Do Engineering Apprenticeships Need to be More Flexible?

The lack of skilled workers is costing the engineering industry an estimated £1.5billion a year, with 71% of engineering employers citing lack of technical skills as the reason behind their difficulty in filling roles.

A once bustling industry has become aged due to the changed societal perceptions of the industry, with fewer young people taking STEM subjects as part of their further education. This has had a profound impact on the industry, which is set for apocalyptical scale problems with 20% of the workforce set to be at retirement age in 2026.

Apprenticeships have long been a way to combat this problem, with the practical pathway being the ideal solution to teaching skills, particularly niche ones, in the workplace alongside the classroom learning. 

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Fixed Starts

One issue reported by many engineering companies is the requirement for September starts. This is the traditional academic method of delivery, where each new cohort starts in September to align with a set curriculum. 

On many occasions I have spoken to engineering companies who start the process of taking on an apprentice too late, and then are met with a 10 month wait before their apprentice can start their course, a delay which takes away all of the momentum.

In an industry facing huge skills shortages we need to look at ways we can be more flexible and take innovative approaches to upskilling.

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Flexible Starts

One way to do this is to look into flexible starts, or what is sometimes called in industry, Roll On/Roll Off apprenticeships. 

Essentially these are where the apprenticeship can start at any time in the year, and the provider moulds the curriculum around that start date, often not starting the apprenticeship curriculum still until September, but using the time before to teach some of the other skills and qualifications required for the programme.

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Implementation

You may be thinking it sounds like a fantastic idea, why isn’t this standard practice?
Well it can be very taxing to implement if you are a college with a veritable smorgasbord of qualifications on offer, and little room for such flexibility. However, there are specialist independent training providers out there who are able to provide a more innovative approach with more resources to hand.

One of those is The Growth Company who have developed a flexible curriculum to allow new starters all year long. 

This has a hugely positive impact on local business, allowing them to access new apprenticeship starts without waiting for the next September cohort.

This approach is surprisingly rare within engineering, and shows commitment to positive change by the provider. 

It is a kind of flexibility that should be championed more often in STEM fields to generate growth, as employers often find it difficult when faced with rigid formats often presented by providers.

One of the employers that has benefitted from this curriculum is Keolis Amey Metrolink, who have had over 20 apprentices come through with the provider. Lorraine Chillingworth (Learning & Development Manager) sees The Growth Company as a valuable partner, particularly within the engineering sector, highlighting the consistently strong progress all of their apprentices have made. Quite simply she hails the experience with The Growth Company as transformative.
An outstanding case study for the benefits flexibility can bring.

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Summary

It is fantastic to see such innovation in the engineering apprenticeship sector, and the hope that many more providers look at this as inspiration for bridging those skills gaps we are seeing become larger by the day.

To find out  more about The Growth Company, take a look at their profile here: https://www.findatrainingprovider.co.uk/profile/the-growth-company-limited

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