Support apprentices now or face a skills shortage warns Unite
15th April 2010
WHEN: 10am, Friday, 16 April 2010
WHERE: TUC Congress House, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B
3LS
Unite’s assistant general secretary, Tony Burke, who will
address the TUC Apprenticeship Conference tomorrow (Friday, 16
April) at Congress House, says: “The question of apprenticeships
along with the future skills needs of our country is a very
important one and very important to Unite.
“Unite has welcomed the government’s initiative on apprentices,
particularly making apprenticeships a mainstream option for 16-18
year olds alongside other training and educational routes. However,
we are not just talking about 16-18 year olds, we also need
apprenticeships for older workers.
“However, we are concerned that the careers service and some
schools don’t always push young people in the direction of
apprenticeships, with an unfortunate view that apprenticeships
particularly in manufacturing, are only on offer to 16 and 17 year
olds wearing oversized overalls and working in ‘old industries’ -
of course this isn’t the case.
“One of the main problems now for manufacturing is that with job
losses and lay-offs the skill base of the country has been
dissipated. We now have a disappearing skills base and if you take
an area such as the West Midlands, the looming skills shortage will
hamper the county’s recovery.
“We need to reskill unemployed workers and not use them as a
cheap alternative workforce and at the same time we need to
replenish skilled workforce with bright young apprentices to ensure
success for the future.”
ENDS
For more information contact Tony Burke on 07831 659939 or
Ashraf Choudhury in the Unite press office on 020 7420 7914 or
07980 224761.
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