The BBC has today reported a story entitled ‘Sugar apprentice site ‘a gimmick’. Quotes in the article state that the Conservatives have branded the new Apprenticeships Matching System website a ‘celebrity gimmick’, commenting on the role of Sir Alan Sugar in recent advertising campaigns.
The article focuses, firstly, on a ‘failure’ of the website stating that in June it had only filled 616 vacancies out of 17,588; and secondly, on the cost and appropriateness of Apprenticeship advertising featuring Sir Alan Sugar. The article is somewhat misleading in linking these two issues, and fails to grasp the context of the wider strategy of the National Apprenticeship Service and how the vacancy matching website fits into this - a tool that although accessible through the main Apprenticeship website is entirely separate to it and the advertising costs mentioned.
Sir Alan’s TV adverts, launched in February of this year, featured him encouraging businesses to get behind the scheme. The adverts were primarily aimed at employers, encouraging them to consider offering Apprenticeships, as a part of the wider National Apprenticeship Service’s strategy to increase the number of Apprenticeships. Whilst the adverts were successful in promoting Apprenticeships more broadly, the Vacancy Matching System website itself is a separate tool. The website has been invested in by the National Apprenticeship Service to make it easier for employers to advertise, and for learners to find suitable Apprenticeship opportunities.
Since the vacancy matching website’s release in January, the number of people registering on the site and the number of vacancies advertised has increased significantly. As the site becomes more established, the number of successful matches is also increasing; e.g. BBC’s figures show that in the month since June the number of vacancies filled has doubled. However, based on past trends it is realistic to expect the number of matches on the site to peak further in the run up to September - when the majority of college training begins. In addition, the true impact of the website on successful placements of learners won’t be accurately measurable until next year, when the number of Apprenticeship starts between September 2009 and September 2010 can be compared.
It is clear that both the Government and the Conservatives agree that Apprenticeships are an important way to help young people in particular to get the training, qualifications and work experience they need. However, the challenge for Apprenticeships has always been to find an adequate number of employers to offer positions to learners. As the recession bites on employers’ budgets, more work is needed to encourage this demand from employers for all kinds of skills development and training, including Apprenticeships.
Only time will tell as to whether the approach of the Vacancy Matching System website will work to increase the numbers of Apprenticeships and employers engaged.
Sarah Hakeney, Joint Managing Director of CFE said:
‘The Vacancy Matching System is just one part of the government’s strategy to raise Apprenticeship levels across the country. Before the system can be truly successful the demand for Apprentices from employers needs to be addressed. The government and employers need to work together to remove some of the inaccurate perceptions and sectoral barriers that exist. When the demand for Apprentices from employers increases, they then need to be encouraged to use the system for all their Apprenticeship vacancies - the site will only be successful if both young people and employers use it and they can both trust it to meet their needs.‘
The full BBC article ‘Sugar apprentice site ‘a gimmick’ can be found here.