A major new study into ‘technical’ apprenticeship provision in England and Wales shows that take up amongst women remains low with schools often failing to point out opportunities to female pupils.
The Sheffield Hallam University-led study says more women need to be encouraged to take up technical apprenticeships in careers such as engineering and construction, although the creative and media sector is meeting employment and training demands head-on.
The findings back up figures released last week by the National Apprenticeship Service which suggest that, although the number of women taking apprenticeships has more than doubled in the past decade, they make up only two per cent of technical apprenticeship starts in the construction, electro-technical and vehicle maintenance and repair sectors, and less than four per cent in engineering and driving vehicles sectors.
The new study, carried out by Sheffield Hallam’s Centre for Education and Inclusion Research, alongside the University of Warwick, for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) finds employers are responding well to a changing employment climate by offering training schemes, often conjunction with universities or other providers.
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