Lack of awareness of what an apprenticeship is, is affecting career choices and creating a skills gaps in key industries, it is claimed.
Some 36 per cent of parents of children aged 11 to 16 are unsure what an apprenticeship is, and a majority (68pc) of young people don’t know either, despite being at the age that they will start to make decisions about the direction of their career. When asked who or what influences these decisions, Mum and Dad together were number one (66pc), followed by teachers and school (41pc), the lessons children enjoy (31pc) and then friends (14pc). These findings were from research commissioned by ABM UK, a facilities management solutions provider. Some 2,000 British parents of children aged 11 to 16 and 2,000 children aged 11 to 16 were surveyed.
ABM UK Director Adam Baker, pictured, said: “We were shocked to find a genuine lack of knowledge on apprenticeships amongst parents, and that many still consider them to be a last resort for children who fail their exams. It shows a need for a more unified approach and a better way of communicating, especially with parents, whose influence alongside teachers is critical.
“When a young person is set to choose a university, there’s a huge amount of support from schools, parents and educational bodies such as UCAS. We need similar representation for apprenticeships and technical careers to ensure young people in the UK don’t miss out on enriching, lucrative and credible career options. It’s vital we give parents and schools more information and empower them to show children all the options open to them.”
For those parents who knew what an apprenticeship was, just 14 per cent considered it to be a good option, with more parents (42pc) saying that they wanted their children to attend university, despite tuition fees and long-term debt prospects. The top reasons given for not encouraging their child to undertake an apprenticeship were that they were thought to be poorly paid (43pc), because they see it as a last resort for those who fail their exams (37pc), and that apprenticeships don’t lead to successful careers (17pc).
The engineering and facilities management industries are particularly disadvantaged by the awareness gap; 60 per cent of young people said that they were unlikely to even consider working in engineering or facilities management, with over a third (39pc) saying that they wouldn’t consider working in this area because they didn’t know anything about it. When asked, just a quarter of parents said they would encourage their children to consider careers in these areas.
ABM UK commissioned the research to back its efforts to attract new talent to engineering facilities management. In January it welcomed 36 west London schoolchildren into the pilot of its first Junior Engineering Engagement Programme (JEEP). The FM firm plans to extend it to further schools from September. Despite government initiatives like the Apprenticeship Levy and the introduction of T-levels, businesses have a responsibility to safeguard the future, too, the firm says.
Adam Baker added: “Our programme aims to actively recruit new talent into the industry – it’s time to shake off the view that technical careers are about oily rags and no prospects. In reality recruits in this sector are in such high demand that graduate apprentices are earning between £26,000 and £30,000 just a year after qualifying – usually before they’re 20 years old – and they have no debt.
“This is an issue we need to tackle now. We know that business leaders across the industry acknowledge that shortages of skilled staff will impact the success of their business, making it clear that filling the knowledge gap doesn’t solely sit with the government or parents. It’s everyone’s responsibility – including industry bodies and commercial enterprises – to collaborate in fixing the problem.”
