For many years now employers and those in the training industry have been calling for more to be done to open up apprenticeships to more adult learners.As a result of changes suggested by Trade Skills 4U, from September 2013 apprentices over the age of 24 will be able to access student loans for level 3 training courses. This means training will be more widely available for many who may have struggled to fund their courses otherwise. This new wave of adult apprentices, many of whom already have a range of work based skills are likely to be a very attractive prospect for employers looking to take on dedicated, committed and skilled individuals as apprentices.
Tradeskills4U provided written evidence to The House Of commons Select committee Department for Business, Innovation and Skills debate on Apprenticeship funding. With the assistance of local Sussex MP’s Francis Maude and Henry Smith, Tradeskills4U were able to contribute a suggestion that, as per Degree students attending University, 24 year old plus students taking ‘apprenticeship vocational courses’ should be able to secure a student loans to pay for their courses. The committee published its report on 23rd February including this suggestion. So from Sept 2013 apprenticeship vocational courses can now be financed by the student loan system. Payback of the loan only starting after an income of at least £21,000 has been achieved.
Trade Skills4U has long held the belief that people not wishing to attend University but wanting to take further education vocational courses should have the same opportunities as their degree student counterparts.
Tradeskills4U’s Managing Director Carl Bennett said “Whilst our contribution was only a small part of a much larger debate, this issue marks an important shift in the way FE students will be funded in the future and can only increase the quality of training in the FE industry and enable students to have more of a say in their training needs”
The report published on the 27th February covers a range of issues and improvements designed to support apprenticeships in the coming years. Other key highlights included the government’s commitment to increasing funding to apprenticeships over the next 4 years.
The report also highlights the value of apprenticeships to the UK’s economy and confirmed that those qualified via apprenticeships on average earn 12% more than those without a level 3 qualification. It also highlighted that return on investment for government spending on apprenticeships was very high, at least £18 for every £1 spent. A full copy of the report can be downloaded from: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmbis/writev/1843/1843.pdf
About Trade Skills 4U:
Trade Skills 4U are Britain’s premier electrical training company. Every year more people pass City & Guilds electrical courses with them than any other training provider. All the training takes place in their state of the art facilities just next to Gatwick Airport. They offer the widest range of electrical courses under one roof and have a full suite of renewable energy training courses too. Trade Skills 4U are focussed on providing adult learners with suitable training and provide a range of electrical NVQ and apprenticeships.
Contact:
Trade Skills 4U Ltd
Unit 3 Metana House
Priestley Way
Zip: RH10 9NT
Crawley, UK
Tel: 01293 529777