Posted by Stephanie Chapman
Young people looking to improve their job prospects by increasing their employability skills should consider an apprenticeship.This is the opinion of Nick Linford, managing editor of FE week.
" Apprenticeships are an excellent programme - they are a means for the young person to gain plenty of skills, while being paid a wage and actually doing a job with mentoring [support]," he said.
However, he warns that the utility of an apprenticeship is dependent on the quality of training and mentoring available.
This often falls to the company, who has a responsibility to ensure that apprentices engage with a wide training programme that promotes key skills.
Often, colleges and training providers do not follow regulations and take "shortcuts", Mr Linford explained, which leads to inadequate training.
The editor also believes that the increase of adults taking part in apprenticeships causes a problem, as many of them were already in jobs and thus had the skills to begin with.
Moreover, Mr Linford is critical of short-term apprenticeships, as they do not give trainees access to work experience.
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