Debate contribution: Apprenticeships
Debate contribution by Mr Stewart Dickson on .
- MLA
- Mr Stewart Dickson
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 5 March 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Apprenticeships
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4252925
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Like others, I am delighted to take the opportunity to discuss what can only be described as the transformative power of apprenticeships in bolstering our economy, reducing inequality and addressing the pronounced skill shortages faced by employers. Recent data from the employer skills survey shows that there were nearly 40,000 vacancies across Northern Ireland, with a significant proportion – over 13,500 — attributed directly to a lack of skilled applicants. That situation reflects the need for a dedicated skills fund, as my colleague said, that aims to enhance our apprenticeship provision. Far from being a mere policy suggestion, that part is a critical step in nurturing a well-rounded, skilled and thriving work community. Unfortunately, since the important steps taken quite some time ago by former Minister Stephen Farry when he was Minister for Employment and Learning back in 2016, the apprenticeship sector has, sadly, seen minimal advantage over that time, in part, and not least of all, due to instability and the disruptive effects of the Assembly not being in place.
Thank you. I appreciate the intervention from the Member who, as a former Minister, will understand the detail of the situation. However, it is a complex situation, which has been made more complex and, perhaps, has not been tackled — I am sorry to say it again — because of the lack of a consistent Assembly over the past number of years. Nevertheless, the Member is absolutely right: it is an area that needs to be tackled, and the best solution from our perspective is a local skills fund that may be able to replace or, at least, work directly with that. Apprenticeships across all ages deliver a wide range of benefits. Not only do they offer hands-on training to fill existing vacancies, but they provide upskilling and expand the routes to qualifications. The expansion of those routes to qualifications is vital. In that context, as chair of the all-party group (APG) on social enterprise, I want to say that it has a role to play as well. The dedicated social impact and the ability to connect with people outside the mainstream makes members of the APG perfect allies to work with and expand apprenticeships. A notable challenge is the entry barriers that are faced by many, which are often linked to additional support needs. There is a need for a cross-cutting and cross-departmental approach to all this, from the Education, Health and Economy Departments, so that we can deliver apprenticeships, try to reduce and remove all those barriers and enhance accessibility to apprenticeships. Furthermore, there needs to be a synergistic relationship between further education (FE) and apprenticeships. Despite the crucial role played, a gap remains in the integration, and that gap needs to be bridged to ensure that there is a holistic approach to vocational training. There is now an urgent need to refocus and review the future of FE in Northern Ireland. I make that appeal to the Minister as well today: that we tackle clearly, sensibly and seriously the role and work of further education in Northern Ireland. It is too valuable — it has been valuable — in the relationship with apprenticeships. From my party's perspective, our vision for apprenticeships has to be expansive, from all-age apprenticeships to how we access them at the younger years, with the principle that regardless of the sector, fostering inclusivity, we can amplify our efforts to direct our focus on the genuine alternatives that apprenticeships deliver and enhance in education and skills. Furthermore, in our view, the apprenticeship wage is inadequate. In a cost-of-living crisis, it is impossible to envisage a person living on such a low wage, even though they are gaining valuable skills along the way. In closing, I offer my appreciation to our apprentices: those who are in training today, those who will be in training in future and those who have been trained in the past and are adding to our economy in Northern Ireland. Their dedication and hard work has been an investment not only in their future but in the future of business, commerce and industry in Northern Ireland.
686 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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