Apprenticeships could help shape employment landscape

The UK is starting to become more enthusiastic about apprenticeships again, an expert believes.

Media contractors and other people working in high-demand professions could find themselves taking on more apprentices, an expert has indicated.

The enthusiasm for apprenticeships is on the rise, explained Professor Alison Wolf of King's College London.

"What worries me is that we are setting targets. Many of the apprenticeships that we are actually paying for are rather brief, very low level," she commented.

Professor Wolf noted that the German attitude to apprenticeships is a good model to follow, mainly because placements last two or three years and involve a lot of on-the-job training.

Younger people also need to be made more aware of the benefits of taking up a placement, the expert suggested, as many recent positions have been offered to those over the age of 25.

Chief executive officer of Work Wise UK Phil Flaxton recently suggested that apprentices could be crucial to getting the UK's jobs market back on its feet.