A BRIGHTER FUTURE

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Anne Bailey, from Form the Future, spoke to BCS about their initiative to help create 420 new STEM apprenticeships in Ca
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A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR DIGITAL IT APPRENTICESHIPS

STEM INITIATIVE IN CAMBRIDGE SEES 18% INCREASE IN APPRENTICESHIPS Anne Bailey, from Form the Future, spoke to BCS about their initiative to help create 420 new STEM apprenticeships in Cambridgeshire. ‘When ‘Form the Future’ was appointed to develop a skills service for the Greater Cambridge area as part of the regions ‘City Deal’, it came with a clear objective: to help create over 420 new STEM apprenticeships. This was a challenge because teachers and parents in Cambridge, a city blessed with two universities, have tended to encourage young people to pursue degrees. Many of the city’s employers only recruit graduates and some only PhDs! We had our work cut out to take on this challenge, and change the perception and value of a Digital IT apprenticeship. A quiz I’ve done many times with students, teachers and parents, starts with one question; how many different industries offer apprenticeships? The answer rarely deviates from plumber, mechanic or hairdresser. Knowledge of the vast amount of development that’s gone into apprenticeships in the past few years has been fairly low. When it comes to STEM apprenticeships, knowledge was almost non-existent. However, through our activities we have achieved some fantastic results within Cambridgeshire.

2016/17 SAW AN INCREASE IN APPRENTICESHIPS

18.3%

5.7%

2%

Greater Cambridge

Cambridgeshire

Nationwide

To help change the perception of an apprenticeship, Form the Future put in place the following activities which are proving effective in raising apprenticeship awareness: • Every year, students in year 11 and their parents are invited to an event at their school to meet all the post 16 providers, together with apprentice employers and their apprentices. Students and their parents are introduced to an apprenticeship as an alternative route to higher education and a career in the digital industries. They get a chance to hear from young people who had chosen this route. Although employers aren’t always necessarily looking to recruit, they are eager to talk to students and parents about the apprenticeship pathway. • We are seeing an increasing amount of interest, particularly around the new degree apprenticeships. Regular parent workshops are run to help them understand how apprenticeships are changing. A recent parents’ evening at one of our large sixth form colleges was so oversubscribed we had to run double sessions. It’s important to show parents that level 3 and 4 apprenticeships can provide a pathway towards a degree level apprenticeship. • Panel discussions have been run for students in years 11-13 to ask questions of young employees, some of whom did a degree, others who did an apprenticeship. They often perform the exact same job, earning the same salary and with the same future prospects. Comparing their respective experiences is quite an eye-opener for students, often leading students who had only considered university to consider an apprenticeship instead.

‘It’s really exciting to explain to young people the sorts of apprenticeships that are available, the ways in which they’ll learn, and the chance to take their first step into a career – without incurring university debt. Current estimates are that there have been 240 new starts on STEM apprenticeships in our area. We’re at the start of a journey to level the playing field and give apprenticeships the profile they deserve, and the signs are good. Any employer, school, college or training provider who would like to learn more about how to change attitudes towards apprenticeships, particularly in digital, please get in touch. While we currently operate in and around Cambridgeshire, we’re happy to see how we can help anywhere in the UK.’

Anne Bailey – Co-founder and director, Form the Future CIC

www.formthefuture.org.uk www.bcs.org/apprenticeshipcareers