In article ,
fred writes:
In article , ARW
writes
The most interesting bit is the last sentence of the story.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-31550473

I'm sure, "To support our hard-working apprentices . . . " had you
rolling on the floor like you were having a fit. Did anyone try to force
a stick between your teeth?

So what do you get paid these days if you go to college when you leave
school?

An excellent analogy, the NUS seems to forget that a wet behind the ears
'student' apprentice is about as productive as a bantam chick, that the
pay they receive reflects the training they are receiving and that they
get more pay as they become more productive.

I wonder how many would sign up if they had zero pay, had to pay for
their college courses and had to pay back 'apprentice' loans.

College and apprenticeship are not good analogies.

Graduates are not work-ready when they come out of college (although
just how much that applies depends on the grad and the job). They
enter employment, and it takes about 2 years before they are being
productive - genuinely worth their salary. During that 2 year period,
there's still an apprenticeship but not by that name, where they
are learning and consuming the resources of supervisors/mentors,
and costing more than they can generate in value to the company.

In today's pressure on costs, that's a significant reason new grads
are now finding it difficult to find jobs. The company and the grad
really need to be committed to each other for at least 5 years, or
the company will not make back their investment in the person.
Indeed, it could be their competitor who benefits if the grad leaves
before then but stays in the same business.

Some companies do understand this, and providing they have a 5+ year
view and they know how to retain good staff (which doesn't necessarily
mean paying high salaries), they can take on grads and benefit.

--
Andrew Gabriel
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