Our enquiry into Apprenticeships in Wales, exposed concerns that the number of disabled apprentices in Wales was far below the rate achieved in England, that economic barriers are preventing young people from taking up opportunities, that a stubborn gender segregation remained, and that a lack of providers maybe preventing young people from undertaking Apprenticeships through the medium of Welsh.
In accepting our recommendation on gender and careers, the Welsh Government noted that although 60% of learners pursuing an apprenticeship were female, this “masks gender disparity in some sectors”.
In accepting our recommendation that they should produce “a clear, disabled person specific action plan to address the under-representation of disabled people in Apprenticeships”, the Welsh Government states that they “are committed to improving their approach” – after 19 years in power.
They state that they “have been working with Remploy to match those who are participating in the Work Choice programme into apprenticeship opportunities” – and “have introduced a case worker approach with the aid of designated Remploy Apprenticeship Co-ordinators”.
Last month I visited Remploy Wrexham to discuss their launch of the UK Government employment support programme, “Work and Health Programme Wales” and to sit in on a training session with customers.
The Welsh Government must therefore provide assurance that its new employability programme adds to, rather than replicates –which should be included in its annual progress to the Committee on the implementation of its Employability Plan it pledged to provide in its acceptance in principle of our recommendation 11.
In stating that it is “in the process of setting up an “Inclusive Apprenticeship Working Group” comprising of representatives from disability organisations across Wales”, which “will produce an Apprenticeships Disability Action Plan”, we need assurance that they will act on the statement by Disability Arts Cymru that the difference between Disability Equality Training and Disability Awareness Training is that … “Disability Awareness Training is often led by nondisabled people who are professionals in the medical or caring professions. This training has a medical focus; it informs participants about disabled people’s impairments, and ways of ‘overcoming’ disability.”
Whereas “Disability Equality Training is always led by trainers who are disabled people. The focus is on disabled and non-disabled people working together to overcome the disabling barriers in society. This training has a holistic focus, recognising that removing physical, financial and attitudinal barriers will create a more inclusive, accessible society.”
In rejecting our recommendation that they “should provide more support to employers in raising awareness among a wider range of young people of the benefits of apprenticeships”, the Welsh Government then provides a list of the information it already provides.
However, this neither addresses the written evidence from Remploy highlighting “that only 2.7% of learners in work-based learning provision and 1.3% of apprentices in Wales are disabled, compared to 9% in England”, nor Remploy’s suggestion that one of the reasons for this is “a lack of awareness of apprenticeships by parents, employers and learners”.
Our report details substantial evidence that financial barriers are preventing young people from taking up apprenticeships.
In only accepting in principle that they “should create a competitive hardship fund for apprentices on the lowest pay levels or create other concessions, such as concessionary bus or rail cards, as exist for other student”, the Welsh Government states that this would need to be considered “against the outcome of the Discounted Bus Travel for Young Persons in Wales consultation”.
However, this closed 4 months ago, where the Welsh Government states that it responds to most consultation in 12 weeks, and ITV Wales reported last night that the Welsh Government has failed to respond to nearly a third of its consultations launched since its election two years ago.
And although they state that subsidising travel costs is likely to be classified as a UK taxable benefit, NUS Wales point out that Local Authorities in Sheffield, Liverpool and the West Midlands have already introduced similar plans.
Their acceptance in principle only our recommendation that they “should provide the Committee with an annual update covering all protected characteristics, and access from low income communities” is not acceptable.
The Committee is clear that apprentices in Wales are not yet fully representative of the wider society they are drawn from.
Reform’s recent report on the Apprenticeship programme in England concluded that if the necessary changes they describe were made, “then apprentices, tax payers and employers across the country stand to benefit for many years to come”.
It is noted that there has not been an equivalent progress report on the apprenticeship programme in Wales.