Improved apprenticeships, which will bring greater focus on quality for the learner and ease of use for employers, were enveiled by the Prime Minister at the MINI Plant Oxford today on 28 October 2013.
Under the reforms, employers will be put in the driving seat to create new apprenticeship standards that will deliver the skills businesses and learners need to compete in the global race.
Groups of companies, including BMW Group UK, have come together to give industry the power to lead the design of these new apprenticeships. More than 60 companies who took on more than 13,000 apprenticeship starts in 2011 to 2012 are involved in these groups, which are known as Trailblazers.
The reformed apprenticeships will be:
- employer-led and designed so they respond to the needs of industry, meaning each apprentice has the skills required by the sector
- focused on quality so the apprentice has to demonstrate their ability through rigorous assessment at the end of their apprenticeship
- graded on completion – pass, merit, or distinction – to mark the level of achievement
Work is underway across government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the government wants the economy to travel.
