Listening to adult apprentices
“I’ve been given so much that I thought I owe it now to others to help as much as I can to make sure …[they]… are given the same opportunity” – adult apprentice.
In the same week as the publication of the Richard Review of Apprenticeships, NIACE has launched The Adult Apprentice, which details the apprenticeship journeys and experiences of 10 individuals who were nominated for this year’s Adult Learners’ Week Apprentice of the Year Award.
The apprentices featured in the book are a diverse group. Each one offers an inspirational story of what it means to be an apprentice and the benefits an apprenticeship can bring at an individual level and also more widely.
One of the apprentices I interviewed for this study was Tom. Aged 16, Tom completed a one year electrical apprenticeship, but quickly realised that life as an electrician was not for him. He was desperate to find a career to progress in and to do something where he ‘didn’t hate going to work every day’, but his limited work experience proved prohibitive. At 23 he successfully applied for an Advanced Apprenticeship in Biotechnology. Two years on he’s doing a job he loves and has his sights set on higher-level study:
“I want to try and do a degree in biochemistry. Obviously I’ve just got to look at what courses are available because the job comes first. I do want to learn more but I’m definitely more than happy doing this job.”
I spoke to Melanie too. Her apprenticeship journey started after she had completed a degree at university. Unable to secure graduate level work in her chosen field, she was attracted to an Intermediate Apprenticeship in Business Studies and HR. Following this she has gone on to complete an advanced apprenticeship, secure a permanent job with her employer, act as mentor to two apprentices in her workplace, promote apprenticeships to potential learners, and study for an assessor’s qualification:
“It has paid off taking an apprenticeship and starting off on a lower wage…I’ve been able to give back a lot of what I’ve learnt. The time that they’ve invested in me, hopefully it’s been worthwhile. I‘ve been able to move forward within the job I’m doing at the moment and also within my career.”
The Adult Apprentice is the latest addition to NIACE’s growing collection of learner voice publications, which includes Voices of young adult carers and Our time to learn. NIACE is committed to capturing and sharing the stories of learners in order to encourage and inspire others to take up learning, and to support those involved in developing and delivering learning opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of what learners want and need.
The insights gained from apprentices participating in this study proved invaluable in informing NIACE’s submission to the Richard Review, with one of our five key messages to the review focusing on the importance of listening to key stakeholders, including apprentices themselves.
I am fortunate that my job regularly involves speaking to adults about their learning journeys and supporting their contribution to debates on adult learning policy and practice. I always learn so much from these exchanges, and this project is no exception. In fact, as a relative newcomer to the area of vocational learning (I took the A Levels and University route after school, and joined the Learning for Work theme at NIACE earlier this year), I have found it particularly interesting and informative to listen to the personal accounts and views of apprentices, finding out amongst other things who takes up an apprenticeship and for what reasons, and what factors help make a successful apprenticeship programme from an apprentice’s point of view. With their first-hand experiences in mind, I look forward to considering the recommendations put forward by the Richard Review and contributing to NIACE’s ongoing policy, research and development work in this important area.
The deadline for entries to the 2013 Adult Learners’ Week Apprentice of the Year Award is fast approaching. If you know someone with a remarkable story to tell, please nominate them before 5pm, on Thursday 13 December 2012.
