SMEs play a vital role in training tomorrow’s workforce
Despite SMEs making up the overwhelming majority of businesses in Wales, the role that these businesses play in employing and developing apprentices is undervalued and underplayed.
For every big business hiring 10 apprentices a year, there are hundreds of hairdressers, mechanics construction industry businesses and others hiring apprentices to help grow and develop their business.
The apprentice discussion in Wales has traditionally been focused on bigger businesses, but if we are to significantly increase the number of apprentices we need an entirely new focus on engaging Welsh SMEs in this agenda. Apprenticeships help to fill the skills gap, and provide good-quality vocational education, as well as a career path and progression opportunities. Furthermore, small businesses are more likely to hire local staff and thereby stimulate the local economy.
There are many examples of small businesses providing apprenticeship opportunities, such as John Weaver Contractors, a 100-year-old family-owned business based in Swansea, who take on apprentices every year, and alongside local colleges, provide excellent education and training which enables individuals to progress through the business.
John Weaver Contractors currently employ several apprentices in roles such as carpentry, and most of these are local people. The business recruits two new apprentices every year and all new apprentices are supported by a mentor. Apprentices have risen through the ranks of the company to occupy roles such as project manager.
There are small and mediumsized firms across Wales hiring apprentices who provide the same excellent education and good progression opportunities that make small businesses such an important factor in the apprenticeship discussion. However, a step-up in the number of people going into apprenticeships requires a new conversation about the opportunities that apprenticeships bring.
A recent FSB report showed that vocational education in schools was not on a par with traditional educational routes, meaning that perhaps fewer young people were automatically considering an apprenticeship.
The report, titled A National Ambition: Enterprise Education, Schools and the Welsh Economy, found vocational education has suffered from the pursuit of a “false equivalence” with academic routes rather than “seeking to establish its own distinctive character”.
The report calls on schools and businesses to work together with Welsh Government to ensure that the future generation of children go through school developing the entrepreneurial spirit that will leave them with the skills and confidence to make the right career choice for them – whether that is starting their own business, going to university or joining the employment market through an apprenticeship.
Apprenticeships open doors to people from across the community and help form the direction of their future career.
Small businesses deliver highquality apprenticeships across Wales, and by helping develop the local skills market in towns all over the country, they also grow their business in a long-term and sustainable way.
The FSB report also points to the opportunity for developing careers education within schools at primary level to promote visibility of the range of opportunities and the world of work, but notes that throughout the educational system, this needs to be reinforced by an impartial careers advisory and support infrastructure which has been significantly cut back in recent years.
A series of headline recommendations are highlighted in the report, including the development by Welsh Government of an Enterprise Education Strategy jointlyowned with business and other stakeholders, the embedding of enterprise education within the new Welsh curriculum, a refocusing on careers education, advice and support and the creation of mechanisms for schools to engage with business, especially at primary level.
FSB fully supports the Welsh Government’s commitment to developing the role of apprenticeships in Wales, but this involves ensuring that the infrastructure is in place for schools and young people to work together and develop the skills and awareness of different employment options.
Janet Jones is policy chair for FSB Wales.