Educational achievement in America, once the envy of the world, has slipped steadily over the past couple of decades. At the same time, U.S. businesses increasingly suffer from a shortage of skilled workers in many technical and specialist fields, even as overall unemployment remains distressingly high. For all these problems, there is a practical solution … Continue reading
In a provocative paper, Hermann Gartner[i] and Christian Merkl[ii] attribute the so-called German miracle to its “wage moderation” that was the result of labour-market policies in the years preceding the global crisis – a point that is often ignored in the public debate. It could well be that apprenticeship is not the only factor. “While the US … Continue reading
Apprenticeships face ‘identity crisis’, according to Forum of Private Business writes HR Magazine The Forum of Private Business yesterday warned a group of MPs that apprenticeships are facing an ‘identity crisis’, with business owners in certain sectors concerned that shorter schemes do not provide the same value as longer courses. The Forum’s senior policy adviser Alex … Continue reading
McDonald’s has pocketed £10million of public money for an apprenticeship scheme …but has not created a single new job with it. Instead, the multi-national fast-food giant has spent the whole sum on “career progression” for 18,000 existing staff. A Sunday Mirror investigation has found that among nine other major firms which take the most money … Continue reading