Do you think apprenticeships should be scrapped?

because they pay 2p an hour like its not worth it and its exploitation, they pay less than minimum wage and they claim you can work your way up to a good job but you actually can’t?

Reply 1

SlaveofAll

21

Apprenticeships need only improvement, not abolition, because it can in fact be useful in situations such as native workers learning a craft or two from immigrant entrepreneurs.

Reply 2

Surnia

20

If you are being paid 2p an hour, make a formal complaint as the wage is over £4 per hour.

If you need qualifications, can you get them online or privately, or apply for a job where you can work your way up, with training and experience?

Reply 3

ThomH97

21

There are certainly exploitative apprenticeships, and they do serve as a way around paying the minimum wage. But done properly, someone who's never had a job before is going to get skills and experience to put on their CV, as well as some money. You needn't stay with that employer.

Reply 4

lucyyy12

18

Original post by Anonymous

because they pay 2p an hour like its not worth it and its exploitation, they pay less than minimum wage and they claim you can work your way up to a good job but you actually can’t?

no, some of my friends have had good ones and got good pay and a job at the end of it.
one of my mates actually just bought himself a house, while I'm a broke uni student living at home haha.

you just have to avoid the exploitative apprenticeships and do your research before you apply.

Reply 5

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by Surnia

If you are being paid 2p an hour, make a formal complaint as the wage is over £4 per hour.

If you need qualifications, can you get them online or privately, or apply for a job where you can work your way up, with training and experience?

i’m exaggerating a bit but just saying the pay is not great, in fact worse than these kickstart scheme jobs that pay minimum wage.

I currently have a kickstart scheme job, and they are for young people claiming universal credit and at risk of long term unemployment, this is my first ever job and my employment and training officer helping me with job applications and shes recommending I do an apprenticeship rather than a full time job because with a full time job I would need to learn the skills myself and can’t guarantee the job will be from home and may be rubbish pay, and with an apprenticeship they will teach me the skills and “can work my way up”. but apprenticeships pay less than minimum wage so how is that good? Ultimately its up to me whether I do an apprenticeship or not
Do you recommend I do an apprenticeship or get a full time job after?

Reply 6

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by lucyyy12

no, some of my friends have had good ones and got good pay and a job at the end of it.
one of my mates actually just bought himself a house, while I'm a broke uni student living at home haha.

you just have to avoid the exploitative apprenticeships and do your research before you apply.

so how would I know which apprenticeships are exploitative? is it the ones with really rubbish pay? like weekly wage would be roughly over £100?

Reply 7

Anonymous #2

Done correctly, they can be an investment in a richly rewarding career. Also, you need to consider that a teenager with few qualifications and no skills is actually a disruptive drain on a company until they come up to speed.

I would like them to be pitched more at technical and vocational skills rather than general business and retail skills that could have purely on the job training.

Reply 8

RS heritage

3

It's shmucks who should be scrapped

Reply 9

username4838152

20

Original post by Anonymous

i’m exaggerating a bit but just saying the pay is not great, in fact worse than these kickstart scheme jobs that pay minimum wage.

I currently have a kickstart scheme job, and they are for young people claiming universal credit and at risk of long term unemployment, this is my first ever job and my employment and training officer helping me with job applications and shes recommending I do an apprenticeship rather than a full time job because with a full time job I would need to learn the skills myself and can’t guarantee the job will be from home and may be rubbish pay, and with an apprenticeship they will teach me the skills and “can work my way up”. but apprenticeships pay less than minimum wage so how is that good? Ultimately its up to me whether I do an apprenticeship or not
Do you recommend I do an apprenticeship or get a full time job after?

The pay is low to entice employers to take on apprentices I think.

Reply 10

username4838152

20

Original post by Anonymous

so how would I know which apprenticeships are exploitative? is it the ones with really rubbish pay? like weekly wage would be roughly over £100?

Some of them are scams. Anything like 'team member' is usually is a scam. Just read the descriptions really. If it is actually directed towards a proper useful qualification or trade then its probably legit but some of them are very clearly they are just doing it so they have someone to do work that they should actually list as a job and pay min wage for.

Also I really wouldn't fixate on the pay as generally a large proportion of the apprenticeships pay around the same (apprentice rate). The apprentice rate is £4.30 in the first year. If you are 19 or over, after your first year of being an apprentice, you are entitled to min wage.

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 11

lucyyy12

18

Original post by Anonymous

so how would I know which apprenticeships are exploitative? is it the ones with really rubbish pay? like weekly wage would be roughly over £100?

I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s the ones with low pay, because if they do give you a job at the end they’ll increase your pay. If you’re an apprentice you’re pay will be low anyway as you are training. They can’t pay you as much as someone who is fully qualified.
I’d say just do as much research as you can into the company, and how they treat apprentices. A lot of companies use them for cheap labour and then finish them at the end of the training. But some train them so that they can work specifically for their company so obviously would give them a job.
I’d say though after a few months of doing an apprenticeship somewhere you should get a good feel for how they are treating you.
Also think about how transferable your skills would be after your apprenticeship. An apprenticeship in a trade like plumbing, building, electrician would be decent for example as you could work for an other company or set up your own business. A qualification in something more obscure may be harder to find work in.

Reply 12

StriderHort

21

You'll find spivs in every sector, you want to ban every sector they're in? :tongue:

Reply 13

Anonymous #1

OP

Original post by StriderHort

You'll find spivs in every sector, you want to ban every sector they're in? :tongue:

define spivs

Reply 14

StriderHort

21

Original post by Anonymous

define spivs

Well Oxford definition is "A man, typically a flashy dresser, who makes a living by disreputable dealings."

But i'm using it specifically to describe the sort of con man/woman who uses people that don't know any better for free/cheap labour while filling their heads with nonsense about false opportunities. These are the people taking advantage of apprentices and the programs (and volunteers, and part timers, and zero hours staff...)

Do you think apprenticeships should be scrapped?

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