Tradeswomen Australia Group’s Post

Big firms’ plea would halve number of apprentices, says Gillian Keegan The modern apprenticeship system has its critics as this Times’ article makes clear. One criticism is that attracting apprentices is difficult because of the low National Minimum Wage payable to an apprentice but the problem can be overcome by paying salaries higher than the prescribed rate for an apprentice. Large employers complain they are unable to utilise al the Levy payments they are required to make but they can boost partnership working by transferring up to 50% of their Levy payments to those in their supply chain. I have seen apprenticeships work very well at Fieldfisher increasing diversity in the talent pool. https://lnkd.in/er7KUwW7

One of my passions working in HR is providing opportunities, upskilling, and career progression..... CIPD are Hitting the Headlines this week with a call to Government to action! Recommending how to "reclaim" apprenticeships for young people and the economy. Dear Kelly, We’ve made the headlines this week with our call to government to replace the UK’s apprenticeship levy with a flexible skills levy that meets the needs of employers and young people. We want to see employers truly incentivised to offer routes into the workforce for young people, but also free to invest in training and development to upskill their existing workforces.  What is the biggest impact this could have for SME's? - offering financial incentives to boost apprenticeship opportunities in small firms - enhance employer investment in skills and boost opportunities for young people to secure apprenticeships that lead to quality employment. - address emerging skills gaps and shortages - rebalancing incentives to encourage increased investment in youth apprenticeships

By investing our industry's critical skills shortage, we can: ✅ Attract and train new apprentices ✅ Encourage employer engagement ✅ Address the shortage of onsite trades, professionals, and supply chain workers To ensure an adequate supply of new homes and improve housing affordability, HIA has submitted a 2024-25 Pre-budget Proposal urging additional support & action from the federal government. The pre-budget submission emphasises the importance of: 1️⃣ Developing a skilled workforce through training 2️⃣ Enhancing workforce mobility 3️⃣ Implementing suitable immigration settings 4️⃣ Government support for apprenticeships

Alot of the conversation around skills shortages involves the role of skilled migration in boosting our stretched workforce. The latest census data tells us that the construction work force is becoming quite diverse regarding the different types of nationalities it is attracting. However, when we look at the Australian migration figures as a whole, the building industry is not attracting a sufficient amount of skilled migrants coming into the country to meet the demand for housing supply we are currently experiencing. Despite being one of largest industries in the country, construction sits third last when it comes to the number of skilled migrants included whithin its workforce numbers. This needs to change .

Further to yesterday's comment, Tara Dillon FCIMSPA (Ch) has responded to today's speech from Wes Streeting MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care at the Labour Party Conference. Tara said: “It’s incredibly encouraging to hear the Secretary of State for Health acknowledging the importance of taking action on prevention to prevent the NHS being overwhelmed. Our sector workforce has a vital role in ensuring that the percentage of the population who experience chronic, long-term health conditions which impact their lives and costs the country millions, not only in treatment but in lost economic activity, is reduced. In the speech, he committed to ‘get sick Brits back to health and back to work’. There are great local examples where our sector is working hand in hand with health care professionals to support those experiencing health conditions, undertake tailored physical activity which is developed in line with their condition. This is enabling patients to become healthier through increasing their activity, aiding their recovery and supporting their return to work and to becoming economically active. What’s crucial to fulfil the Secretary of State’s ambition, which is so important for economic growth, is the scaling of this collaborative work. It’s imperative that his department includes the sport and physical activity sector in its plans and we were pleased recently to hear from the Sports Minister that she is strongly making the case for this. The plan that Wes Streeting set out today for ‘a preventative health service that helps us stay healthy and out of hospital’ within 10 years simply must have sport and physical activity professionals at the heart of it. Alongside our National Sector Partners Group colleagues (ukactive, Youth Sport Trust, Active Partnerships, Sport and Recreation Alliance, Sport for Development Coalition, Local Government Association), we look forward to collaborating with the Department for Health and Social Care and DCMS to achieve this.” Read more about the National Sector Partners Group: https://lnkd.in/eBqpUCAs

Gaining an Apprenticeship used to be such a moment of pride. It was the equivalent of an academic path for practical highly skilled labour. Many leaders of industry started as apprentices. After 14 years of Tory mismanagement the apprenticeship system has been destroyed. The pay is dreadful, the system has been reduced to nothing more than an internship. The tax incentives for employers have created a system were the money is more important than the person. This has also led to The appropriateness of the sectors giving apprenticeship placements is all wrong. So Mr Sunak, it doesn’t matter how large a number of new apprentices you “pledge” it’s the system, the quality that needs addressing. Apprenticeships worked when people had jobs for life, when large firms offered career paths. Today the zero contract gig economy and the demise of manufacturing has meant the idea of training anyone meaningfully is lost. Another ill thought out Tory act of desperation,

With a government focus on growth and skill development, defunding L7 Apprenticeships will be a massive own goal. It’s ideological rather than pragmatic real-world decision making. Middle management is one of the toughest jobs within any organisation. Offering L7 options for career development that help organisations drive productivity and growth surely aligns with government’s objective? We should stop punishing success stories such as L7 DAs. Instead, let’s learn why they’re successful and adapt other offers to enable similar success stories. Let’s start with allowing Apprenticeship Levy funding to fund support for teachers, nurses, social workers…regardless of what type of degree they’re studying. That decision can be taken quickly and will help drive our recruitment gap into those professions!

📢 Great news for apprentices! The national minimum wage for apprentices is set to increase by 21% to £6.40 per hour from April 2024. 📈 Read more about the topic in this The Apprenticeship Guide article 👇

💡 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘁 𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗼 Today a new report has been published by the Social Market Foundation, sponsored by Reed in Partnership with support from TrustMark which explores the key enablers and barriers for SMEs in taking on apprentices in skilled trade roles. The report gives recommendations as to how Skills England and the Department for Education can support small businesses to address the acute skills shortage facing skilled trades sectors. These include: 1️⃣ Establishing an intermediary system that strengthens the relationships between SME trades firms and training providers 2️⃣Increasing the apprenticeship incentive payment for under-19s to £3,000 3️⃣Launching a national campaign to promote awareness and positive perceptions of young apprentices. In this article, our Managing Director, Donna Murrell, explores some of the findings from the report and sets out how transforming the UK’s talent pipeline and breaking down barriers for school leavers could support us in our journey towards net zero. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eqFhfE8G

Interesting to read this report published by the Social Market Foundation, sponsored by Reed in Partnership, with support from TrustMark, released last week. The report explores the challenges holding small and medium skilled trade firms back from offering more apprenticeships to younger people. The report shows the need to continue to improve the apprenticeship-employer ecosystem and explores the role the Careers Hubs could play in this space. #careers #careerseducation #netzero #apprenticeships