---

Apprenticeships (EAC Report)

My Lords, it is very good that today we are once again discussing the issue of apprenticeships. It is always encouraging to have the presence of the Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Triesman, with his distinguished record in this House. Perhaps I may take the opportunity to congratulate him on his recent appointment as the FA chairman. It is very adept to be appointed once the new England manager has been put in place. It is also encouraging to have the Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Jones of Birmingham, in his position as he also has a great commitment to skills and apprenticeships. We are very hopeful that, as a result of the heavyweight people involved, we will see progress. I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Wakeham, and the committee on their excellent report and on the robust way in which the noble Lord put forward the committee’s views today. I am glad that there was a united view on the committee. I am very impressed as a new Member of this House to see such a high level of care given by the committee and others to the report on Apprenticeship: a key route to skill. The Economic Affairs Committee report has identified many issues which we hope the Minister will address. The Government must take their commitment very seriously because we face a very complex situation in apprenticeships. We must publicise apprenticeships, encourage young people and the business community to engage and ensure that our education system prepares young people for the workplace. On the latter issue, time and again the concern is expressed that our children must have literacy skills. Indeed, in this connection I can call in support the evidence given by Sir Digby Jones, as he then was—now the Minister, Lord Jones of Birmingham—to the Economic Affairs Committee. Along with many others, he identified that as a key issue and pointed out that we achieve good literacy in this country at primary school level but lose momentum after that. At secondary school level there is not the needed continuity to carry forward literacy and to address the problems particularly of those who are not quite as literate as others. It is a grave concern. I am sure that the noble Lord, Lord Jones, now that he has his ministerial role, will still be making this crucial point. With his declared interest, I hope he will provide the necessary influence, input and enthusiasm to carry forward and deal with the many problems that there are. We had a debate on the Leitch report last summer and I should like to repeat a couple of points that I and others made then, starting with the need for good careers advice. Careers staff do not always offer adequate or positive advice and guidance early enough to people for whom a vocational education and career might be more appropriate than academic or university education. In this connection, later this year it is proposed to introduce an education reform Bill. The Bill will emphasise duties and rights but I hope it will also be seen as appropriate to consider the need to encourage apprenticeships—for example, as I say, through the Careers Service. If they are not encouraged and not publicised, they will not happen. Another point I would like to repeat from that debate is the need to raise the status of apprenticeships so that young people will see them not as a second best choice but as something interesting and with status, something for which to strive. I turn now to the question of small and medium-sized businesses, a subject raised by a number of contributors in the evidence sessions of the Select Committee. While a number of submissions drew attention to the need to engage with small business, I wonder whether there could not have been a contribution, via written evidence or otherwise, from a small business organisation or association to ensure that its views were asked for and put specifically. I may have missed something in that respect but it could be quite useful as a general principle to ensure that small businesses, be it those with apprenticeships or business in general, have their voice heard in a specific way. Some good points were put forward—for example, by Sir Roy Gardner and the Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Jones—and various suggestions were made, including providing financial inducements, which has been referred to, or help specifically for the smaller business community. The bureaucracy and paperwork needed can be a very big stumbling block for small firms. Larger companies are better equipped to deal with bureaucracy and red tape. It is often said that small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone of this country. If we do not concentrate on ways and means of helping and encouraging SMEs, a whole tranche of opportunities for expanding apprenticeships will be lost. The debate is welcome, as is the work that many are putting in to make vocational training and education operate and work. The matter is urgent. On the train here today I was speaking to someone who, as luck would have it, had experience in the engineering field. He told me of the grave concern that there is about the aid profile of those engaged in technical fields, particularly in engineering. He made some startling points. For example, each member of a significant group of six engineering experts will retire in the next five years but no young people are in a position to take their place. The question of urgency can be centred around the age profile, as he referred to other areas in which there is a similar situation. Young people have not been encouraged to come in and there is a grave risk of losing the knowledge and expertise that have been built up over many years. I know that others have many points to make and we look forward very much to the maiden speech of my noble friend Lady Garden. I hope that as a result of the report, the fact that we have had a number of debates on apprenticeships in this House and the Bill that will come before us later this year, we can ensure that we are fit to meet the increasing competition from around the world.