"Dramatic rethink" needed over apprentice funding

Monday 22 October 2018

"Deep concern and disappointment" is how one construction industry professional has described the proposed changes to the States of Guernsey Apprenticeship Scheme run by the College of Further Education.

Denis Riddell used to work there, as the College's Head of Construction, and he is now the Labour Manager for J.W.Rihoy & Son Ltd.

He said he felt compelled to write to express his opinion following the recent release of proposals for changing the way the courses are run and funded, which have been met with wider concern from the construction industry.

The proposals continue to be discussed between the Guernsey Building Trades Employers Association and the College itself, with both sides agreeing to disagree on certain aspects of the review, while also agreeing "it's imperative" they work together to come up with solution.

Pictured: Louise Misselke is the principal of the College of FE. 

The disagreement came when a review released earlier this month suggesting cutting the States funded grant available to employers who take on apprentices through the College of FE's courses.

That is the fifth of five key findings of the review: 

1. Additional industry sectors would benefit from apprenticeships.
2. Employers want to work closely wit the College in the recruitment, and would welcome a partnered approach to applications. 
3. A fast-track option for apprentices to earn their qualifications.
4. Level two qualifications in English and Maths should be a requirement. 
5. The financial grant needs to remain available. 

It was suggested the grant be simplified to a standardised amount of £1,500 per year for the first two years of an apprenticeship. 

All employers who already have an apprentice (including those that enrolled in September 2018) will stay on the old grant aid model until they've qualified.

When the proposals were first announced the GBTEA said it "had not been made aware of the more than halving in the level of grant that was proposed for apprentices undertaking 4-year vocational courses commencing in 2019." Since then further meetings have been held between the two sides.

Now, Mr Riddell has said that he is concerned at the proposals, which he said could damage the scheme that all previous Principals of the College of FE have desribed as the “Jewel in the Crown” of course provision.

"It has been hailed as a most successful tool of education and training. Through the scheme, young people have been assured a genuine career structure. For Guernsey, we now have genuine home-grown craftsman as well as developing future leaders and managers in construction," said Mr Riddell.

He said many former College apprentices are now "leading figures in our industry" which should be seen as proof of how good the apprenticeship scheme has been.

Through his past attachment to the British Association of Construction Heads, Mr Riddell said he knows that Guernsey’s scheme has been seen by others as "probably the best in the world for vision and sustainability through 'thick and thin' of any economic change. It is also worth mentioning that our Apprenticeship Scheme is envied by our very close neighbours, who are known to have quoted 'our model' when trying to address their skill shortages."

Mr Riddell believes the proposals will "decimate the funding available for the Construction Industry Apprenticeship Scheme and re-allocate those funds to other sectors," including retail, dental nursing, veterinary care and a variety of other things.

While he doesn't disagree that those courses may be needed, he said additional funding should be provided, rather than be taken away from the existing courses.

"The current plan is to 'rob Peter to pay Paul' by reducing funding to a tried and tested winner. Then to re allocate to other sectors, the demand for which and benefit from these funds is entirely unsubstantiated. This thinking is badly flawed. 

"The claim has been made that consultation has taken place. This certainly hasn’t been with the Construction Industry, or its industry representative bodies (The CIF, CIOB, GBTEA or Professional Associations). There has been almost no credible consultation whatsoever. The first we knew of the removal of funding, was the bombshell which was dropped at the meeting of all employers on Monday 8 October 2018 at the Performing Arts Centre."

Mr Riddell has also raised further concerns about the lack of direct communication between the construction industry and the College of FE. He claims that since the former Apprenticeship Scheme Manager, Alma Harradine, retired, the lines of communication have closed.

"The very likely outcome, is that cuts to funding of the grant paid to employers, will result in fewer apprentices in the trades."

Mr Riddell thinks cutting grants will mean fewer apprentices entering fewer trades, which will lead to the destruction of the local construction industry.

"We all depend entirely on our locally qualified tradesmen for housing, plumbing & heating, electrical work, carpentry, décor, blocklaying, bricklaying, plastering etc. A busy construction industry will probably have to import those skills in the future. This is because the good days when we trained our own young tradesmen to a very high standard will be behind us."

Pictured: Construction firms say they may not be able to continue using apprentices under the proposed grant system. 

Further meetings are expected to be held between the representative body, the GBTEA and the College of FE. Mr Riddell said he and others are hoping those meetings will result in a change of heart and a rethink over the grants available in the future.

"This whole ill-conceived plan needs to be revisited. A proper consultation process should be embarked upon, not simply the odd cursory meeting, held so a box may be ticked.

"It may well be that some economies and belt tightening measures are required but not the complete removal of all support funding in one go. To clarify, any future grant will be subject to a means test and may be available, at a lower level, for a much reduced period.  

"There is a grave danger of destroying or seriously damaging one of the most successful services that the College of FE provides to local youngsters and industry.

"A dramatic re-think is required."