Apprenticeships For All 


The Employment & Learning Minister for Northern Ireland Sir Reg Empey oversaw the rollout of this new policy on the 1st of September 2008, which his department claim opens up Apprenticeships for all. Apprenticeships previously only available to 16 to 24 years old, will now be opened up to all persons wishing to apply. 
The minister makes no comment in his press release about how the Employment & Learning Department is to police this new policy to ensure the removal of natural prejudice and ageism which potential employers might habour, especially the latter as it was age that was the discriminating factor in the first place. Nor does the Minister indicate how many previously excluded adults might gain through an initiative such as this and one which has substantial public money backing it. 

Is the policy a sound comprehensive solution to a real problem, our answer probably not. To us it demonstrates a desire to be seen doing something, throwing money at an initiative without understanding the problem. One must remember that it was his department, the department of Employment & Learning, that forged alliances with employers already based in Northern Ireland and stand accused of wasting public money by paying the training costs of wealthy companies such as the Halifax to take on employees such as call centre staff. The scheme which runs to this day sees, the government continuing to pay the benefit of those trainees who are unemployed during courses some of which last up to 28 weeks. The government in the form of the Department of Employment and Learning also provides and pays for the training of these potential recruits. After full training and only after full training will the company involved interview the applicant and decide whether they wish to employ them.

No-one at the Department of Employment & Learning has ever seriously argued that such companies were taking on additional personnel through this scheme, personnel over and above the operational necessity of the company. The companies make no such argument either, so it is our view that all such monies are wasted. Furthermore the Department of Employment and Learning is seen by many as a main participant in aiding companies devalue the graduate salary in Northern Ireland. Encouraging employers to use the Bridge to Employment programme, without ensuring this does not become a standard form of recruitment replacing for the most part the normal graduate intake and the accompanying salary. Such schemes managed to replace graduate salaries of up to £24k with a salary of £13k and are now viewed as Labour on the cheap aimed at providing companies with fully trained personnel at public expense.