The head of Ofsted has warned against apprenticeships with skills in ‘making tea and cleaning floors’ – we need to make sure standards are rigorous
The Government’s announcement in 2014 of their intention to create three million more apprenticeships by 2020, was – as expected – both welcomed and challenged across the education and business sectors.
Sceptics questioned how such ambitious plans could be implemented without forfeiting both quality within the qualifications or the budgets for the training of current employees.
So far, the number of apprenticeships has increased to 374,200 this year, a rise of 59,600 from last year: still a long way off the target. But it seems that, at the moment anyway, the figure of three million is of small concern compared with the worrying standards that are coming to light in some apprenticeships.