VALUABLE APPRENTICES
Today I had a very interesting meeting
with Andrew Jones, the Government Apprenticeship Ambassador in the British
Parliament.
The apprenticeship scheme at
thebigword was introduced in the UK in early 2011 and I can tell you that it’s
made a huge impact. Since that time we’ve employed 120 apprentices and
been able to offer 65 per cent of them full time employment after their one
year apprenticeship was complete.
So, what is an apprentice?
Apprentice is a pretty old fashioned word but reworked as governments around
the world struggle to get young people, especially those under 24 out of
unemployment and into the job market. Some of the European countries are
really struggling, for example in Spain, 40% of young people aged between 16
and 24 are unemployed. This is disastrous for many reasons.
At thebigword we are extremely proud
of the work we have done in this area. I suppose that the modern word for
apprentice is really a trainee who is working towards a work-based
qualification. So why have I been so keen to support the apprenticeship
scheme? Well, unlike all of my circle of friends at the earliest age of school
leaving, instead of going onto further education to the total dismay of my
parents, and disapproval of friends and teachers, I left formal education and
went into an apprenticeship in retailing for one of the UK largest store
groups, Debenhams. Apprenticeships at that time were really reserved for
people whose families could not afford for them to go into further education or
culturally did not feel that it was the right environment for their children to
continue as students. I believe in those days 5% of the population went
to university as opposed to 49% today.
I had been working in the workplace
for seven years before any of my friends joined the world of work. I had
seven years of learning how to communicate and by the time they came out of
university I had my first senior management role. I was, unlike many of
my friends, debt free and I had been able to save money and enjoy life.
So what had I lost? I had lost
the fun and academic stimulation that university offer. In the early
years due to the fact that most of my friends had gone to university, it was
pretty lonely. I feel very angry about how society treated people who
chose through various circumstances to undertake apprenticeships.
What is crazy is that things are worse
for people today than they were in those days. Half of young people are
expected to go into further education after leaving school and those that don’t
are made to feel bad about themselves. Just look at the amazing success
our apprenticeship scheme has had. After three years I’m proud to say that
out of the people we’ve taken on, not only have they been successful in their
role, many of them have been promoted even further. Many of these people are
not at university leaving age, they’re not in debt and they have tremendous
skills.
So, I appeal to colleagues, parents,
friends, teachers and schools. Wake up to the amazing opportunities that
apprenticeship schemes offer people and, of course, the companies they work
for.
I also have to mention the intern
scheme that we operate in the US. The intern scheme is where we take on
students for an average of 20 hours per week for up to four months and the
experience they gain gives them an accreditation towards their degree.
Once again we found this a great way to identify some wonderful candidates for
the future.
As I mentioned earlier, being an
apprentice can be lonely when your friends are all at college and I remember
being criticised by some senior members of staff for being over enthusiastic
about my job. In the early days I was nervous to take all the breaks and
would rush forward to be the first to serve the customer which really irritated
my colleagues. I remember I was removed from the busy menswear department
to selling pillows as some form of punishment. I was devastated and it’s
quite interesting today as I often see some of these characteristics in our
apprentices because they’re so eager to learn, but I know my colleagues will
agree that their enthusiasm is infectious and I’m grateful for the positive
effect they have on all of us.
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| Jordan, Elisha and Andrew Jones MP |
Have a nice weekend,
Larry.