Trade Skills 4U has joined other groups in backing the BIS (Business, Innovation and Skills Committee) report which concludes that the quality of British apprenticeships is more important than quantity.
The electrical training provider agrees that apprenticeships should be made more challenging to suit the demands of the industry concerned. It says that several 17th edition electricians have reported spending the first year or longer of their apprenticeship sweeping floors, visiting electrical wholesalers for materials, making the tea and, if they were lucky, observing some electrical work in between.

Trade Skills 4U says there is a distinct lack of opportunity to gain relevant hands on experience and many electrical apprentices are entering the jobs market without the essential skills needed to successfully pursue a career in the electrical industry.

The organisation is calling for a closer partnership to be developed within schools to raise the standards of entrants who enter vocational training. It says that the construction industry as a whole faces a huge shortage of suitably qualified domestic electricians and installers. In addition, it believes that changes are needed to the current 17th edition model and schools need to take essential basic education more seriously and not use the apprenticeship route 'as a dumping ground'.