Meet the modern apprentice

The days of traditional apprenticeships in engineering or craft industries are gone, and while many bemoan their demise, the dogs-bodies of the past are laughing all the way to their NVQs. Apprenticeships that had young men earning a pittance and working long hours have now changed beyond recognition, not only to include most types of industry, but women too.

Hairdressing is an industry well-known for its use of apprentices. John,who manages a salon in Lincolnshire, makes no bones about his distrust of them. "I gave up taking on apprentices years ago," he said. "I spent an evening a week training them, then as soon as they were experienced they moved on. I only take on people with six to eight years' experience now. Hairdressing is as much about communication as about cutting hair. You might be able to learn cutting techniques in a college but you need practice to learn the patter that makes clients come back again."

Liz Marks is marketing manager for Sussex Enterprise, which recently held its trainee of the year awards - the prizes were presented by athlete Kriss Akabusi. "Apprenticeship is just another term for vocational training," said Ms Marks. "It is an alternative to further education and offers students a paid career. Apprenticeships were taken by young men going into the family firm. Now young men and women have equal opportunities."

There are currently 5,500 trainees in Sussex undertaking the kind of continuous assessment that provides proof of competency in tasks relevant to their work. Unlike traditional apprenticeships, National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are for anyone regardless of age, and offer those without academic qualifications the chance to certify their skills. A level two NVQ may be equivalent to a GCSE, but a level five is similar to a postgraduate degree. There are more than 100 courses available across all industries from construction, through transport to care and communication.

The term modern apprentice takes NVQs one step further. These schemes take the managers of the future and groom them. Modern apprentices are encouraged to act as mentors to other staff, learn about communication, IT and teamwork and to acquire supervisory skills. When an employer recognises that an employee has the potential to go far, then a modern apprenticeship can be the hook that will keep him or her loyal to the company," said Ms Marks.

The Government offers funding to many kinds of companies choosing to provide this kind of staff training and has proposed to expand the scheme to 160,000 young people within two years. The schemes are designed to give young people training and skills in companies where apprenticeships had not existed before, with small- and medium-sized companies targeted in particular.

The modern apprenticeship still uses the NVQ framework but trains people in more than just technical skills, with management skills added to the portfolio. It is the very nature of today's apprenticeships - combining classroom study with real-life work - that keeps trainees motivated.

Chris Riley, 20, is this year's Sussex trainee of the year. He is doing a modern apprenticeship, including an NVQ3 in information and systems design and programing, with Computing Devices at St Leonard's-on-Sea. "I'm being paid to work and being educated at the same time," said Mr Riley.

Despite attempts to provide modern apprenticeships for both sexes, it is still the case that far more males enter engineering and IT, which pay higher salaries, than industries such as hairdressing and care, which tend to attract girls. The Centre for Economic Performance Research claims apprenticeships fail to fill the skills gap. Nevertheless, the schemes are a step in the right direction.