House of Commons launch for apprentice society and membership card

A society for apprentices with a discount card for members has been launched to boost the status of skills-based training.

The Apprentice Society and its membership card are being billed as a skills-based equivalent to the National Union of Students and its NUS Extra card.

Skills minister John Hayes MP launched the card at a reception at the House of Commons on Wednesday (23).

The reception was opened by member for Harlow Robert Halfon, whose apprentice, Andy Huckle, is among the first to serve with an MP.

Hayes said the apprentice card would tackle a perceived gap in prestige between academic and skills-based qualifications. 

"When you cease to be an undergraduate, you have a chance to become a post-graduate. When you finish your apprenticeship, you're an ex-apprentice.

"I want to further that. Let's have a vocational route as rigorous, as robust, as recognised and as seductive as the path that Robert and I trod," he said.

The government is investing £500m in apprenticeships and work placements in a bid to raise the number of apprentice starts in the UK to 400,000 a year.

Huckle, 20, told Training Journal he hoped to begin a degree in international relations at the University of East Anglia when he finishes his apprenticeship with Halfon.

"I was working with a small business in Harlow making aircraft labels. I saw Robert's advert for an apprentice in the local newspaper and thought I would go for it.

"I'd started A-levels, but I was 17 years old, just out of school, and I didn't have a lot of dedication or commitment. I preferred to have a job with a salary, but I didn't see any prospects in the job I was in. "I've always loved politics, but I'd never thought of working at the House of Commons.

"My main role is dealing with correspondence from constituents, doing research and finding information to answer questions and for debates. I've developed skills in public speaking, speech writing, research, and ICT. By doing the apprenticeship, I've realised I do want to go to university," he said.

Huckle finishes his apprenticeship in one month's time when he sits the last of six exams in his bid to gain an NVQ level three qualification in business administration.

Halfon, who developed the Apprentice Society and card with the NUS, told guests at the House of Commons launch that one in four young people in Germany started an apprenticeship, compared to just one in ten in England.

"The biggest problem we have had in this country is that apprenticeships have not been seen as prestigious.

"If you go to university, it's seen as wonderful and you get your name in the local newspaper. If you start an apprenticeship, it's much harder. If we are going to get more apprentices, we have to change that culture. You change the culture by increasing the prestige," he said.

Training providers including PERA, Kaplan and Harlow College of Further Education were among those signed up to support apprenticeships, he added, placing young people with blue chip companies including Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Sainsbury and Next.

Richard Grice, managing director of Pera, said: "When you look at our European competitors, what we see is a commitment to apprenticeships and job-based training that we have lost over previous decades.

"The challenge we providers face is to make sure that all apprenticeships are seen as a serious alternative to non-vocational learning and to do that we must demonstrate that they deliver real tangible benefits, putting to rest the ghosts of the failed YTS scheme."

Shane Chowen, NUS vice president (further education), added: "The huge growth in both the demand for and provision of apprenticeships demonstrates the benefit they bring to employers and hundreds of thousands of apprentices but also the need to ensure a joined up national support network and access to life-enhancing benefits.

"The NUS has been working closely with politicians and employers to improve the benefits and support available to apprentices and the National Society of Apprentices and Apprentice Card will provide ground-breaking access to discounts, events and advice for work-based learners across the country."

Picture courtesy of Alex Jones, NUS.