Jane Dudman explains how young people in Newham have the chance to
be apprentices in a scheme to lessen the blow of the IT skills
shortage
Gary Blundell is 16. He has his GCSE results. But he also has
something better - a job designing Web pages which he loves. And
day-release training in graphic design at a local college.
Blundell is lucky. He is an apprentice: a form of training for
post-16, non-academic young people that used to be a pathway into
secure employment. Such schemes were ravaged by declines in the
UK's manufacturing and engineering industry. "I was surprised when
I got this job," admits Blundell. "I wasn't keen on school. I've
been interested in computers since I was 10 years old."
Blundell now earns just over £7,000, working as a trainee Web
designer for marketing agency YoYo in Leamington Spa. "The money is
fine," says Blundell. "They are teaching me design basics and the
work they do is fascinating."
The Government wants to there to be more apprentices like
Blundell, helping to plug the skills gap and providing employment
and training opportunities. It is now five years since the previous
government launched its Modern Apprenticeship scheme. Thousands of
young people have received jobs and training. But there have been
problems. The independent Training Standards Council recently told
the Government that employers were deterred from taking on
apprentices because they cannot rely on funding.
The idea of taking on raw recruits to plug shortages has had
mixed reactions from IT directors. Earlier this year, Computer
Weekly found that 83% of IT managers would welcome trainees into
departments under the Modern Apprenticeship scheme. Those who had
already taken on trainees found them motivated, enthusiastic and
flexible. But some managers warned that they would only take people
with basic IT skills.
Richard Steel, head of IT at Newham Council, has pioneered a
joint venture with Bull to provide IT training for unemployed young
people in the borough under the Government's New Deal Scheme. He
believes managers who apply the same inflexible approach to young
trainees as to taking on fully-qualified staff are missing the
point. "Someone who is late to an interview and inappropriately
dressed would disqualify them in many companies," he points out.
"But you have to look deeper. If you overcome those difficulties,
we find they are capable, enthusiastic young people, who become
ambassadors for the organisation. Potential employers say there is
not the staff-base available, but we believe they are not looking
thoroughly."
There are other social implications when taking on
youngeremployees. Project teams at EDS took on 51 young people in
1997 under the scheme. They have had to be careful not to take
minors to the pub, often an informal part of graduate training.
Insurance giant Norwich Union is another corporate to have taken
on apprentices. Not all companies are prepared to take on people as
young as 16 though. HP is trialling a scheme, but the minimum age
is 18. "We wanted to find a balance between people coming onto the
scheme, but who would be useful to us in two or three years' time.
We felt if they were only 16 years old when they came on the course
that might not be the case," comments HP UK education consultant
Babita Ash, the project manager.
The first 22 entrants started on the two-year scheme in
November. The course is a mix of on-the-job training and
block-release study at Bracknell and Wokingham Colleges. To
qualify, entrants need five GCSEs at grade C or above. These are
the exam results to enable a young person to get onto most A-level
courses. So why join HP, rather than go on to do A levels?"As well
as gaining academic qualifications, people will learn to do a job
in the real world," comments Ash. "Also, they will be getting a
salary. We hope this will be an attractive entry point into
HP."
The trainees earn £12,000 during their two-year training and
will then be offered a permanent job at HP. A starting salary of
£18,000 will probably follow in areas like engineering, where the
job market is competitive.
Newham's New Deal
In October 1999, Newham Council set up a joint venture with Bull
Information Systems to try an innovative way to improve IT services
to overcome the IT skills shortage and enhance employment
prospects.
The two organisations have created a jointly-owned firm called
New Deal IT Services. It provides services to Newham and trains
local young people in IT skills. "We were suffering from a skills
shortage, so we looked to develop the local workforce and lower IT
support costs," explains Richard Steel, head of IT at Newham.
Under the scheme, 15 people in their early 20s were taken on.
They are paid the minimum wage of about £7,000 a year and receive
training towards qualifying as Microsoft Certified Systems
Engineers. They also work in support for Newham and other
employers.
Newham has benefited from lower costs and improved IT services,
says Steel. It is also directly helping to improve the supply of
more rounded support staff. "Traditional IT support is
compartmentalised. We are trying to take trainees through
everything so they have more rounded, hybrid skills."
There is considerable competition for places, says Rachel
Guymer, training manager at New Deal IT Services. "Many entrants
have the necessary qualifications. What they find difficult is
experience to get started because it is difficult to find
employment here," she comments.