Should Graduates be banned from taking Apprenticeships?

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Apprenticeships are booming apparently, according to the 'figures'.

What the 'figures' don’t tell you is that many Graduates are being forced to take apprenticeships in order to get 'any kind of job'.

So the question is, are employers taking advantage of the current job climate to get Graduates into roles that are paid way less than the people are really worth? Are they being exploited?

Therefore, should graduates be banned from taking Apprenticeships, in order to stop companies exploiting the lack of other work available for them, and thus avoiding even having to pay minimum wage?

I know a company that I used to work for had a terrible habit of employing Univercity leavers on dire rates of pay with the excuse that they were some kind of 'modern apprentice', and getting them a living wage (as a manager myself) was neigh on impossible. They'd be doing the same work as their collegues for a third of the wages.

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Tsippy said:

Just because someone has attended a University and graduated does not mean that they understand how to do a job, therefore it's necessary for them to go through a 'learning phase' to understand what they need to do. Afterall, why would you pay anymore than minimum wage (if that) for someone who is incapable of carrying out their role? So makes sense to stick them on an apprenticeship until they're ready and able.

So, the government gives a subsidy to an employer so that he they take on a number of apprentices a year, but instead of taking on the non univercity educated school leavers to train them to do a job, as was intended, whilst paying them £2.25 per hour (as an example quoted this morning on the radio), the employer now takes advantage of the system and employees the 'best candidate' for the job which turns out to be desperate Univercity Graduates instead. People we, the tax payer, have already subsidised to get their education to enable them to get 'proper jobs' that allow contributions of reasonable levels of taxation to help pay back their previous subsidies. And you think that's right? Hope you dont have kids that fall into this trap.

Companies usually take on graduates at a reasonable starting rate, then up that rate as they gain experience. The starting rate shouldn't be £2.25 an hour though....

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Gaz. said:

So what would you rather these unemployed graduates do? Claim benefits with the scrotes who think certain jobs are below them?

If you were an employer what would you do?

Do you think the employers should be allowed to abuse the system, by offering 'apprenticeships' to people that are actually qualified to the the job in the first place? Most of these apprenticeships are after all subsidised by the government in the first place.... Its not that the Graduates dont have the qualifications forthe job, its that the employer seeks to take advantage of the situation to change a normal job into a low paid appreticeship in the first place. Aprenticeships have apparantly doubled in number this last 12 months. Perhaps thats at the cost of 'real' jobs?

But yes, what are the unemployed graduates supposed to do....? They seem to have little choice in reality.

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shirt said:

please substantiate the claim that the figures don't tell us. i reckon this is a load of crap tbh.

Sorry I cant for now, this was being discussed on the radio this morning, I cant find an article that 'prooves' what was being said was in anyway truthful, and as it was on the BBC you might well think it was biased.

Will keep a look out for it though. The information I've given in the above though was all discussed on the radio. Seems to me odd that suddenly, after years of trying to get companies to offer apprentice scheems, they suddenly have 100% more places on offer now the job market for graduates is so poor....

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davepoth said:

That's the thing, we won't be paying for them to get an education any more. The latest fee rise has students paying the commercial rate (what they charge to foreigners) to go to uni.

Thats not the case for current graduates though, or those that graduate before the rules change. As was said during the 'riots', most current or recently graduated students wont be facing those rises, it wont affect them (so why are they rioting?)..