Institute for Employment Research » IER News & blogs (tag [apprenticeship])

Event: Apprenticeship Levy–Five Years On

Mon, 16 May 2022 16:15:00 GMT

Professor Terence Hogarth and Peter Dickinson will present their report ‘Apprenticeships, Reforms and COVID-19 Findings’ from IER’s research on vocational education and training to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Apprenticeships on Tuesday, 17 May, 3.00 to 4.00 pm.

Discover more about the event and how to register here.

IER research used to inform apprenticeship pay setting

Wed, 16 Dec 2020 18:29:00 GMT

The Low Pay Commission's Report 2020 was launched on 9th December 2020, and was used to set National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates for 2020/21 as announced by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak on 25th November 2020.

IER's report 'How Employers Set Pay For Apprentices' involved a multivariate analysis of apprenticeship pay data, and 30 case study interviews with employers delivering apprenticeship frameworks where low pay was greatest.

The study found that the minimum wage for apprentices applied almost exclusively to new recruits rather than existing employees, who were paid their existing rate for the job. For new recruits, few employers paid the apprentice minimum wage. Instead they added a bonus: as a recognition of the apprentices contribution to the business; out of 'fairness' as part of a Corporate Responsibility; and due to wider market rates either as a result of market forces or because of occupation or sector wide agreed pay rates. The NMW apprentice rate was most likely to be used in those sectors where fully qualified workers were paid the NMW age rate in order to maintain differentials.

What might happen to Apprenticeships in England during the Covid-19 economic downturn? Blog by Terence Hogarth and Lynn Gambin*

Mon, 27 Jul 2020 18:03:00 GMT

Are apprenticeships in peril?

Apprentices are employees of the companies that train them. It stands to reason that if employment falls then the number of apprentices will fall. But looking back to the 2008 economic crisis, it is apparent that the number of apprentices actually increased, in large measure due to the apprenticeship programme expanding its occupational coverage. This time around it looks as if apprenticeships will have little fertile ground to feed any further expansion. Other things being equal it seems reasonable to expect the number of apprentices to show a potentially precipitous fall, at least over the short-term.

Gatsby Report on Employer Demand for STEM Apprenticeships

Thu, 24 Mar 2016 16:30:52 GMT

A new report by Lynn Gambin and Terence Hogarth looks at the demand for STEM apprenticeships, the costs and risks incurred by employers taking on apprentices and how these might be mitigated. The report, drawing on evidence from studies carried out by IER since the mid-1990s, highlights that there is demand in the UK labour market for intermediate-level STEM skills which Apprenticeships can help to meet. They note that STEM Apprenticeships can offer substantial returns to individuals and employers, however, the cost to the employer for this form of training is relatively high. Estimates indicate that, at the end of the training period, an employer that has delivered a Level 3 Engineering Apprenticeship will have incurred a net cost of around £40,000. It can take an employer around three years after the end of formal training period to recoup this investment. The report also considers how the employer's risk on investing might be reduced and more employers thus encouraged to take on apprentices. You can now download the full report, Employer Investment in Intermediate-level STEM Skills: how employers manage the investment risk associated with Apprenticeships.

BIS Report on Technical Apprenticeships

Fri, 04 Apr 2014 14:39:22 GMT

A report on the demand for and supply of technical apprenticeships was published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on 31st March 2014. The report, entitled Research into the need for and capacity to provide technical apprenticeships in England, was co-authored by Terence Hogarth and Lynn Gambin from IER and researchers from Sheffield Hallam University.

The report suggests that there is a lean system of skills supply in place for technician-type skills. Supply and demand are currently finely balanced with employers expressing concern that that any marked increase in demand, which may arise as a consequence of the economic recovery and the commissioning of major infrastructure projects, may result in the emergence of skills shortages.

The study involved interviews with employers, training providers and various stakeholders across England and considers a number of industrial sectors where technical apprenticeships comprise an important part of skills development.

More on IER's programme of research on apprenticeships can be found at: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/research/apprenticeships-training

Measuring additionality in apprenticeships - new report by Cambridge Econometrics and IER

Fri, 18 Oct 2013 15:43:57 GMT

A new report by Cambridge Econometrics and Terence Hogarth and Lynn Gambin at the Warwick Institute for Employment Research has been published. The report, commissioned and published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) considers how the value added by government investment in Apprenticeships should be measured. The report explores how existing datasets can be used to improve understanding of additionality in apprenticeships and especially considers surveys which have become available since earlier research on this issue. Recommendations about further (cost-effective) data collection and analysis are also set out.

The full report can be downloaded from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measuring-additionality-in-apprenticeships

IER Response to the Richard Review of Apprenticeships

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 16:07:35 GMT

A statement by Terence Hogarth and Lynn Gambin put together in response to the Richard Review of Apprenticeships has been published in the latest issue of the NIACE Adults Learning journal (along with statements from a number of other experts in this area). The report is available here.

Apprenticeships worth more to employers than they cost

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 09:28:50 GMT

Research by IER's Terence Hogarth and Lynn Gambin has been cited in the Richard Review, a report on the future of apprenticeships published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Work in this area, carried out by IER over the past 15 years, has demonstrated that apprenticeships are more beneficial to employers and employees than any other vocational training programme.

BIS Reports on Apprenticeships

Tue, 15 May 2012 11:06:18 GMT

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has today published three reports on Apprenticeships, co-authored by IER and IFF Research.

The reports detail findings from research undertake by IER and IFF using the Apprentice Learner Survey of 5,000 apprentices and provide evidence of the real value of apprenticeships.

Employer investment in apprenticeships and workplace learning: the fifth net benefits of training to employers study

Evaluation of apprenticeships: employers

Evaluation of apprenticeships: learners

IER welcomes Dr Kelly Kuang and Sophie Perdrix

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:36:10 GMT

This week IER welcomes Dr Kelly Kuang and Sophie Perdrix who will be working and collaborating with Professor Alan Brown and Professor Jenny Bimrose.

Dr Kelly Kuang is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Vocational and Adult Education at East China Normal University. Kelly will be spending a year at the Institute, supported by a China Council Scholarship. Her research interests are focused on tertiary vocational education and training, in particular workplace learning/work based learning, modern apprenticeship and comparative studies of vocational education and training.

Sophie Perdrix is a doctoral student in the field of vocational psychology and career counselling at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. She has been working for three years on an empirical longitudinal study investigating the effectiveness of a career counselling intervention. She will be visiting the Institute until the middle of January.