The Airbus apprenticeship programme was this week as a model scheme that clearly illustrated the mutual benefits for apprentices, the company and the wider industry sector.
Lesley Griffiths, Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills, whose portfolio includes the apprenticeship programme in Wales, made these comments after a visit to the Airbus Broughton facility.
She was accompanied by Brian Fleet who rose through the ranks from an engineering apprentice to become UK Senior Vice President and Head of the Centre of Excellence for Wing and Pylon at Airbus.
The Deputy Minister described the Airbus apprenticeship programme as one of the most successful in the UK and one that could be emulated by small and medium sized businesses around Wales.
“It is clearly highly valued by the company, providing Airbus with a group of engineers who have excellent knowledge and hands on experience directly relevant to the organisation and industry.
“The Welsh Assembly Government supports the apprenticeship programme and is not only encouraging employers to take on young apprentices now, but actively supporting them by providing a wage subsidy through the Young Recruits programme.
“By investing in young people and taking on apprentices, companies are investing in the future of their businesses which is of particular importance as we enter the post-recession period.
“Airbus is a highly successful company operating in an extremely competitive market. Small and medium sized businesses could do well to emulate their approach to training the next generation of skilled workers to ensure they retain that competitive edge.”
She praised Airbus for its commitment to apprenticeships. Last year the company extended the apprenticeship period for third year craft apprentices by another year when it was unable to take them into the workforce due to the economic downturn, offering them enhanced skill development on composite materials instead.
“These young people are now undergoing customised training to further develop their skills and will be fully equipped and well positioned to develop their future careers at Airbus working on current and future products.”
Brian Fleet said the apprenticeship programme was a vitally important element of the company’s strategy to ensure they had a highly trained workforce coming through the ranks with all the relevant skills.
“There are clear benefits for young people as they get a thorough grounding and understanding of the business as well as the ethos of the company and experience work-based learning in different areas of the organisation as well as training in college.”
During a tour of the facility Ms Griffiths met young people on the craft apprenticeship programme who entered at GSCE level as well as those on higher apprenticeship who joined after A levels. There are approximately 600 apprentices at Airbus in the UK.
Craft apprentices have the opportunity to progress to the higher apprenticeship programme while those that progress to degree level are supported by Airbus to obtain their degrees without the need to take out a student loan.
