David Cameron has emailed supporters to tell them of his plans to ‘make Britain greater still’. One part of these plans is to create three million Apprenticeships.
David Cameron has emailed supporters to tell them of his plans to ‘make Britain greater still’. One part of these plans is to create three million Apprenticeships.
Sounds good? Maybe not. Take a closer look, and this could be one more step towards propelling Britain to the top of the OECD table for low pay. As the Work Foundation says, already “our position in terms of low pay is one of the worst.”
People rightly like the idea of apprenticeships. They are associated in people’s minds with industries like shipbuilding, engineering and construction. In the days when these industries flourished, people ‘served their time’, gained a trade, and were almost guaranteed a decently paid job for life. But times have changed.
Of course some apprenticeships are still excellent. They provide high quality training and a route into a good career. However, many apprenticeships now look suspiciously like a way for employers to exploit young people and avoid paying the minimum wage.
A quick Google search reveals ‘opportunities’ like this, in an estate agency in the South East. The job title is Estate Agency Administration Apprenticeship (Business Admin). The job description is as follows;
‘A small extremely well respected independent estate agency is looking to support further growth with the addition of new staff. An Apprenticeship vacancy has been created to support the Administration function of the business. This is a superb opportunity to gain the necessary experience in the property market within a growing business that is focused on quality. The business deals with a wide market sector, including estate agency letting and property management including high value property. You will have the opportunity to support and work directly with the business owner.’
This sounds like an office junior, assistant to the owner sort of job. The sort of job which used to be taken by school leavers, who would be paid the minimum wage, learn on the job, and hope to move on to better things. But the wage for this Apprenticeship is £90 per week. And there are plenty more apprenticeships like this advertised, including in financial services.
The current national minimum wage rates are:
£6.50 for workers 21 and over
£5.13 for those aged 18 – 20 years
£3.79 for 16-17 year-olds, who are above school leaving age but under 18
£2.73 for apprentices under 19, or 19 or over who are in the first year of apprenticeship.
If Apprenticeships of dubious quality continue to proliferate we will have a generation of young people who consider themselves lucky to get the minimum wage. The Living Wage would seem like pie in the sky. In this way, workers’ expectations can be managed downwards. No doubt this will be popular with employers.
At an age when David Cameron, George Osborne, Boris Johnson and friends were partying with the Bullingdon Club, youngsters from less privileged backgrounds are now expected to consider themselves fortunate if they get the opportunity to work a full week for £90.
* More about the minimum wage here: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1902
—-
© Bernadette Meaden has written about political, religious and social issues for some years, and is strongly influenced by Christian Socialism, liberation theology and the Catholic Worker movement. She is an Ekklesia associate and regular contributor. You can follow her on Twitter: @BernaMeaden