NEW LAWS WILL GIVE APPRENTICESHIPS THE RECOGNITION THEY DESERVE

Following the news that apprenticeships are to be given a lawful definition and be made equal to a degree in status, Mike Thompson, Director of Early Careers at Barclays says: “Today’s announcement on plans to give apprenticeships a lawful definition is great news to start the week.

This could be the first step in finally giving proper recognition to apprenticeships in the UK.

Currently, over a third (35%) of young people under 25 believe apprenticeships are only an option if you don’t get into university. But, having seen first-hand the benefits to young people and businesses alike, more needs to be done to ease this stigma and increase take up.

“One important step in doing this will be to ensure uniform quality of apprenticeships, alongside scale of their availability. It will also help to ease the currently fragmented system and allow employers to more easily understand the qualifications of applicants.

“We look forward to continuing our own work in developing apprenticeship schemes and helping other businesses, especially SMEs to do the same.”