Apprenticeship schemes will face greater competition, a review says

Most trainees are exempt from minimum wage legislation but under Learning and Skills Council rules get �80 a week.

The TUC says this should go up to �110. The Low Pay Commission is examining the issue but, the TUC says, is unlikely to effect any change before October 2009.

The government intends to almost double the number of UK apprenticeships on offer to 500,000 by 2020.

Meanwhile a paper produced as part of the Oxford-based Nuffield Review of 14-to-19 learning argues that apprenticeships are vital but of limited appeal, with only 7.5% of young people in work-based training in 2005 compared with 11.3% in 1994.

Female wages lower

The TUC report, Decent Pay for Apprentices, says they are a good route into work for young people, but the quality of courses can vary.

Some youngsters are poorly paid - as little as �1.54 an hour - and are not trained well, so they tend to drop out.

Female apprentices on average are paid 26% less than male apprentices, the TUC says.

The lowest pay of all is among young women working in areas such as hairdressing, early years education and social care.

General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "Apprenticeships are an excellent route into work and we want to see more employers offering high quality places.

"But there is a stark quality divide between apprenticeships, with too many young people receiving poor training and poverty pay.

"Many are training to care for our families and friends and it's scandalous that they are paid so poorly. It's no surprise that these apprentices are among the most likely to drop out."

Flexibility

The Nuffield review says such schemes are likely to face even greater competition as the available pool of youngsters dwindles.

Another paper from the review group argues for shorter, more flexible schemes and says there needs to be a wider debate on what apprenticeship is and who should benefit from it.

Dr Geoff Hayward of the Nuffield Review said: "Apprenticeship is competing with other education and training pathways available to young people, including the Diplomas.

"Apprenticeship growth is also limited by the availability of high quality training places being offered by employers.

The risk of expanding apprenticeship further to meet government targets is that the public subsidises training in sectors that do not require intermediate level skills and which offer a poor learning experience for the apprentice."