The annual National Apprenticeship Week was set in place in order to raise awareness of apprenticeships as an alternative to a university education or going straight into work.
This year's National Apprenticeship Week, which ended on Friday, was the sixth so far. It appears to have fulfilled its purpose, with companies of all kinds and sizes pledging to take on around 14,000 apprentices in the near future.
Whether it's the first apprenticeship a company has ever offered, like the one pledged by youth digital broadcaster SB.TV, or another five hundred in addition to existing apprenticeships, as confirmed by hotel chain Premier Inn, there's definitely been more interest in apprenticeships and what they can offer to both employer and trainee this year.
So that's good news for future apprentices, and there's also good news for companies taking on those apprentices, too: Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg announced, during National Apprenticeship Week, that the government will be giving individual employers the opportunity to design and develop their own apprenticeship standards and qualifications.
This is in response to entrepreneur Doug Richard's apprenticeship review, which recommends apprenticeship should be more focused on the employers' needs.
Chief Executive of the National Apprenticeship Service, David Way, says: “This has been one of the most successful National Apprenticeship Weeks ever in terms of the number of new Apprenticeships announced by large and small employers.
"All of these Apprenticeships will meet rigorous quality standards designed to ensure apprentices get an excellent opportunity."
And Skills Minister Matthew Hancock states that the government wants to raise the status of apprenticeships to "the new norm", on a par with a university education, and says: “Apprenticeships deliver for business and the economy, helping employers grow their own talent by developing a motivated, skilled and qualified workforce”.
But there's still a long way to go: currently fewer than 20% of parents surveyed recently think that vocational training is on the same level as a university education, while just 10% say they would prefer their children to serve an apprenticeship rather than go to university.
