Mark Casci: Time to recognise the value of apprenticeship schemes

It is one of the most nerve-wracking and tense days of their lives and one that, for most, defines their gateway into adulthood.

The weight of expectation hung around the necks of young people in 21st century Britain is vast, having been fed a mantra of “university or bust” from an early age.

This growing demand for teenagers to target higher education is just one of the many chapters of the book of failure we are handing the younger generations. Alongside extortionate house prices, a stagnant economy and a vote for Brexit the overwhelming number of young people did not desire, the notion that university represents the only option to attain success in life is all part of a fairly dismal legacy that frankly we all are accountable for.

That’s why this week I was so impressed with the announcement out of the recently-rebranded British Steel that they were looking to create an impressive 100 new apprentice roles at their bases in Teesside and Scunthorpe. The young recruits – aged from 16 years upwards - are joining British Steel (how good it feels to type those words again) this summer in a variety of roles.

They range from school-leavers to graduates to those who will study for a degree during their apprenticeship. Many of them are likely to join British Steel full-time when they’ve completed their courses.

This takes the total number of apprentices taken on by British Steel since it was rebranded under that name in June to just under 200. If ever there was an endorsement in the industry, and in the next generation of workers it is this. The move is not only gratifying from a educational perspective it is also extremely likely to have a positive impact on the firm’s bottom line.

Recent data from the National Apprenticeship Service indicated that 80 per cent of businesses who invest in apprentices see a significant increase in employee retention and a study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research indicated that a typical apprentice can grow a business through productivity gains of a staggering £10,000 annually.

The stigma around apprentices will take some time to be eroded, thanks in the main due to the veneration of universities over all options. But British Steel, like so many other companies who run apprenticeship schemes, are also playing a more vital social role than widely considered. We have a serious skill shortage in this country and Yorkshire is at the forefront of this.

The next generation of steel workers, still an extremely viable and crucial industry in spite of all of its difficulties in recent months are being trained and skilled in the same region that created the structures of the Sydney Opera House, Canary Wharf and the New World Trade Centre in New York City. These are iconic buildings that are recognised and renowned the world over. Is this in any way sounding like a career option that is second best or, even worse, an “easy way out”?

There will be a great many people reading this column who have achieved considerable success in their careers without a university degree. Most of them however will be over the age of 40 or so and from a generation where hard-work and talent were enough for a successful career.

This is far from an anti-university diatribe, far from it. We have some of the best universities in Europe here in Yorkshire. But we must never allow subsequent generations to see it as the only option to a viable and illustrious career.

If you want proof take a look at the structures I have just mentioned, the very personification of the words ‘built to last’.

So if you are picking up your results this week remember, there’s more than one way to the top.