Agenda item

A joint report by the Associate Director, Commissioning, Performance & School Effectiveness and the Associate Director, Economic Development & Planning is attached describing:

·         What apprenticeships are

·         The council’s role in supporting young people and employers to provide/take up apprenticeships, including those with SEND

·         The number of apprenticeships currently in place in Wiltshire

·         Details of the council’s own apprenticeships programme as an employer.

Haylea Asadi, Employment & Skills Manager, Economic Development & Planning will attend to answer members’ questions.

In October 2013 the committee agreed that further education (including apprenticeships) should be one of its key work priorities. The Council’s  Business Plan 2013-17 contains the following aspirations:

“More employers offer a wider range of apprenticeships and on the job training and greater numbers of people take up these opportunities.”

“We will create more high value jobs, apprenticeships and routes into highly skilled work – we will encourage a wider range of employers to provide higher apprenticeships and lead by example by increasing the number and range of apprenticeships offered by the council.”

Consideration was given to a joint report by the Associate Director, Commissioning, Performance & School Effectiveness and the Associate Director, Economic Development & Planning which described:

·                What apprenticeships were

·                The Council’s role in supporting young people and employers to provide/take up apprenticeships, including those with SEND

·                The number of apprenticeships currently in place in Wiltshire

·                Details of the Council’s own apprenticeships programme as an employer.

The Employment & Skills Manager, Economic Development & Planning explained work underway to maximise apprenticeship growth in Wiltshire.  She stated that the number of apprenticeship starts had risen from 1,620 in 2005/06 to 5,110 in 2012/13. There had been 1,080 apprenticeship starts in the first quarter of 2013/14.    Members were pleased to note, in particular, the steady growth in apprenticeship starts by learners with learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD); in this category the percentage of apprenticeship starts aged 16-18 had risen from 11.3% in 2010/11 to 14.1% in 2012/13.

Much valuable work was being undertaken with schools to bring apprenticeship schemes and traineeships to the attention of students. It was noted that traineeships had been introduced in 2013 for young people aged 16-24 who were aiming to look for work within a period of six months.  It was explained that traineeships consisted of a high quality work placement and a focused period of work preparation training.  They were also flexible to include other elements such as vocational/industry specific content and qualifications.

The Council had been encouraging the growth of apprenticeship schemes within the County through its Apprenticeship Campaign and had been persuading companies of the business benefits of investing in school and college leavers to meet their recruitment needs.  Members requested that they be provided with a full list of employers across Wiltshire who were participating in apprenticeship schemes in order to see how evenly spread they were across the County.

Members noted that a new apprenticeship wage rate had recently been approved for lower level apprenticeships and that new jobs advertised as apprenticeship posts would be paid at the bottom of Grade A, currently £6.45 per hour which was well above the apprenticeship national minimum wage of £2.65.  

After further discussion,

Resolved:

1.         To note the progress made on Apprenticeships in Wiltshire, the activity in place to maximise and sustain this improvement, the influence of national policy and funding arrangements, the recent key announcements affecting this area, and to thank the officers for the comprehensive report and briefing provided and commend their determination to increase the  employment opportunities available for young people in Wiltshire.

2.         To request that a list of employers offering apprenticeships in Wiltshire is circulated to the Committee (unless this is commercially sensitive).

3.         To request figures showing the retention rates of apprentices in Wiltshire and the percentage who go on to further employment or training with the same company once their apprenticeships are complete.

4.         To request a report in October 2014 providing further details on what steps the Council could take to include a commitment to providing employment and training opportunities for young people in its assessment criteria when awarding contracts to private companies. To include details of other local authorities and public bodies who do use this criterium when awarding contracts.

5.          To recommend that the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services makes representations to Cabinet regarding how the Council can increase its use of apprentices, and reports back to the Committee.