We felt that it would be interesting to share with you this article, which appeared in yesterday’s written edition of ” The Times“. As you know, the UK is along with Switzerland one of the most advanced countries when it comes to apprenticeships and opportunities for practice-oriented professionals.
“Leading professors are warning that overbearing employers could cause some degree apprenticeships to fail. The Engineering Professors’ Council calls in a report today for changes to the qualification, which are growing in popularity. It criticises government for giving too much weight to meeting employeers’needs.
After a two-year-assessment, the council has come up with almost 50 recommendations for the government and other bodies. Degree apprenticeships were introduced in 2015. Students attend university with other undergraduates, pay no tuition fees, do paid work experience in the holidays and graduate with a guaranteed job.
However, the report says that branding of the apprenticeships runs the risk of presenting them as inferior to traditional degrees. This perception is a barrier to bright school-leavers and their parents, it adds.
The content of the qualifications should be employer-led but not employer-dominated. “However well intentioned, employers may be more concerned about ensuring apprentices are trained for specific jobs, rather than looking to the long-term needs of the sector, of the skills economy, or of the individual apprentice who may want to transfer to other employers,” the report says.
From The Times of the 10th of September 2018.