Firms Relabelling Low-Skilled Jobs As Apprenticeships, Says Report (bbc.com) 58
Fast food giants, coffee shops and retailers are relabelling low-skilled jobs as apprenticeships and gaining subsidies for training, a report says. BBC: The study by centre-right think tank Reform says many firms have rebranded existing roles after being obliged to contribute cash to on-the-job training. It adds that 40% of government-approved apprenticeship standards do not meet a traditional definition of them. The government says "quality" is at the heart of its apprenticeship reforms. As part of the changes, it introduced an apprenticeship levy on organisations paying more than $4.3m in salaries a year. They have to pay 0.5% of their wages total into a "digital account" held by HMRC. They then "spend" these contributions on apprenticeship training delivered by registered providers. They can also get back up to 90% of the cost of training. But they are also entitled to pay apprentices lower than the standard minimum wage.
A Uniquely English Problem (Score:5, Informative)
If this article didn't make sense, here's why: In America, apprenticeships are generally the realm of blue collar trades.
In the UK, this is true, however they also broadly include it to also mean "paid internship for office jobs".
Why? Probably the same reason a boot is a trunk, the letter U is sprinkled everywhere, and beer is served at room temp (not bad) /Giorgio A. Tsoukalos meme hands saying "England".
This isn't a problem in America because of the word apprenticeship's association with blue collarwork.
How to apply? (Score:1)
I hire a high school student to mow my lawn
I hire another high school student to babysit my children
Where and how to apply for government subsidies for both of my apprentices?
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I hire a high school student to mow my lawn
I hire another high school student to babysit my children
Where and how to apply for government subsidies for both of my apprentices?
Renaming
In your application for government subsidies, do identify the person who mow your lawn as "Botanic Lifecycle Specialist" and the one who takes care of your children as "Child Development Specialist"
That way you can claim big subsidies from the government
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Fact of life: People will do what you pay them to do, not what you think you are paying them to do.
When I was a kid, my dad offered to pay me 2 cents for every dandylion I removed from the lawn. So I gathered plenty of dandylion seeds and scattered them on the lawn.
Re:A Uniquely English Problem (Score:5, Insightful)
The term apprenticeship carries with it the connotation of being a structured hands-on learning period after which the former apprentice could expect to enter a well paying trade, like plumber or electrician. An alternative to a university degree, but usually accompanied by some kind of community-college style education.
This sounds to me like a once proud word being stripped of its value to defraud the young and make the government look like they are training the next generation. Who can blame businesses for taking advantage of the process, this would never happen in Germany
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Except it does happen in Germany. Apprentices and vocational students are often enough used like cheap (and ultimately disposable) workers with the companies providing only as much training as absolutely necessary.
We Germans all too happily adopt bad American habits.
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Are apprenticeships not regulated in Germany? In North America, apprenticeships are regulated either by the province, or the state. The definition of "what is an apprenticeship" is clear as well, you can't go making up new definition of it because apprenticeships themselves have very specific rules and laws regarding it. Sure, you can get away paying an apprentice $2.20/hr(rate I was paid back in the 90's) when the min. wage was $6.85. That's 100% legal, but those hours I worked were also transferable to
Re: A Uniquely English Problem (Score:1, Flamebait)
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Who can blame businesses for taking advantage of the process, this would never happen in Germany
That's what they said about cheating on emissions tests.
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Not, of course, the same thing. The emissions test scandal was blatantly breaking the law and lying about it. This is following the law, just not in the way the lawmakers anticipated. Not really the companies' fault that they wrote a stupid law, and you certainly can't prosecute them for it.
Different (Score:3)
Germany structured it's corporate law to require that the corporate boards INCLUDE labor. The very definition and function of corporations are done by government; you can do it foolishly or smart... So, NO it would not happen in Germany because labor has a real voice in management.
Emissions is another whole issue and one where labor is aligned with management. A solution on this one could be to have a government official on the board... except that could be a nightmare in so many ways... but you could RE
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> this would never happen in Germany
except it absolutely does. For example you can't just call yourself an engineer in Germany, its a title you have to "earn" by paying for accreditation.
Re: A Uniquely English Problem (Score:2)
Also Texas.
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My company works in IT, and we have trained a number of apprentices over the years, most of whom did very well. This was more than just intern-ship - the training that they underwent was quite intensive and rigorous. But then, I've often thought of Software Development (for instance) as a craft skill.
As to white collar apprentices, wasn
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It's just another employment scam. The government puts immense pressure on young people to do work, any work, and people take advantage of that with fake jobs.
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There are actually significant differences between apprenticeships and internships. An internship cannot be paid below minimum wage unless it is an unpaid internship. And if an internship is unpaid, the employer must not derive an immediate benefit from the intern's work. In all other situations, an intern must be paid at least minimum wage.
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Don't worry it is not just the CEOs people right down to the drug dealer who kills the competition or the student who cheats on an exam, or the homeless guy who has a sign need money for food and then gets whiskey.
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I have to agree with this. People willing to step on people do so to assume positions of power over groups.
Most people are decent. Decent people don't get ahead as often as bastards do. "Getting ahead" means getting to make the decisions.
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This is a simple numeric fallacy. You look at the outliers and assume they represent the mean.
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Why do you think this is firms, try people. It is people who make these decisions not firms. A firm does what the people who run it decide.
Thing is that when people act as a group such as a committee, suddenly their morals disappear as they give responsibility to the other guy.
Re:Firms: Evil by default? (Score:4, Insightful)
In any case I would like a no-compromise complete-fairness-for-everyone solution, and can'd find any.
Instead of whining that it doesn't exist, why don't you create it yourself? Go start a company that pays above market wages, charges below market prices, and spends nothing on any advertising that may annoy someone. Then please come back here and tell us how it worked out. Good luck.
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I thought about changing career paths and doing software development. I realized I would have to work for free to gain references from Craigslist gigs. Then make maybe $100 for s months worth of work for a website then contract for $20/hr after 6 months and so on etc.
I started I.T. at 14/hr when I was younger living at home with my parents as a subcontractors subcontractor.I can't do that at my age and pay rent.
Part of me feels the solution to not having work experience is to gain it anyhow but if it's not
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>tell us how it worked
If it does that means we never needed any solution in the first place, dumbass.
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I don't think they're evil but only because I don't think that word has any real meaning.
I think many are led by a psychopath or have a one actively moving up the ranks on their way to the top. The promotion structure of most corporations, not unlike feudal Europe, actively selects for psychopaths.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ne... [telegraph.co.uk]
Re:Firms: Evil by default? (Score:5, Insightful)
Here is the deal. No work experience NO JOB!! No references NO JOB! No one gives a shit about your fancy piece of paper called a degree. ... also if it is not profitable to pay someone money for a job not needed also NO JOB! The joke on reddit is to become a system administrator you first have to become a system administrator! How do you get that? By working for free and taking low wage shit contract jobs to build up your resume, references, and reputation. Then you can tell an employer to fuck themselves if they try to short you. But if you have no job then there is nothing you can do.
Firms are not evil. They are like you. They only pay for things they want and if they can get it done cheaper they will just like if you for anything you want to buy. That is bad news. The good news is the FreeMarket can work in your favor if you have experience and a skill. Economics 101 dictates that you can't equal all jobs minimum wage. Someone will always pay more for a skilled worker they need more than their present employer.
To be a developer you first have to work for free. THen work for 4 weeks for $100 on an ad for craigslist while you work at the mall with the highschoolers. The next job you get it done in 2 weeks for another $100 and so on. THen you temp for $20/hr. ...3 years later you bill $70,000 a year. 10 years later $150,000 a year.
I am in favor of more apprenticeships and got into a debate last week on LinkedIN. The reason these poor millennials are living with their parents is they were too good to flip burgers and do free internships over the summer while at college. Guess who got the jobs upon graduation? The ones who had references of course.
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Here is the deal. No work experience NO JOB!! No references NO JOB! No one gives a shit about your fancy piece of paper called a degree
That wasn't my experience. I had a few offers straight out of my undergraduate degree, but decided to do a PhD instead. During the PhD, I did some consulting on the side. After that, I continued worked freelance (I was making enough during my PhD to cover my cost of living even without the stipend) for five years and had no shortage of clients from word-of-mouth referrals (I didn't advertise and very rarely actively solicited work). I applied to Google and was offered a job, but decided to go back into
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Unfortunately there's usually a lot more stuff that needs doing than there is budget to pay people for doing it.
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You kind of proved my point. You had word of mouth references and contacts. If you are a 4 year student and have no word of mouth you're fucked.
No one will bother wasting their time to talk to you as a "real" candidate is always available.
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Well at least apprentidhip sounds better than (Score:2)
Serfdom. Maybe the "Firms" could just provide a nice thatched hut and some gruel as pay... /s
So, so sum up.... (Score:2)
Law passed that charges companies money if they don't have enough jobs called "apprenticeships". Companies respond by retitling arbitrary jobs "apprenticeships". How surprising.
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the new serfs...
The Guardian has insight on this (Score:5, Insightful)
This is old enough news that the backlash against this has already hit print media.
The Guardian print version is here:
https://www.theguardian.com/ne... [theguardian.com]
Or if you prefer the same content as a podcast, it's here:
https://www.theguardian.com/ne... [theguardian.com]
Since this is England, the whole thing directly relates to class. Upper-class (or perhaps the Brits call that 'Middle-class') jobs essentially require a an internship now before you can get a real job. Finishing an internship means being able to afford to live with no paycheck in London for six months. This means only the wealthy can afford to have an internship. This locks the educated non-wealthy out of the higher-class professions.
So this is not about serfdom -- a path with no escape. It's about making people pay for jobs. You have to BUY your job. (LIke you'd BUY a commission in the army in a Jane Austin novel.) And if you cannot afford to buy your job, you're the wrong sort of person for work here anyhow. Nudge nudge wink wink.
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I wish I had moderator points to mod you up... It's true- if you have a lot of money you can sit out an unpaid/underpaid internship at a desirable company whereas most stiffs take whatever they can get...
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I read that article when it came out, but it seems to be missing the root cause of the problem: oversupply of workers in certain industries. Why are people being steered towards qualifications for careers for which the supply massively outstrips the demand? My students typically find summer placements working in technology companies where they're typically paid a salary of around £45K/year pro-rated for the term of the internship (usually 2-3 months). A few weeks ago I was at a dinner sitting with
Slave labour (Score:1)