Unite demands training levy

Unite is calling for more action on apprenticeships by asking the government and employers to agree a national training levy to fund more apprentice places.

The Union is attempting to secure the levy to ensure schemes are set up and more apprentices recruited. It believes employers should be obliged to provide a minimum number of apprenticeship places.

Currently, only one in 10 businesses provides apprenticeships or quality workplace training. Unite has asked John Denham, Secretary of State for the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills, to consider the levy, especially in industries with skills shortages.

The Union also wants an increase in the minimum weekly wage for apprentices from £80 to £110, along with securing government help for small employers who are taking on apprentices.

A £110 wage for a 35-hour week would bring apprenticeships broadly in line with the minimum wage youth rate of £3.40 an hour.

Graham Goddard, deputy general secretary of Unite, said: “We want to see increasing access and commitment from employers to deliver high quality apprenticeships.

“Equally important is that apprentices are not trapped in a low pay ghetto. Increasing the minimum wage to which they are entitled will attract young people from a variety of backgrounds to take up places and, crucially, to complete them.”

According to government figures, only 63% of the 180 000 apprentices stay on to complete their apprenticeships.