Apprenticeship in the United Kingdom: From ITBs to YTS

Abstract

Apprenticeship in the United Kingdom does not rest in a legal framework, nor is there any single administrative body with responsibility for it. The following Acts of Parliament have influenced the various British training and education systems: (a) The Education Act of 1944, in providing secondary education for all, greatly stimulated the growth of further education for apprentices. The post-war years saw a massive increase in the technical colleges offering day-release courses to trainees in employment. (b) The Industrial Training Act of 1964 represented positive intervention by government, after it had become clear that voluntary effort by employers would not suffice to avoid recurring skill shortages. The Act set up Training Boards in 26 industries. The Boards are tripartite, with representatives of employers, trade unions and education, and are empowered to raise financial levies from employers based on payroll, to help meet the industry's training costs. (c) The Industrial Training Act of 1970 set up the Manpower Services Commission and its dependency the Training Services Agency, which quickly became the principal agents of industrial training. (d) The Industrial Training Act of 1981 aimed to reduce the degree of government intervention: 16 Training Boards were abolished and replaced by Non-Statutory Voluntary Training Organisations (NSTVOs), and those remaining were limited to a maximum levy of 1% of payroll. Among the surviving Boards were those for the construction, engineering and road transport industries, which between them sponsor two-thirds of apprentice training in the UK. In practice, apprenticeship is the responsibility of a number of interests, organised on an industrial sector basis. Employers recruit according to their perceived needs to maintain the strength of the skilled labour force. The trade unions try to define and defend levels of skill, and act in partnership with employers on Joint Apprenticeship Boards, which recommend the content and length of training, as well as pay and conditions of apprenticeship. Lastly, the local education authorities (LEAs), which in the UK enjoy a large measure of local autonomy, are complemented by independent examining and award-making bodies, which are not teaching organisations but provide