 James Clark, BITA's secretary-general |
The UK government and stakeholders including the British Industrial Truck Association (BITA) have welcomed an independent review of apprenticeships.
Named the Richard Review, the report initiated by entrepreneur and founder of School for Startups, Doug Richard, and published last month, calls on the government to improve the quality of apprenticeships and ensure they focus on the needs of employers.
British education secretary Michael Grove and business secretary Vince Cable asked Richard to consider the future of apprenticeships in England and to recommend how they can meet the needs of the changing economy.
Over the northern summer, Richard sought out a range of views from employers, academics, apprentices, colleges and training providers. His review recognised that while many committed employers were delivering valuable opportunities for their apprentices, there was a need for apprenticeships to meet the highest standards.
Secretary-general of BITA James Clark says the association "welcomes the findings of [the] thorough report, in particular the recognition that employer support needs to be embedded in apprenticeships and that course content must be rigorous".
"The engineering sector has a huge need for a steady intake of talented and motivated young people with the necessary skills to replace retiring employees," Clark says. "At the BITA Academy, employers have been actively involved from day one to ensure apprenticeships are tailored to the needs of the forklift industry. This benefits employees and employers alike."
He adds that a survey of BITA members reveals that 45% of senior managers in UK forklift companies started their careers as engineering apprentices.
"A proper apprenticeship is more than just a route into work - the experience and skills it provides allow people to flourish in their careers and rise to the very top. As such, apprenticeships are the cornerstone of career progression in industry," Clark says.
Richard says: "Apprenticeships need to be high quality training with serious kudos and tangible value both to the apprentice and the employer."
Business secretary Vince Cable says the review echoes the government's current thinking on putting employers in the driving seat of its apprenticeship programme. "His recommendations will help us to build on the current successes of our apprenticeships programme and tailor a programme which is sustainable, high quality and meets the changing needs of our economy in the decades to come."
Graham Spittle CBE, chairman of the Technician Council, says:
"Doug Richard's report challenges all of us to think differently when it comes to apprenticeships. Only with high-quality, professionally accredited apprenticeships will the UK be able to train the hundreds of thousands of skilled technicians we need to secure our economic competitiveness in the coming decades.
"Private sector-led initiatives, like those being developed by the science, engineering and IT professional bodies, will be vital to realise Doug Richard's vision for higher-quality, higher-status apprenticeships."
Doug Richard is a successful entrepreneur, educator and founder of School for Startups, which has taught over 15,000 budding entrepreneurs and small business owners globally. He was featured in the first two TV series of Dragon's Den and has over 20 years' experience in the development and leadership of technology and software ventures.
He was the co-founder of the Cambridge Angels and chairman of the Conservative Party Small Business Task Force. From 1996 to 2000, Richard was president and CEO of Micrografx, a US software company. Prior to that he also founded and subsequently sold two other companies, Visual Software and ITAL Computers.
The Richard Review's recommendations can be found here:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/further-education-skills/apprenticeships/richard-review.