School Leaver's

SCHOOL LEAVERS – UNEMPLOYABLE WASTERS OR INSPIRED, ENTHUSIASTIC FUTURE MANAGERS?

APPRENTICESHIPS – BUSINESS BUILDING OR CASH BLACK HOLE?

School leavers are often considered by employers to be a waste of time and energy – banded as incompetent, work shy liabilities.  Why then do some businesses embrace young employees, believing them to be a relatively cheap source of enthusiastic, innovative workforce worth investing in?  With the death of the job for life, are inexperienced employees worth investing in as leaders of the future, or will they inevitably take their training and your investment straight to your competitors?

A recent, March 2009 survey has revealed that 83% of employers believe school leavers don’t have the skills to work in business, indicating the negative attitude of a vast proportion of business leaders towards this section of society’s workforce.  Employment law and HR blogs running this story have produced comments from employer and HR professional bloggers, that school leavers don’t know how to behave or dress at work and are a liability for employers.  Outraged school and university leavers retorted that “whether someone is 16, 18, 25 or 50 – if they have never worked, how are they ever going to be employable?  It is the employers who need to change and offer school leavers training schemes and time to develop.  It is very hard for school leavers nowadays with every job advertisement saying ‘experience required’ and this needs to change” (‘inexperienced but enthusiastic’).

The Government and Ministers seem to agree with ‘inexperienced but enthusiastic’.  Last month (February 09), Ed Balls stressed the value of businesses providing apprenticeship schemes.  The Government has announced 21,000 new apprenticeships in the public sector and the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill was read for the first time in the House of Commons on 4 February 2009.  The Bill establishes the right for employees to request time off for study and training and creates a new apprenticeship structure which, through apprenticeship frameworks, facilitates the creation of apprenticeship agreements and the provision of apprenticeship certificates.

Many large employers are also investing in apprenticeship schemes – British Gas announced in September 2008 that it would triple its apprenticeships in 2009 and is opening two new training centres to facilitate its apprenticeship schemes.  Jaguar Land Rover has recently launched a technical academy for technicians and apprentices, creating a centre of excellence for the provision of training to those groups.  The UK’s largest vending operator also recently launched its first engineering apprenticeship.

Discussion Points

Does your business currently offer apprenticeships and would it consider doing?

What is the attitude of your business to taking on inexperienced and/or young employees?

Are inexperienced employees worth investing in?

Had you heard about the new Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill and do you know how it will affect your business if it becomes primary legislation?