100 years of apprenticeships revealed

The changing nature of apprenticeships over the last 100 years has been documented in two new studies.

While research by Ancestry.co.uk and the University of Lincoln, paints a compelling picture of the journey apprenticeships have made during the last century, new findings from the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr) shows the impact that apprentices are having on the local economy today.

The Ancestry and University of Lincoln research reveals significant changes to the sectors and roles apprentices are working in. Indeed, the sector that employed the most apprentices in 1914 was dressmaking, compared to health and social care today.  But in contrast, engineering and construction related apprenticeships feature as prominently today as they did in 1914.

The historical research also points to a change in the demographic of apprentices. In fact, one hundred years ago women made up only 22% of apprentices. Today they count for 55%.

The Top 10 sectors for apprenticeships:

1914:

1 dressmaking, 2   dngineering, 3 carpentry 4 drapery, 5 millinery, 6 fitting, 7 joinery, 8 tailoring, 9 plumbing, 10 printing. Soruce 1911 census data.

2014:

1 Health & social care, 2 business administration, 3 management, 4 hospitality and catering, 5 customer service, 6 children’s care, learning and development, 7 retail, 8 construction skill, 9 engineering, 10 hairdressing. Source: Skills Funding Agency data on apprenticeships by framework (2013-14)

The study was compiled using 1911 census data from Ancestry and combined with a review of historical research conducted by the University of Lincoln. It comes as a report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research reveals that apprenticeships will contribute around £3.2 billion to the South West’s economy in 2014 and £34 billion to the UK economy as a whole.

The CEBR report goes on to find that for every £1 spent on apprenticeships, the national economy gains £21. It also predicts that if the upward trend in apprentice recruitment continues, the national economy could be set to gain £50 billion by 2025 and £101 billion by 2050.

Sue Husband, Director of Apprenticeships at the National Apprenticeship Service said:  “The employers of yesterday, like those of today, recognised the value of apprenticeships in equipping people with the skills businesses required.

"Today our apprentices enjoy quality apprenticeship frameworks, their training is funded by the government and employers**, their tools are provided, they have access to higher education, and they receive further support from employers through mentoring.

“We urge employers to take stock of what has been achieved in the last century and to consider how apprenticeships could contribute to their business and the wider economy in the years to come.”

Krista Cowman, Professor of History at the University of Lincoln said: “Life was tough for apprentices back in 1914.

"They often started with very menial tasks, working long hours over several years. They could also be summoned to court if they misbehaved or were deemed to be performing below par.

"They were usually ‘indentured’ (legally required) to work for an employer for a number of years and had to pay a fee to their employer to cover the cost of their training. They were also required to pay for their tools out of their salaries.

“Then as now though, it is clear how valuable apprenticeships were considered to be in building a skilled workforce.”

Apprenticeships facts

•         Since 2010, two million people have started an apprenticeship in England in over 170 industries including aerospace, fashion, broadcast media and finance.
•         The South West has the highest number of participating apprentices of any region in the UK with 92,280 apprentices participating in 2012/13, around 10% of the UK total
•         More than 100,000 employers are offering quality apprenticeships.
•         The region with the highest concentration of apprentices per total population is the North West, followed by regions within Northern England and the Midlands.

There has never been a better time to consider taking on an apprentice or starting an apprenticeship. Employers can visitgreatbusiness.gov.uk/apprenticeships  to find out more about taking on an apprentice. Young people can visitapprenticeships.gov.uk to find out how they can ‘get in and go far’ with an apprenticeship at some of Britain’s biggest and brightest companies.