WITH A-level results published this Thursday, young people and their parents will no doubt be mulling over options for the future. And there is more than ever to ponder and consider.
The landscape of higher education has profoundly changed since young people submitted their UCAS forms and sat their mock exams. Little did they imagine back then that there would be no final A-level exams and their home would be become their classroom for summer term.
It has been a challenging time for so many, not least for young people. Short term, many have felt isolation and lack of clarity, and longer term they are worried about the implications the pandemic may have for their futures.
Ulster University’s Economic Policy Centre recently predicted that youth unemployment in Northern Ireland could rise to 26 per cent by the end of 2020. This is a worrying statistic, but one that I think should come with a semicolon rather than a full stop.
There has never been a better opportunity for government, businesses and education to work together to create more apprenticeships with benefits for all.
Nothing sharpens our focus like a crisis. It hones our priorities and allows us to rethink how we are doing things.
Workplus was established in 2016 and since then I’ve been speaking with businesses, schools and young people about the benefits of apprenticeships. For young people, it’s a job from the start, gaining skills, dedicated mentoring and enjoying a debt-free higher education.
For businesses, it is fresh, enthusiastic new talent which can be trained and moulded to fit a company’s exact needs. For government, it’s people in work, improving their skills and our economy.
In July, UK and Irish governments both announced support for businesses that hire apprentices – receiving around £2,000 per apprentice. We urgently need similar moves in Northern Ireland to avoid a youth unemployment crisis and to provide fresh talent into the economy.
In support of the Apprenticeship Recruitment Incentive, the Republic's minister for further and higher education, research, innovation and science Simon Harris said apprenticeships are “good for business and good for the individual”.
They are. Apprenticeships occupy a unique space in bringing employers, young people and higher education institutions together. Essentially, it is collaboration in its purest form! There is no better and no more critical time to further develop and broaden this space.
When we talk to young people and their parents, their eyes light up at the prospect of an apprenticeship and they cannot wait to dive in. Others see the benefits but have declined due to ‘Fomo’ – fear of missing out – on the university life and campus experience.
For our young people expecting their results on Thursday, the university experience is going to be very different, with some institutions moving courses entirely online and others adopting a blended approach.
Now is the time to embrace apprenticeships and embed them in our culture. This is more than simply offering young people a job alongside continued education, it is about offering them a much-needed sense of purpose and place in this rapidly changing world.
:: Richard Kirk is chief executive of Workplus, which helps employers develop talent through apprenticeships
