are some other top facts and figures we love to share...
72% of manufacturers say raising awareness of apprenticeships will get more young people into engineering
79% of manufacturers were committed to recruiting engineering apprentices in 2016 - 45% were committed to recruiting apprentices in other parts of the business
In 2016/17 there were 74,010 manufacturing and engineering apprenticeship starts, representing 15% of all apprenticeship starts for the year
Only 7% of students at state-funded mainstream schools and colleges went on to an apprenticeship after key stage 5 compared to 51% that went on to a UK higher education institution
Just 7% of engineering apprenticeships achieved last year were undertaken by women
Three-quarters of manufacturers say all their apprentices stay with the company upon completion of their apprenticeship
The average hourly pay rate for engineering apprentices is currently £6.44, almost double the minimum rate
67% of mums would recommend a career in engineering to their children compared to 85% of dads
26% of manufacturers want more information on finding and recruiting apprentices to help them with the Apprenticeship Levy
A third (33%) of manufacturers currently support employees to undertake higher apprenticeships and a quarter (24%) currently don’t but would like to
Manufacturers just love apprenticeships!
Manufacturers have always been great champions of apprenticeships, with many seeing apprentices as the lifeblood of their businesses. Manufacturers have offered high quality apprenticeships to young people for decades – offering them quality training and often lifetime careers within that same company.
We must continue to shout from the rooftops about the benefits that apprenticeships can bring to the learner, the employer and the wider economy and what better apprenticeship to undertake than in manufacturing and engineering.
*stop reading now if you want to stay super positive and not talk about the Apprenticeship Levy*
And the elephant in the room? I'm afraid it begins with L......
Whilst the focus of this week must remain on celebrating the brilliant apprentices in our industry, we cannot ignore the elephant in the room – the Apprenticeship Levy. The introduction of the Levy has presented fundamental challenges for many employers.
If we are to keep up the momentum of apprenticeships, government must make changes to the Levy and ensure employers are able to keep offering these invaluable forms of training.