Young males who have undertaken Apprenticeships have earned on average 7% more by the age of 30 than those who did not – regardless of whether the non-Apprentices had high academic qualifications. This was the headline conclusion of research undertaken by the Demos thinktank on behalf of the Foyer Federation and published as part of the Federation’s new report ‘Access all Areas’. The research also found that young people who took Apprenticeships were more confident, happy and skilled by the time they were aged 30 than their non-Apprentice contemporaries. It added that disadvantaged young people were more confident in their ability to solve problems, learn new skills and work in a team. Apprenticeships also resulted in significant increases in incomes, though only for males. Young women who undertook Apprenticeships did not benefit financially as much as men, indicating, says the Federation, that more focus should go into making sure women have the same opportunities to progress through the workplace as men. Julia Margo, the director of Demos, commented: “It’s time to stop peddling the myth that A Levels are the gold standard. Apprenticeships offer experience, a wage and the social contacts that are crucial to get on in life. Rigging A Levels so more emphasis is put on exams, rather than coursework, won’t help. Young people need training to help them operate in the workplace, not qualifications that prepare them to fail.” The ‘Access all Areas’ report can be downloaded here: http://www.foyer.net/pdf/Foyer_access_all_areas_v6.pdf.

Article taken from ‘ALP Countdown Issue 485, 8^th September 2010’.