Just as an example that there are still apprenticeship schemes out there, an extract from a UK company's aircraft maintenance division web page........
And when, in 2001, its managers identified a looming skills shortage in the local job market, (the company) established the Advanced Apprenticeship scheme. Accredited to deliver National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) up to Level 4 standard across a range of engineering and management areas, the initiative secured government approval and funding from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and its first intake of students - all recruited from the local community - entered training in 2002.
Typically, around 10 applications are received for each place on the three-year course. Of the 11 students who passed the course in July 2006, nine remain in full-time employment with (the company), one has become an Air Engineering Technician in the Royal Navy and one is studying for an Aerospace Engineering degree, funded by (the company) and with the guarantee of full-time employment for at least a year after graduation.
A further eight apprentices have completed the course in the last two years. Six are now working at the site, one works for an aerospace company in Northern Ireland and one has been sponsored by (the company) to read a Masters Degree in Aerospace Engineering with Management. Thirteen more apprentices are currently undergoing training and such has been the success of the programme - at 92%, its retention rate is almost double the national average for such schemes - that the Contract Support and Training Manager is now involved in a working group that is investigating the feasibility of establishing similar schemes for other company operations around the UK.
"This has been a flag waver for apprenticeships and a great asset. We want these people to become tomorrow's engineers, supervisors and managers."
This particular scheme is not B1/ B2 licence orientated, but an alternative avenue to becoming an aircraft technician/ engineer for school leavers and, I hope, something the government and industry will commit more interest and investment to. By the way, the company has just advertised for next years apprentice placements.