Construction union UCATT are calling on the Government to take urgent action to ensure that apprenticeships do not continue to be devalued, following revelations of abuses in existing schemes. The problems in apprentice training were uncovered in a Panorama programme.

UCATT has previously warned that policies which allowed for the subcontracting of apprentice programmes and the creation of apprentice training agencies (ATA's), would devalue training and lead to a reduction in the skills being taught.

The Panorama programme also raised serious safety concerns, as private training providers were "signing off" apprentices who had not been assessed and had not completed the training. Apprentices could then apply for permanent positions and the company employing them would believe that their skills and knowledge were far higher than was the case.

Steve Murphy, General Secretary of UCATT, said: "Unless apprentices are directly employed by a company and have their education managed by a fully accredited college, then there is always going to be a fundamental problem with apprenticeship training. Private sector providers will invariably cut corners to boost profits. This creates real safety concerns as companies then employ someone who they believe is properly skilled and understands construction dangers when that is clearly not the case."

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UCATT have also argued that only traditional craft based schemes, where the apprentice is employed by a company, undertakes at-work training, supplemented by college education, should be counted as apprenticeships in Government figures. Apprentices should always have the option to study for an NVQ Level 3 and not just receive funding for an NVQ Level 2.

The number of construction apprentices has been declining for decades and continued to fall even when the industry was booming. Factors which have led to the decline in the number of apprentices include short term considerations by construction companies and high levels of false self-employment.

UCATT is campaigning for the number of construction apprentices to be increased by the introduction of public sector procurement policies that would require companies who work on government contracts to train apprentices. Companies who failed to train apprentices would not be eligible for such work. The previous Labour Government were introducing such policies, particularly in the building of new council housing. Since the election of the Conservative-led Government in 2010, policies linking apprentice training with procurement have been dropped.

Mr Murphy, added: "Apprentice training is the lifeblood of the construction industry. Apprentices are the workers of the future. If their training continues to be devalued then ultimately the industry will suffer. The lassiez faire approach to apprenticeship training has failed and the Government must force construction companies to recruit apprentices on proper courses."

(CD)