Finding a job is the real skill

APPRENTICESHIPS. They're not just about a job, they're about your future.

That is what it says on the cover of the Learning and Skills Council's glossy local brochure. As if to reinforce the aspirational message, there is an uplifting logo - something that looks vaguely like a bird about to take wing and soar.

Adam Miller is not bothered about the uplifting message or the smart logo. All he wants is a job. And he can't get one.

The 17-year-old former Tadcaster Grammar pupil from Copmanthorpe has spent two years studying car maintenance at York College. To complete his NVQ and get a qualification worth having, he needs a local garage to take him on as an apprentice. Then he could acquire the practical skills to go with his theoretical knowledge.

But he can't find one - and it's not for want of trying.

The teenager has been looking for a garage to take him on since he began his full-time college motor vehicle progression course. "I've lost count of the number of garages I've applied to," he says. "Sometimes there are ads in the paper, so I ring them up or send a CV and covering letter. Sometimes I go and knock on the door.

"Most of the time, they say the same thing. They're not looking for someone - or they're looking for someone with more experience."

With Britain experiencing massive shortages in skilled craftsmen in areas as diverse as plumbing, electricians, bricklayers and motor mechanics (try getting hold of a plumber to fix a leaky tap), promoting modern apprenticeships has become a Government priority.

The brochure from the Learning and Skills Council is upbeat. It is full of smiling faces and a breathtaking list of the kinds of career an apprenticeship can lead to - everything from hairdressing to being a lab technician, a carpenter, a cook or working with animals.

It is also sprinkled with on-message quotes from the happy young apprentices pictured. "When I'm 21, I'll have a BMW, a great qualification and no university debt," says one 17-year-old doing an advanced apprenticeship in engineering.

Nothing wrong with being aspirational - but does the reality of modern apprenticeships live up to the hype?

For those fortunate enough to find an employer to take them on, perhaps. For Adam Miller, however, it is all hugely frustrating.

There is nothing he loves more than opening the bonnet of his Vauxhall Nova and getting his hands covered in oil. He he is desperate to make a career as a mechanic. "My lecturer said I was one of the best on the course," he says. "It's what I enjoy and what I want to do. But it is off-putting when you keep getting turned away."

Adam isn't alone. The Evening Press has been contacted by a number of young people or their parents who report that, while there is no problem doing basic training at college, they cannot find anyone to take them on as apprentices. Christopher Lyon, 20, from Haxby has been accepted on several college training courses yet cannot find a plumber who will give him an apprenticeship.

It can be soul-destroying, admits Kevin Clancy, head of the construction crafts programme at York College which trains young people going into the construction industry. This is especially so for youngsters who spend a year or two at college only to find they cannot take their training further.

It is doubly frustrating because, with a bouyant economy fuelling a construction boom, there are massive shortages of skilled craftsmen such as plumbers, bricklayers and electricians. These shortages are only going to get worse. "The average age of craftspeople now is about 50. These people are coming to the end of their working lives and we're not replacing them," says Kevin.

So what is going wrong? We need more skilled craftsmen, and yet there are young people queuing up for apprenticeships who simply cannot get them.

One problem is lack of incentive for employers - especially small employers - to take on apprentices.

One York plumber, who did not wish to be named, admitted it was years since he had employed an apprentice. He does not have the time to train up a youngster, he says - especially when the likelihood was he would leave once he had his qualifications.

James Booth, another York plumber who runs his own plumbing business as well as a plumbers' training centre, Clifton Moor-based PPL Training, agrees. "The main disadvantage of taking on an apprentice is the fact that you're training somebody to do a job, and in three years time they're going to be setting up against you," he says.

That can make it difficult for youngsters, he says. At PPL, his training centre, he only takes on older apprentices, aged 25-plus, but he knows how many younger people there are desperate to find a place. His plumbing business receives 50 or 60 letters a year from young applicants. "There just aren't that many places available in York," he says.

Employers are also discouraged from taking on apprentices by having to release them for college-based training, even while they continue paying their wages.

It all adds up to a big burden, particularly for small employers.

Many big local employers, such as Portakabin and Persimmon, have no problem taking on apprentices, says Kevin Clancy. It is the small employers who need more incentive.

York College has built up a strong relationship with local employers and is happy to contact them on behalf of students, cold-calling on the phone and visiting in person to see if there are vacancies or to recommend a particular student.

Often, that approach pays dividends for the employer and apprentice - but if employers are not willing to take anyone on, there is little the college can do.

Kevin would like to see some kind of financial incentive available from the Government, especially to smaller employers, to employ an apprentice.

"That would make it much more attractive," he says. "We are in the hands of the employers. If they are not taking people on, there is nothing we can do except provide basic training."

Not everything is doom and gloom, however. Many youngsters do win apprenticeships and go on to carve out good careers.

Stuart Gall, service manager and head of the apprenticeship scheme at Turnbulls Mazda in York, admits it is not easy to get taken on as an apprentice mechanic, but says matters have started to improve in the past couple of years.

His advice to young people such as Adam is to keep on trying. It is important to show willing, even offering to work free of charge for a while to show what you can do.

"Keep on trying, keep on knocking on those doors," he says. "One day somebody is going to say 'yeah, go on then'. And once you get in, this is a good career. Get to be a master technician, and you can ask for whatever money you want!"

Now there's an incentive if ever there was one.

If your child has been studying with the Construction Crafts programme at York College and has been unable to find an employer to take them on as an apprentice, the college is happy to offer advice. Call the Construction Crafts support office on 01904 770464.

:: Taking people on

THE Learning and Skills Council (LSC) admits it "can prove difficult" to find an employer to take on apprentices, especially in popular construction trades such as plumbing.

Thanks to a national shortage, plumbing has become "an increasingly lucrative career option and thus increasingly attractive to applicants," says Paul Grierson, director of learning at the LSC in North Yorkshire. "Training places, employer placements and jobs are therefore filled quickly."

The problem is compounded by most potential employers in the area being small. Often, they "do not have the capacity to recruit and support apprentices".

Nevertheless, there are many advantages to employers taking on an apprentice, including:

Better trained employees

Motivated and loyal workers

Financial support for training costs

The opportunity to grow your business

:: How to get help

THE Learning and Skills Council has a helpline for young people considering an apprenticeship: 0800 515547. A website - www.apprenticeships.org.uk - has advice on everything from how to apply to what kinds of job opportunities there are, the qualifications needed and how long an apprenticeship will take.

The LSC's North Yorkshire office has its own glossy brochure, with details of local training organisations such as York and Selby Colleges and the York Training Centre. Call 0800 515547 for a copy.

The LSC admits that with apprenticeships becoming more popular, demand for places can be tough. No one is automatically guaranteed a place, it says. Applicants have to "convince people to take you on" in the same way as if applying for a job.

Nevertheless, last year in England there were more than 255,000 young people training in more than 150 different kinds of apprenticeship.

York College has had success placing youngsters as apprentices with local employers. These include:

11 apprentices working for Portakabin Ltd in York

Four work-based training employees from Taylors of Harrogate, who have successfully completed an advanced apprenticeship in engineering maintenance.

Updated: 09:56 Thursday, July 21, 2005