The skills shortage may be easing but apprenticeships should be encouraged at all ages to create high calibre candidates, Rolls Royce is urging.

Speaking on the first day of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development’s HRD conference in London, the manufacturer’s executive vice president of human resources – operations and UK employment and skills policy, Margaret Gildea (pictured), said today: “Apprenticeships have to be delivered by employers but encouraged by central government, and they should be available to any age including beyond 25.”

Also a member of the board of the Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing (SEMTA), Gildea acknowledged the difficulty some people had in getting access to government training funds.

She said: “The skills landscape is a nightmare when it comes to try to get money, and we are working to make it simpler for people to get funding for training.” However, despite the skills shortage, Rolls Royce had had more than 5,000 graduates applying this year for 200 places so the calibre of candidates for apprenticeships was high.

“We are very impressed with the candidates coming out of schools. Many have strong employability skills and they tend to show strong evidence of commercial skills.”

She added that, by supporting young enterprise through apprenticeships from an early age, Rolls Royce was developing individuals who were able to solve problems when they arose.

“We encourage young enterprise because it really encourages people to make something of themselves. The key to their learning is that, when things go pear shaped, they find they need to work together to solve the problems.”

Terry Randall, chief executive of ‘v’, a youth volunteer charity, also spoke at the seminar. She challenged the idea that the skills shortage is as bad as some people believe: “Both the government and the media are talking up graduate unemployment, which is leading many graduates to miss opportunities because they believe there is no work for them. Many graduate assessment centres have had to stay open longer as a result of that, not as a result of a skills shortage.”

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