Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

First, I declare my interests as recorded in the register with one important addition as of this moment. I am delighted and honoured to have been asked to serve as chairman of the independent company set up to oversee the implementation of the McDonald’s apprenticeship programme, following the company’s announcement in January that it is set to become the UK’s biggest provider of apprenticeships. This year, McDonald’s will provide apprenticeships in multiskilled hospitality for up to 6,000 of its 71,000 UK workforce, increasing to up to 10,000 a year from next year. Staff will enjoy the opportunity to gain a valuable nationally recognised qualification that is equivalent to five GCSEs at grades A to C. I thought that I should explain the situation, as the qualification recognises job-specific skills acquired through workplace training, combined with GCSE-equivalent maths and English, and will be accredited by the leading awarding body City and Guilds. Apprenticeships come in many shapes and sizes, as the Government’s newly appointed enterprise tsar would no doubt be able to confirm were he already a member of this House. Different apprenticeships suit different individuals, but I believe that it is crucial that we should be clear in each instance about what is being demanded of an individual and what the value of any qualification earned is going to be, especially in the eyes of potential employers. Of course, the first wave of McEdCo qualifications will be the equivalent of educational level 2. Vocational qualifications may vary in the level of attainment that they signify, but the apprenticeships that lead up to them generally have numerous features in common, which leads me directly on to the substance of this group of amendments. As matters stand, there is no clear and concise definition in the Bill of an apprenticeship. Amendments 1 and 13 would define "apprenticeship", because there is no statutory definition. Amendments 3, 6, 57, 61, 178 and 208 would ensure that some element of workplace training is included in apprenticeship training. Amendment 70 would ensure that, when careers advice is given on an apprenticeship, it is taken into account that the apprenticeship is defined as training that will lead to, ""competence in a chosen trade, profession or occupation"." We are trying with these amendments to set out in a readily understood form what we believe most people would regard as the essential features of a meaningful apprenticeship. It should be a job. It should offer a combination of on-the-job and off-the-job training. There should be substantial employer engagement. It should lead to a recognised level of proficiency, clearly expressed in terms of the equivalent educational attainment. Standards must be robustly and rigorously monitored. Ideally, these matters should be discussed, and ultimately resolved, far above the usual party-political fray. My noble friend Lady Morris of Bolton explained why I could not be present—it was my 36th wedding anniversary and it was more than my life was worth to be absent—but I listened to the speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Morgan of Drefelin, when she claimed credit for the Government’s supposed achievement of bringing apprenticeships, ""back from the brink of extinction".—[Official Report, 2/6/09; col. 108.]" That is fine, rousing rhetoric, but it is a staggeringly hyperbolic assertion far removed from the truth. When I had the honour to serve as Secretary of State for Employment in 1993, I was able to introduce these new, modern apprenticeships at qualification level 3 or above, working in partnership with the private sector. Our ambition was to have 150,000 places at any one time. From what was effectively a standing start, we had reached 65,000 by 1997. We made a substantial investment and this was a substantial achievement, greatly helped, I might add, by a number of bodies, including training and enterprise councils and the TUC—the noble Lord, Lord Jordan, gave me the vision of these new apprenticeships, which was brave at the time. We were also helped by the CBI and many other bodies. It is not a good idea to belittle all that was achieved in moving away from the old-fashioned system to a new, modern apprenticeship system. I hope that we can take this forward on a non-partisan basis. It would make it a lot easier if we stuck to agreed facts and definitions. Ministers have changed the working definition of apprenticeships before—in 2000. I suppose that that made the figures look a bit better, but it underlines the need to be absolutely clear in the legislation about what we mean by an apprenticeship—otherwise we shall find ourselves compared to Humpty Dumpty, who said: ""When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less"." We must seek to guarantee the integrity of vocational qualifications. Amendments very similar to these were rejected in another place. However, the Minister, Siôn Simon, appeared to agree with our intention, if not with our precise formulations. He said to both the Liberal Democrat and Conservative Front Benches: ""The fundamental underlying principle of an apprenticeship is that it is a paid job … I understand and sympathise with the spirit and the intention of his amendments … This is an occasion—and not all of politics is so—on which we agree wholeheartedly on the ends and are merely disputing the means … I certainly agree that all apprenticeship frameworks must include supervised training in the workplace. There is no doubt about that, and the Government have never been equivocal about that. Supervised workplace training is central to the apprenticeship experience. It is what all apprentices have a right to expect".—[Official Report, Commons, Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill Committee, 10/3/09; cols. 204-05.]" We on these Benches agree with every syllable of that. On that basis, we look forward to hearing the response of Ministers here. I hope that they will feel able to accept these amendments not only in principle but also in practice. Otherwise there is a genuine danger that some of the qualifications awarded at the end of an apprenticeship may be regarded by potential employers not as a gold standard but as a very base metal indeed. I beg to move.