THE IACSURVEY

RESEARCHREPORT

JUNE 2016

It’s been a great three years so far for the Industry Apprentice Council (IAC). We’ve been able to feed our experiences and views directly to ministers, we’ve spoken in Parliament and we’ve had so much support and so many good wishes from Parliamentarians. We’ve made sure that when apprenticeships policy is being made, apprentices are listened to and their thoughts built in. Our members have visited hundreds of schools and engaged with thousands of young people.

This year, we’re delighted to have had the largest ever response to our annual survey. Although Industry is in our name and the bulk of responses have come from apprentices in areas like rail and engineering, we are pleased that we have been able to widen our reach a little and give a voice to apprentices in other sectors for the first time.

As well as looking at the responses to this year’s survey, we’ve also taken the time to compare the findings with those from the previous two reports, to see where things have changed and where they haven’t. We’ve also looked in more detail than before at where there are gender divides, because without boosting the numbers of women taking industry apprenticeships, we simply will not have enough people with the skills employers are crying out for.

Apprentices have spoken and their voices must now echo around the corridors of power. We hope this report will be read and studied by those who make apprenticeships policy, and that the recommendations we make will be fully considered. With the changes being made to apprenticeships policy, it’s crucial that apprentices have a voice in the new Institute for Apprenticeships which will guarantee quality. We all want the same thing – more high-quality apprenticeships – and the IAC looks forward to helping to achieve it.

Finally, to any apprentices reading this – keep up the good work, and if you’re not yet an IAC member, join us!

John CoombesApprentice ToolmakerFord Motor Company

Lizzie MoffattHR AdvisorVauxhall Motors

Hayden Williamson School Liaison Coordinator KMF

2

Since its launch, the IAC has provided a great forum through which apprentices can meet other apprentices, discuss the issues of the day and feed into the policy making process.

It has gone from strength to strength and built its reputation as the voice of industry apprentices, which is reflected in the record response to this year’s survey.

Without apprentices, employers across the advanced manufacturing and engineering (AME) sector Semta represents simply would not be able to meet their skills needs. With the economy needing 182,000 people with engineering skills every year to 2022, apprenticeships offer a tried and tested way for employers to equip new recruits with the right skills. That’s why 26% of AME employees have gone through an apprenticeship, compared with just 10% for the whole economy.

Engaging and encouraging girls and women into industry is vital. I’m heartened to see the numbers of female apprentices responding to the IAC survey have increased year on year, and I hope the IAC will stand as proof that female apprentices are valued, capable and brilliant ambassadors for apprenticeships, their employers and the UK economy.

This report makes a number of recommendations, which Semta is very happy to endorse. We will do what we can to boost the IAC’s profile still further and ensure it is the voice of industry apprentices, and we really look forward to working with the members over the coming years.

Ann Watson Chief Executive, Semta

3

As the government powers ahead with its ambitious reforms, it’s crucial that apprentices themselves have a voice and their experiences are listened to.

Building apprentices’ views in will ensure that quality does not suffer and that apprenticeship programmes remain relevant – not just equipping people with the skills employers need, but giving people what they need to grow and get on in life. That’s why I’m delighted to have been asked to formally launch the 2016 Industry Apprentice Council survey research report, and why it’s so important that the IAC keeps on doing the great work it has been to date.

Employer control is at the heart of the government’s reforms to apprenticeships. Employers are being handed control over funding with the upcoming apprenticeship levy, control over promotion with the Apprenticeship Delivery Board I chair, and control over standards with the coming Institute for Apprenticeships.

This is all being underpinned with a new legal guarantee of what the term ‘apprenticeship’ means, so that when someone starts an apprenticeship they can do so with the same confidence in what they’ll get as someone who starts a degree.

Members of the Apprenticeship Delivery Board are already acting as champions of apprenticeships within their sectors. Employers are now talking to employers to urge them to take on apprentices and to recognise apprenticeships as a great way to equip their employees of the future with the skills and knowledge they will need.

Nadhim Zahawi MP Prime Minister’s Adviser on Apprentices & Joint Chairman of the Apprenticeship Delivery Board

4

PERCEPTION OF APPRENTICESHIPSTHE PREVIOUS TWO IAC ANNUAL REPORT RESPONSES WERE HEAVILY WEIGHTED TOWARDS APPRENTICES FROM ENGINEERING AND RELATED SECTORS. ALTHOUGH WE HAVE OPENED THE SURVEY UP TO ALL APPRENTICES THIS YEAR, RESPONDENTS WERE STILL PREDOMINANTLY APPRENTICES WITH COMPANIES IN THOSE SECTORS.

As a result, as in 2014 and 2015 there is a strong perception from IAC annual survey respondents that industry apprenticeships (i.e. those in engineering and related sectors) are more rigorous than those in other sectors – around three quarters of industry apprentices have said this in each of the three surveys we have conducted. While this will be welcomed by apprentices and employers alike in engineering and related sectors, and has been a strong selling point for apprenticeships in industry in the past, it remains to be seen whether this perception will be achieved for apprenticeships across all sectors.

The upshot of this perception is that apprentices in industry are on the whole satisfied with their choices, and this has remained constant across the three surveys conducted so far (2014-16), 99%, 98% and 97% satisfaction, higher than the overall satisfaction of higher education students with their choices, with the proportion being slightly higher for males. Interestingly, there was no difference between those doing different levels of apprenticeship – whatever level an apprentice is at, they are on

the whole satisfied that they have made the right choice for them.

Despite higher education students themselves being as a cohort less satisfied than industry apprentices, it is still thought of as the preferred route within education – and this perception to strengthening, from 62% saying so in 2014 to 79% in 2016. New degree apprenticeships are being introduced in England and Wales, which combine all of the features of an apprenticeship (earning while learning, hands-on experience in industry) with study towards a degree. Many of these new degree apprenticeships are in engineering and related sectors.

If apprenticeship numbers are to be expanded so that there will be three million starts by 2020, there is a case for a dedicated body which represents apprentices as the National Union of Students (NUS) does for further and higher education students. The proportion of survey respondents who want an apprentice-only NUS equivalent remains higher than those who want the NUS to represent apprentices, although it declined from 63% in 2014 to 36% in 2015 and then rebounded to 49% in 2016. Now that the

IAC is an established brand and has begun to make a tangible impact on apprenticeship policy, we would be very happy to play that role and ensure apprentices have the representation that FE and HE students are automatically entitled to.

Are you happy that you chose to take your apprenticeship? (2016)

Not happyHappy

1,231

260

40 12

2016 Survey Findings

5

APPRENTICESHIPS AS A VIABLE ROUTETHE VIABILITY OF APPRENTICESHIPS AS A ROUTE INTO WORK IS COMING UNDER INCREASED SCRUTINY THANKS TO THE GOVERNMENT’S TARGET OF THREE MILLION STARTS BY 2020. NEARLY A THIRD OF APPRENTICESHIPS STARTED IN THE LAST YEAR WERE NOT COMPLETED, WHICH IS NOT GOOD FOR THE INDIVIDUALS OR FOR THEIR EMPLOYERS.

The good news is that earning while learning and career prospects have consistently been the two strongest influences on apprentices’ decisions since the inception of the IAC survey. Earning while learning is a selling point unique to apprenticeships, and according to the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures 90% of people who have been through apprenticeships are employed compared to only 87.5% of graduates.1

Industry apprentices consistently underestimate the amount of opportunities available to them until they start their apprenticeship - over half of respondents have said so in each year of our survey. It could be that industry needs to be bolder in explaining those opportunities, especially when compared with those available through further and higher education. Universities have large budgets and teams for outreach and ever-rising student rolls demonstrate that their marketing efforts are working. The positive aspect of this, however, is that industry apprentices are being offered good progression opportunities.

2016 Survey Findings

How aware pre-apprenticeship were you of the career options in industry? (2016)

Fully aware

604

85

Partially aware

582

155

Not at all aware

85 32

1 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-facts-about-apprenticeships/100-years-of-apprenticeships-most-common-apprenticeships-in-1914-and-20146

In 2016 there remains a gender divide when it comes to awareness of the opportunities available in industry, with 12% of female respondents saying they were completely unaware prior to starting their apprenticeships against 7% of males, and with just 31% of females saying they were fully aware of all of the options available compared with 48% of males. Narrowing this gap will be crucial in ensuring female would-be apprentices are properly encouraged to consider an apprenticeship as a viable route into a career in industry.

The most common entry point for respondents was after A Levels, with over a third starting their apprenticeships then. Post-GCSE was the second most common entry point, with around a fifth of entrants taking up their place at this point. Boosting the numbers of young people starting industry apprenticeships will be vital to meet employers’ skills needs – around a quarter of 16 year olds who start apprenticeships choose one in engineering according to official figures.2, 3

Around two fifths of 2016 survey respondents said they are offered the option to continue on to other qualifications, with the proportion declining gradually over the three years we have run the survey.

Qualifications will be funded through the apprenticeship levy if included within the apprenticeship standard; a plurality of survey respondents said that they wanted qualifications to be included within apprenticeships as a way of guaranteeing their quality.

Entry points for apprentices (2016)

301

578

77

276

134

177

Post-GCSE

Post-A Levels

While in work

During A Levels

Other

Post-unemployment

2 http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2014-10-23/HL2335

3 http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2015-07-21/HL1718 7

2016 Survey Findings

CAREERS INFORMATION, ADVICE AND GUIDANCEIT IS CLEAR THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A CHANGE IN HOW CAREERS INFORMATION, ADVICE AND GUIDANCE (IAG) ARE DELIVERED, BECAUSE THE PROPORTION OF RESPONDENTS SAYING THEIRS WAS ‘POOR’ OR ‘VERY POOR’ HAS REMAINED HIGH ACROSS THE THREE SURVEYS WE HAVE CONDUCTED – 37% IN 2014, 40% IN 2015 AND 35% IN 2016.

The Education Secretary herself has previously said that she sees no reason to doubt Ofsted’s finding that 80% of careers IAG is below the necessary standard even though schools have a statutory duty to provide impartial and detailed careers IAG.4 The government is introducing a new ‘anti-snobbery’ law which will compel schools to ensure that their pupils are made fully aware of all of the options open to them.

Worryingly, this year 94 survey respondents, 6% of the total, said they had not received any careers IAG at all. Just 42% of respondents found out about apprenticeships at school or college, and using one’s own initiative remains by far the most common way for a young person to discover apprenticeships. Our survey respondents are a self-selecting sample – we wonder just how many young people are not

finding out about apprenticeships in school, and how many would consider taking one up if they did.

The government has set up a new Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) – but so far its focus has been on the Enterprise element of its title. There is also the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), but awareness of it is low and as a telephone service it is delivered in a way which could deter the

Breakdown of where apprentices heard about their apprenticeships (2016)

Online research

143

590

Teacher

1789

Family member

52

260

Careers adviser

2087

Careers fair

24103

Parents’ suggestion

31148

Own initiative

100

634

Friend

47

184

JobCentre Plus

513

WWWjobcentreplus

4 https://storify.com/lauramcinerney/nicky-morgan-at-the-careers-education-select-commi8

young people who would be able to use its help. JobCentre Plus (JCP) staff are also set to link up with schools to provide information to their pupils on the local labour market, but just 18 of the 2016 survey respondents said they’d found out about their apprenticeships through JCP.

Although there are many policy changes afoot, we need cultural change, too. Evidence from elsewhere suggests that STEM teachers have low opinions of apprenticeships and lack the confidence needed to offer careers advice – according to EngineeringUK, more than half of STEM teachers have been asked for advice about engineering careers in the

last year but only a third feel confident giving such advice.5

Commitment to Continuous Professional Development (CPD) also needs to improve in order to ensure the STEM workforce keeps abreast of rapidly changing skills needs; STEM practitioners currently only undertake an average of 5 days CPD per year and only 10% of providers have staff undertaking employer work placements.6

We’re proud of the role played by IAC members in going into schools and colleges to talk about their experiences as apprentices, and we look forward to continuing this work in the years to come – 494 respondents, almost a

third of the total, said they had been into schools to talk about apprenticeships, well up on the proportion that said they had done so in last year’s survey (a quarter).

There is a concerning gender split, with almost 50% more female respondents saying they had been actively discouraged to take an apprenticeship than had been encouraged, while nearly twice as many males said they had been encouraged as said they had been discouraged.

Given the gender disparity across industry and across STEM sectors in general, further work needs to be done to discover why this is happening – we simply cannot meet industry’s demand for skills if we don’t increase the numbers of females entering it. The majority of respondents of both genders, however, said they had been neither encouraged nor discouraged.

Were you encouraged or discouraged by educators to take an apprenticeship? (2016)

Encouraged

Discouraged

Neither

330

179

63

44

762

165

5 http://www.engineeringuk.com/View/?con_id=473

6 http://semta.org.uk/images/pdf/STEM-Alliance-Evaluation-Report-Final.pdf 9

APPRENTICE POLICY AWARENESSWE THOUGHT, GIVEN THE MAJOR CHANGES BEING MADE BY THE GOVERNMENT TO APPRENTICESHIP-RELATED POLICIES, THAT THIS YEAR WE WOULD ASK RESPONDENTS TO TELL US ABOUT THEIR VIEWS ON AND AWARENESS OF POLICY ISSUES.

Some 70% of respondents are unaware of the government’s target for 3 million apprenticeship starts by 2020. It will be interesting to see whether awareness of the target will increase as this Parliament progresses and the government begins to achieve milestones on the way to hitting the target – and whether increasing numbers will have an impact on how industry apprentices perceive the apprenticeship route as a whole.

Meanwhile, despite it being set to be introduced in less than a year, 84% of survey respondents are unaware of the apprenticeship levy – a consequence, perhaps, of the government’s information and marketing push being aimed at the employers who will actually have to pay it and use the new funding system. The majority (57%) of respondents do want more information on the levy, although the caveat is that this is a self-selecting group and could be expected to be naturally more interested in policy issues than the average apprentice. Male and female respondents’ awareness of the levy and of the 3 million starts target is roughly equal.

We asked respondents which three things they wanted the government to do to boost apprenticeships. Top of the list was the inclusion of qualifications, with almost a quarter of respondents including this as one of their top three priorities. Without properly certified qualifications, industry, learners and educators can only make an educated guess as to how good any training regime might be.

Where employers want qualifications within new apprenticeship standards they can be included, and where qualifications are included within

standards the government will allow levy funding to pay for them.

Intelligence from learners and employers is very clear - we are de-skilling the sector if we do away with qualifications in apprenticeships. We need to ensure skills are transferrable and quality is embedded. Boosting careers information, advice and guidance was the second most suggested policy, which has been covered elsewhere in this report, and ensuring all apprentices have employed status was third, which is set to be implemented by government.

2016 Survey Findings

Apprentice awareness of government policies

Heard of the apprenticeship levy

Heard of the 3 million apprenticeship starts target

new

app

rent

ices

hip

star

ts210

376

3,00

0,00

038 89

10

Encouragingly, about a third of respondents to our survey would be interested in becoming an IAC member, indicating a desire to become better informed about policy and to act as an advocate for apprenticeships. This is a high proportion given the time-limited nature of an apprenticeship and the time commitment that IAC membership would involve. We would encourage every single apprentice who wants to contribute to the IAC in future to get in touch and get involved – since its formation, IAC members have had the opportunity to speak in Parliament and have engaged with thousands of young people in schools up and down the country, and former members have enjoyed their experiences.

The majority of the growth in apprenticeship starts between 2010-15 was in the 24+ age group, while the numbers of young people starting apprenticeships remained consistent.7 The IAC will do everything we can to spread the word about apprenticeships to young people.

376

238

97

255

134

Apprentice suggestions for policies to boost apprenticeships

Minimum 12 month duration

Qualifications included

Apprentices to be employed

Boost careers information, advice and guidance

Independently certify apprenticeships

Ensure apprenticeships are provided at all levels, from Level 2 – Level 6

3m target to be based on completions, not starts

148

232

12months

7 http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN06113 11

OUR FIVE POINT PLAN TO BOOST INDUSTRY APPRENTICESHIPSTHANK YOU TO EVERY APPRENTICE WHO TOOK THE TIME TO COMPLETE THE IAC ANNUAL SURVEY FOR 2016 AND TO THOSE WHO HAVE COMPLETED IT IN THE PREVIOUS TWO YEARS WE’VE RUN IT TOO.

For the first time, we have specifically asked apprentices for policy ideas and for their views on how to boost industry apprenticeships. We think that the response numbers – at 1,543 the highest yet and a 15% increase on 2015 – and the numbers of respondents expressing an interest in getting involved in the IAC (one in three) show that apprentices want to have a voice and that they care not just about their own apprenticeships, but about apprenticeships as a whole. This is very welcome – nobody is a better advertisement for and promoter of apprenticeships than an apprentice.

This year, we’ve also asked respondents for thoughts on what the IAC’s role should be in future, some of which we have liberally scattered throughout this report. Where respondents did not have any previous awareness of the IAC, many expressed a wish to learn more about us. If we can harness all of that interest and goodwill, the IAC has a bright future ahead of it.

However, ultimately it’s the government of the day that makes policy – and it’s to the government of the day that we, on behalf of survey respondents and the wider apprentice family, make the following policy recommendations.

Five Point Plan

1234512

ENSURE THAT THE QUALITY OF APPRENTICESHIPS IS PROTECTED AS THE QUANTITY INCREASES. Industry apprentices see their apprenticeships as badges of honour – and so do their employers. The government has introduced minimum standards for apprenticeships, which is welcome. However, the government must now be rigorous in ensuring that employers do not flout those standards and that employers do not offer low quality apprenticeships in a rush to recover their apprenticeship levy. The top policy ‘ask’ of respondents was for qualifications to be included, which perhaps reflects the fact that they are included in the vast majority of industry apprenticeships already. The government should consider whether this would be suitable for other sectors too, and whether mandating the inclusion of qualifications in all apprenticeships would be the right safeguard against lowering standards.

WORK WITH EMPLOYERS TO ENSURE THAT ALL YOUNG PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF THE CAREER OPTIONS OPEN TO THEM IN INDUSTRY IF THEY CHOOSE AN APPRENTICESHIP. The gender disparity in awareness of career options in industry is concerning, especially given the gender gaps that still exist across STEM sectors. Young people have to be shown that their apprenticeships will lead to a great career. The www.stemexperience.co.uk online platform offers a variety of work experience opportunities within industry for people of all ages.

REFORM CAREERS INFORMATION, ADVICE AND GUIDANCE (IAG) SO THAT YOUNG PEOPLE HEAR ABOUT ALL OF THEIR OPTIONS.The government is introducing an ‘anti-snobbery’ law, but there is no guarantee that this will in itself be enough to improve careers IAG and improve knowledge of apprenticeships amongst those helping young people to make decisions for their futures. Continuous Professional Development (CPD) must be a priority, with initiatives such as the STEM Alliance widely publicised, so that educators and careers advisors understand apprenticeships as well as they do A Levels and universities.

ENSURE EMPLOYERS OFFER PROGRESSION ROUTES TO APPRENTICES WHO ARE CAPABLE OF PURSUING THEM. The proportion of IAC survey respondents who are not offered opportunities to progress has been declining, which is welcome. An apprenticeship is a job with training, and it must be seen as a pathway to a great career. With the majority of apprenticeships being created at level 2 (GCSE equivalent) since 2010, if progression routes are not available we will not be able to move from a low-skill, low-wage economy to the high-skill, high-wage economy the government wants to create. Qualifications are one way to give apprentices evidence of their progress and to ensure skills are transferrable and quality is embedded.

CREATE A BODY TO REPRESENT APPRENTICES, SIMILAR TO THE NATIONAL UNION OF STUDENTS. The NUS does a great job for those in further and higher education, but it does not fully represent the interests of apprentices. The IAC will continue to fight for industry apprentices, but the government must consider the needs of all apprentices and must think about how they can be effectively represented.

1

2

3

4

5

13

IAC 2016 SURVEY RESULTSIndustry Apprentice Council

2016 Survey Results

e: customerservices@semta.org.uk t: 0845 643 9001 w: semta.org.uk.iac : @IAC_Apprentices @SemtaSkills @EAL_Awards

1,543survey

respondents15% morethan in 2015

2%

3%

8%

11%

76%

Logistics & operations

Building services

Rail

Other

Engineering & manufacturing

Demographic of respondents

19-2467%

Over 322%

Male82%

Female18%16-18

25%25-31

6%

Age

GenderWhat sectors do they work in?

22%of respondents rated their careersadvice as good or very good

Only

Careers advice Influencers

24%of respondents wereencouraged to undertakean apprenticeship?

impact on theirdecision

to doan apprenticeship

said a parent, guardian and/ or carer

hadthe most

71%

32%presentations on apprenticeships

careers advice orschools to deliver Have visited

90% had a goodexperienceat the school

Apprenticeship perception

primarypathwayto aim for

3% of respondents saidtheir teachers sawapprentices

as the68% said their friends and

family’s perceptions of apprenticeshipschanged since they became an apprentice

Upon completionof apprenticeship,

57%informationwant more

about theapprenticeship levy

government’s plannedapprenticeship levy

not heard of theof respondents have84% 70%

3,000,000are not aware of theGovernment target to achieve

new apprenticeship startsin the current parliament

75%said it should lead to a professionalaccreditation as standard

Only

The Industry Apprentice Council (IAC) ensures that apprentices have a real influence on policy. Semta believe apprentices themselves should have a say in the future of apprenticeships – and the IAC is our way of giving them that voice.

The IAC annual survey is designed to shape future campaigns, discussions with government and enables the IAC to put forward ideas for improving apprenticeships and suggest how apprenticeships can be more effectively promoted to young people.

Ability to earn whilelearning

was seen as the

biggest influenceon respondents' decisionto do an apprenticeship

2016 Survey Results

14

IAC MEMBERS

2016

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

IN THE IACThe IAC has the backing of some of the UK’s biggest

employers and consists of young people working in the engineering and manufacturing sectors.

If you are passionate about apprenticeships and want to get

involved in the IAC, email megan.mullen@semta.org.uk or call

0845 643 9001 to find out more.

Name OrganisationAmy Owen MBDA

Andrew Baber Chassis Cab Ltd

Andrew Fowler BAE Systems plc

Billy Boyce Caunton Engineering

Hayden Williamson KMF

James Fleming MBDA

Jayson Close Nestle

John Coombes Ford GB

Lizzie Moffatt Vauxhall Motors

Louis Chinea Ford GB

Luke Pannell Airbus

15

e: customerservices@semta.org.ukt: 0845 643 9001w: semta.org.uk

: @SemtaSkills

e: customercare@eal.org.ukt: 01923 652400w: eal.org.uk

: @EAL_Awards

CONTACT US

To request more copies of the

2016 IAC SURVEY RESEARCH REPORTemail marketing@semta.org.uk or call 0845 643 9001

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THE IAC ON TWITTER

: @IAC_Apprentices #IACSurvey