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So, is it worth getting a degree? One in five graduates is earning less than a school leaver

One in five graduates earns less than a person who left school with as little as one A-level.

The official figures raise doubts that thousands of students have wasted their time with ‘useless’ degrees.

On average, the Office for National Statistics says that a person with a degree or higher academic qualification, such as a PhD, earns £16.10 an hour.

New figures released today reveal 20% of graduates earn less than those with just A-Levels

By comparison, a person who got at least one A level, or an equivalent qualification, typically earns £10 an hour.

The figure could be even worse in reality because the ONS did not include graduates who are unemployed or who have never worked.

The study also said the proportion of graduates doing low-skilled, badly-paid work has quadrupled to 2.3 per cent since 1993. Many of these end up doing jobs which require little or no training such as hotel porter, postman, cleaner or catering assistant.

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
20 per cent of employees with a degree earn less than someone with just A-Levels
15 per cent of employees with a degree earn less than someone with just GCSEs
People in the UK who have a degree has doubled from 12 per cent in 1993 to 25 per cent in 2010
Typical hourly pay for employees with GCSEs is £8.68, £10 for A-levels and £16.10 with a degree

Business groups have repeatedly warned that employers are turning their backs on graduates.

A recent report from the British Chambers of Commerce said too many graduates have ‘fairly useless degrees in non-serious subjects’.

Phil McCabe from the Forum of Private Business said: ‘The value of a degree is dwindling.’

Tanya de Grunwald, founder of Graduate Fog.co.uk, a website for job-seeking graduates, said many are devastated by the salaries they are offered.

She said: ‘Finally, the figures from the ONS back up what our graduates have been saying – that they are just not getting the quality of job that they thought their degree would lead to.

‘One politics and economics graduate told me a massive career low was when he got a day’s trial at a pound shop – and did not get the job.

‘People say that a graduate typically earns £26,000, but this doesn’t reflect the reality. Many of them are just scraping the barrel.’

One anonymous contributor to a student website wrote: ‘If I could have my time back, I wouldn’t have gone to university.

‘I graduated last year and work in a friend’s café for £6 an hour.’

A separate report, published yesterday, asked more than 4,000 people whether they would recommend a young person to go to university.

Just 29 per cent of those aged 18 to 34 said they would ‘actively encourage’ it, according to the poll commissioned by the Pearson Centre for Policy and Learning.

A spokesman for the Department for Business insisted that university is not an expensive waste of time for many people.

She said: ‘Our studies show that graduates earn, on average, around £100,000 more across their working lives, as well as having other benefits such as greater rates of employment and improved health status.’

More Young People Not Working Or Studying

One in six 16 to 24-year-olds are not studying, working or in training amid fears young people have been hit hardest by job losses.

Recent job figures also suggest 20% of 16 to 24-year-olds are jobless
Department for Education statistics show 979,000 people in this age range were classified as "Neets" - those not in education, employment or training - between April and June.

That is 107,000 more than the same time of year in 2010 and 126,000 more than five years ago. It is the highest figure for April to June since 2006.

Unemployment among 16 to 24-year-olds rose slightly at the start of this year, with 20.2% out of work. Putting young people on the dole is a waste of money and a waste of their potential.
Shadow education secretary Andy Burnham

The prospects for those at the older end of the age range appear to be worst with 19.1% of 19 to 24-year-olds in this category, compared to 9.8% 16 to 18-year-olds.

The prospects are not much better for school-leavers, with almost one in 10 16 to 18-year-olds not studying, working or in training.
Skills minister John Hayes said: "We're taking action to get our young people into work, helping restore a sense of responsibility and pride in our communities.

"Having built the largest apprenticeships programme our country has seen, we'll now do more to get young people who lack basic skills up to speed."



The Government says it is improving and expanding apprenticeship schemesOfficial figures show the 2008-2009 recession led to an increase in the number of young people who were jobless.
In 2008, the unemployment rate for people this age was 14%. By 2011 it was up a further 6%.

Shadow education secretary Andy Burnham accused the Government of being "far too complacent" about young people and said a generation risks being left behind.

"Putting young people on the dole is a waste of money and a waste of their potential," he said.

"By scrapping Labour's guarantee of an apprenticeship place for young people who want one, scrapping the EMA and cutting careers services, this Government is making it harder for young people to get on - so that for the first time there is a risk that the next generation will do worse than the last."

School leavers scramble for apprenticeships

Thousands of A-level students awarded top grades today will be waking up to the grim reality in the morning of a dwindling jobs market and fierce competition for university places.

Engineering skills council Semta said technically capable candidates were often lured towards other sectors such as banking.

By Louisa Peacock

Of those who choose to enter the labour market for the first time, the majority will likely struggle to find a decent job. Hundreds of bright young minds face being turned down from their ideal employer because of the sheer scramble for work.

The Government's National Apprenticeship Service website, which lists apprenticeship vacancies, received 691,590 applications from young people for apprenticeships over the past year – a 158pc rise compared with the previous 12 months, figures reveal. The surge in demand is partly linked to fears over rising graduate debt, experts say.

However, just one in eight employers offers the on-the-job training scheme nationwide. In the engineering sector – said to be crying out for more skilled workers – just a quarter of businesses are prepared to hire apprentices.
A flood of recent studies from the CBI, manufacturers' body the EEF and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) shows companies struggle to recruit appropriate candidates, claiming skills shortages will hamper their ability to grow. According to the CIPD, however, employers should stop moaning about Britons' lack of skills and do something about it.
Katerina Rudiger, the group's skills adviser, said: "Employers tend to complain a lot about skills shortages, saying people don't have the right skills, but employers nationwide need to take on more responsibility for training their own talents She added: "Clearly it's not that people aren't applying to companies – and they can't all be lacking in skills."

Earlier this week, BP became the latest business to claim a dearth of engineers in the UK was threatening to hold back business growth. The oil giant's North Sea boss, Trevor Garlick, told The Sunday Telegraph BP struggled to recruit the right people to fill hundreds of vacancies.
But the company said it was recruiting just 25 apprentices for its North Sea operation this year. BP, which employs about 10,000 staff in the UK, is recruiting up to a further 10 apprentices nationwide and about 150 graduates to plug skills gaps.

Ms Rudiger pointed to the likes of Rolls-Royce and Siemens, which hire "a lot more" apprentices than BP at 200 and 100 per year respectively. Businesses that suffer from skills shortages should consider increasing the volume of young people they recruit to "home-grow talent", she said.
"Apprenticeships are not the panacea to all our skills problems, but are a good alternative to university. Companies should be seeing apprenticeships as part of their workforce planning," she said.

As companies continue to be swamped by applications for their apprenticeship schemes – BT says it has received 19,600 applications so far for about 500 places and Network Rail 8,000 applications for 200 places – Ms Rudiger asks whether more should be done to make the most of those capable young people who lose out.

The call comes as official figures show unemployment surged in the three months to June by almost 40,000, to 2.49m, compared to the previous quarter. One in five young people is out of work.

The CBI suggests larger companies should work with small to medium-sized enterprises to offer their training facilities to help them recruit and develop the staff they need.

Rolls-Royce is already building an apprentice academy in Derby, which will allow the group to hire as many as 200 young people to train for work in its supply chain and the manufacturing industry in the East Midlands.
Other employers, however, say they simply do not have the resources to do something similar. Network Rail, for example, said suppliers were welcome to use its training centre in theory but questioned whether it would have the space.

James Fothergill, head of skills at the CBI, said: "Large employers need some degree of support to make this happen. But research shows across organisations the return employers get from employing an apprentice.
"Big employers should at the very least consider redirecting rejected – but good – candidates towards small firms that desperately needed specific skills but did not attract as many applications in their own right. Good candidates are likely to slip through the net unless they are made aware of different opportunities in industry."

The engineering and manufacturing skills council Semta said technically capable candidates, who had studied engineering, maths or science at A-level, were often lured towards other sectors such as banking rather than working in a role aligned to their qualifications.

Lynn Tomkins, Semta's UK operations director, said that because so many young people were rejected from school-leaver schemes at household-name employers, such as BAE Systems or Dyson, they tended to lose faith in the sector without considering jobs at smaller firms in the supply chain.
Semta is currently running a trial scheme to match skilled workers to employers looking for specific expertise. There is no point urging young people to study engineering-related subjects if, when they apply for positions, they are turned down without knowing where to go next, Ms Tomkins said.

One In Five Young People Are Now Jobless

One in five young people are now out of work, according to the latest unemployment figures.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show a further 15,000 16 to 24-year-olds are now unemployed - a total of 949,000 people or 20.2%.

It comes as the figures show that in the three months from April to June, there was a surprise rise of 38,000 in the total number of unemployed, rising to a total of 2.49m, or 7.9% of the working population.

The number of people claiming benefits also rose, up 37,100 to 1.52m, far exceeding analysts' predictions of a 20,000 rise.
It was the third consecutive monthly rise and the biggest jump since May 2009.

THE STRUGGLE TO TACKLE YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said:
“Today’s rise in unemployment points to a worrying deterioration in the UK labour market.
"And with our so-called ‘recovery’ stagnating, all the indicators point to further rises in joblessness.

“The number of vacancies is now down to levels last seen in 2009, while female unemployment is at a 23-year high. As public sector job losses mount, employment prospects for many women are looking bleak.

“It is also worrying to see the unwelcome return of rising youth unemployment, with more than one in five young people currently out of work."

The labour market has been surprisingly robust throughout the financial crisis and employment has risen despite a sluggish economic recovery.

However, recent economic surveys have indicated that firms are scaling back hiring plans, raising doubts about the ability of private companies to make up for public sector jobs losses caused by the government's spending cuts.

On Monday the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said the UK could see unemployment rising again in the third quarter of the year, according to a survey of over 1,000 employers.

Figures by the body suggest that public sector cuts will outstrip jobs being created in the private sector.

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Surge in the number of women apprentices

There's a sharp increase in people signing up to learn a trade, and a lot of the new recruits are women

Louise Tickle The Guardian, Tuesday 7 June 2011




Apprentice painter and decorator Kerry Isom likes the work for its creativity and has recently won Johnstone's Young Painter of the Year. Photograph: Frank Baron for the Guardian

Remember the joke, "how many women does it take to change a lightbulb?" Well, forget the old punchline. The new answer appears to be "just one, and she'll charge you a £40 callout fee".

Colleges are reporting a sudden upsurge in students signing up to learn how to be an electrician, decorator, mechanic or builder, and much of the increase seems to be down to female students. Far more women are now choosing to train in these trades, rejecting the more traditionally "female" roles of hairdresser, childminder, care worker or beautician.

"Welding and fabrication is absolutely booming," says Andy Dawson, assistant director of manufacturing and technology at Preston College. All his welding courses are full and he's recently had to put on two more - also running at capacity.

Overall applications for Preston College's mechanical engineering and electrical engineering courses are up 50% on 2010. Bournemouth and Poole college has 17% more enrolled on painting and decorating courses this year compared with last, and Harlow College is this year processing more than double the number of applications for painting and decorating it received for entry in September 2010.

Ask students why they're choosing to train for these jobs and the answer, Harlow principal Colin Hindmarsh, says, is that "these students are thinking about their future and doing something about it".

"The labour market for the under-24s looks grim. We're finding that our students are becoming more entrepreneurial, they want to be in charge of their own destiny and these sorts of vocational courses allow them to set up their own businesses. They can be self-employed and self-reliant.

"In the current climate, without getting a high-level qualification in a trade like welding, they don't think they will get a job," says Dawson.

The rapid rise in the cost of a degree may well be playing a part, says Michael Grange at Derby College. "With universities charging higher fees, we seem to be attracting the better students; certainly the ones who apply have better qualifications and are more focused."

"We've had a significant increase in the number of women on this kind of course," says Hindmarsh, "most noticeably in painting and decorating. At level 2, two thirds of our students are female."

At Bournemouth and Poole College, head of construction Mark Loose says the number of women doing painting and decorating is up by 30%. At Preston college, Dawson says that whereas a few years ago six or seven girls might have done welding and fabrication and motor vehicle courses, this year it's 40 to 50. Newcastle college has taken on its first female scaffolding apprentice, and hopes more will apply.

For Kerry Isom, 22, just finishing her second year as a painting and decorating apprentice at Bournemouth and Poole College, the motivation comes from the creativity she can bring to her work, and job satisfaction. Currently employed by her local council and doing one day at week at college, Isom's work is, says her tutor, "exceptional", and won her the Johnstone's Young Painter of the Year award last October.

"I wasn't sure about the job prospects at first," she says. "But I like the fact you're not behind a desk, and you can see what you've done. Painting's quite relaxing!"

Isom wants to travel and knows she's got a skill that will make her good money around the world.

Ruth Brough, 49, is currently studying to be a plumber and renewables installer with New Career Skills. Changing careers and looking to "make the most of the rest of my working life" she hopes she has discovered a market niche where she can work in the practical way she enjoys, and help people to live the greener lifestyle she believes in.

Plumbers and electricians are now having to get to grips with green technologies and more stringent health and safety regulations, says the chief executive of New Career Skills, Steven Wines — an evolution that may be attracting more women as the perception of traditional trades changes from blue collar to "green collar".

Wines also notes that female plumbers or electricians have an interesting market advantage: hiring a woman for work in the home can be reassuring for older people, or women living alone, which, he says, "creates a niche for a female tradesperson".

But are there jobs to be had in sectors that have always employed men and may be reluctant to take on a woman, no matter how well qualified? According to Tony Joyce, head of construction at Tresham College, "the opportunities need more advertising from the construction industry."

The informal way in which recruitment often happens in vocational trades still prevents women getting jobs in significant numbers, says Linda Clarke, professor of European industrial relations at Westminster University. "If you go into colleges, there's a far higher proportion of women training than you'll find actually working in the labour market," she says. "And I don't see that's changing very much."

However at Newcastle College, Colin Stott, director of the National Construction Academy, says that in his experience, companies are more interested in the someone's competencies than their gender. "Many [women] have had success as finalists in national competitions and the majority have found employment following completion of their course," he says.

Dawson confirms this: "Particularly in motor vehicle, females are as good if not better. And their work ethic is often very good. They seem to be more rational about doing the tasks and, particularly in the 16-18 age range, a bit more mature. They're more methodical and are very keen."

Says Loose: "They have proved to be more competent decorators than the boys — often their drawing skills are better, their attention to detail, and they're much calmer. Girls tend to get to a higher level. They who have done particularly well in the last three years."

The pay for some trades is far cry from the relatively low earnings of childminders, care workers and beauty therapists. Welders involved in the construction of the BBC's new Manchester home would, says Dawson, be "earning between £30,000 and £50,000". And plasterers, says Grange, can pull in £650 a week.

Stott points out that these days he's also able to recruit female tutors, which, in turn, transforms the career expectations of all students, male and female.

Posted By:
Paul Champion
CEO
North East Apprenticeship Company

www.neapprenticeship.co.uk
www.apprenticeshipblog.com

Tel: 0191 4902453
Mobile: 07540 704920
Fax: 0191 5800218

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/champo
Twitter: NEACltd

Apprenticeships surge may lead to funding rate fall

Apprenticeships surge may lead to funding rate fall
News | Published in FE Focus on 29 July, 2011 | By: Joseph Lee

Section:
News
Senior mandarin warns that Government will look to ‘financial controls’ to ease cost of boom in places

Apprenticeship funding rates may have to fall to pay for the rapid growth of places, the head of the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) has said.

Simon Waugh said that recruiting 50,000 places more than planned was not going to create financial problems for the programme or be “a runaway train” because the Government could introduce financial controls, including changes to rates.

He said: “We will always look at rates. In the current environment, I don’t think there is anyone out there who doesn’t realise that there is constant pressure on cost. We are constantly discussing with SFA (the Skills Funding Agency) and BIS (the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) about value for money.”

The decision would rest with the SFA, which recently pulled back from a proposal to cut funding rates by 10 per cent in August, on top of a 4.3 per cent cut this academic year, after objections from providers.

But the Association of Employment and Learning Providers said that a cut would make it hard for apprenticeship providers to maintain recruitment and quality of provision. A spokesman said: “The imposition of significant cuts in funding rates would make the task of expanding apprenticeships for young people much more difficult.”

While he said the NAS did not want a “stop-start situation”, Mr Waugh said a sudden spike in apprenticeship starts one year could be offset by a reduction in the next.

But he said so far, the extra growth had been paid for in a faster reduction of Train to Gain provision, and by colleges meeting demand by reducing recruitment to other courses.

He denied that growth put quality at risk, but conceded: “Can I say to you that every single apprenticeship is of the quality that we would require it to be? The answer quite clearly is no. But wherever in our view that delivery model is not to the very highest standard, we will investigate it.”

Mr Waugh defended the quality of programmes that have seen large growth, such as customer service in the retail industry, where employers such as Morrison’s added as many as 12,000 apprentices in a year.

“I think there is this old-fashioned snobbery around apprenticeships having to be high-end manufacturing - the BAEs, the Bentleys, the Rolls- Royces,” he said.

And he defended the growth in the number of older apprentices. “It’s miniscule. It’s a percentage of a percentage of a percentage,” he said. “I think we’ve got about 2,000 over-60s, but when you’ve got people working later in life, made redundant, and you have to completely reskill - why would a 60-year-old not need to do that as much as a 16-year-old?”

He said the number of 16 to 18-year-old apprentices would rise by a percentage in the “mid-teens”.

Original headline: Apprenticeships surge may lead to fall in funding rates

Paul Champion
CEO
North East Apprenticeship Company

www.apprenticeshipblog.com

Mobile: 07540 704920

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/champo

Simon Boyle unveils new apprenticeship scheme

Emily Manson

Friday 29 July 2011 12:44

Simon Boyle's Beyond Food Foundation has launched a search for candidates to fill its new Kitchen Apprenticeship Scheme.

The venture, spearheaded by Boyle in conjunction with De Vere Venues and PWC, is looking to provide 28 candidates from disadvantaged backgrounds the chance to train at the Brigade, a new restaurant in PWC's London offices in Tooley Street.

The recruitment process will begin with 500 candidates who will be whittled down to a final 28 through a six-week educational and practical induction scheme; "Fresh Life".

The final 28 will then take part in the six-month apprenticeship scheme, which combines work in the Brigade restaurant and part-time training at Southwark College.

Boyle said: "It is absolutely vital that Brigade is a successful profit-making enterprise. It must be sustainable if we are to continue helping people get a chance to start a career within the hospitality and catering industry. We're accountable for their training and development and this is a perfect example of how the third, private and public sectors can work together to make a real difference to people's lives."

The Brigade is part of PWC's office block "The Fire Station". Split over two floors, each with its own kitchen, the site includes an 87-cover bistro and a 65-cover bar on the ground floor. Run by De Vere Venues, the first floor features five private-dining rooms and a 45-cover cook school and private dining room.

The scheme begins in September. To apply for a place contact the Beyond Food Foundation Charity, Job Centre Plus or other linked groups including St Mungo's, South London YMCA, St Giles Trust, Salvation Army, Connections at St Martin's,Thames Reach and the Foyer Federation.

http://www.beyondfoodfoundation.org.uk/

Boris boosts apprenticeships by 28,000

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has had a spectacular success in his campaign to incease the number of apprenticsehips. Working in partnership with the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), the Mayor’s campaign has seen a total of 28,120 people finding places on schemes with companies across a wide range of the capital's business sectors.

Its success means that London’s share of apprenticeship starts has leapt from just five per cent to more than 8.5 per cent nationally in a year – the largest growth of anywhere in the country.

The Mayor and his ‘Apprenticeship Ambassador’ and former BBC ‘Apprentice’ winner Tim Campbell launched a major campaign in November last year to create 20,000 apprenticeships by September 2011. Boris Johnson lobbied and personally wrote to some of the capital's biggest employers, urging them to play their part in helping Londoners into work.

The Mayor has led by example, creating around 2,000 apprenticeships in the past two years within the GLA Group and its contractors, through his responsible procurement programme.

A raft of big businesses responded to the Mayor's call and committed to creating apprenticeships, including Accenture, Microsoft, HSBC, Norton Rose and Channel 4. A further crop of well-known companies, including Sky, Visa Europe, Reed Group, Capgemini, Veolia and the National Theatre all revealed details of new schemes.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said:
“I am extremely grateful to everyone who has helped us rise to this important challenge. In difficult times it is vital that we do all we can to create jobs and opportunities for the next generation and that we invest in measures that will help us to recover more quickly and convincingly. Whether it’s in banking, financial services, technology, media or the arts, we've sought to ensure that these young people are poised to take advantage of any opportunities that arise for them in the future, so that London is well poised to lead the rest of the UK out of recession.”

John Hayes, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning said:

“Apprenticeships are back where they belong at the heart of our education and training system. The Government is building the biggest and best apprenticeships programme our country has ever seen because we want to rebuild a sense of purposeful pride in our young people, and give businesses the high level skills they need to drive growth and prosperity. On my watch, we'll support 250,000 more places than under the previous Government's plans.”

Paul Champion
CEO
North East Apprenticeship Company

www.neapprenticeship.co.uk
www.apprenticeshipblog.com

Tel: 0191 4902453
Mobile: 07540 704920
Fax: 0191 5800218

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/champo
Twitter: NEACltd

New UK-China vocational education pact unveiled

A bilateral agreement has been reached between governments in the UK and China regarding vocational education.

Under the plans, the two administrations intend to work together in order to enhance workplace skills, the British Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has revealed.

Thought to a groundbreaking pact, the memorandum of understanding was signed by John Hayes, the UK education, skills and lifelong learning minister, as he carried out an official visit to Beijing.

It will be in effect for three years and Mr Hayes predicted it will drive forward collaborations between China and Britain, strengthening the relationship between the two nations.

“I am particularly pleased with the Chinese interest in our apprenticeship model,” he added. “Apprenticeships are at the heart of the British government’s approach to vocational education.”

In June, a trade agreement was signed by China’s premier Wen Jiabao and UK prime minister David Cameron during a official visit by the former to Britain, with areas such as civil engineering, research and development and food covered by the £1.4 billion commitment.

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Paul Champion
CEO
North East Apprenticeship Company

www.neapprenticeship.co.uk
www.apprenticeshipblog.com

Tel: 0191 4902453
Mobile: 07540 704920
Fax: 0191 5800218

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/champo
Twitter: NEACltd