George Osborne's apprentice pledge will fail 'if small IT businesses don't get involved'

The Government’s pledge to create three million apprenticeships is at risk of failing unless small IT businesses get involved more, an expert warns.

George Osborne pledged to create more apprenticeships when he announced the Budget in July. Graham Hunter is the VP of skills certifications, Europe and Middle East at IT trade association CompTIA. He tells Recruitment Grapevine that the government should do more to involve smaller businesses.

He says: “The 3 million apprenticeships that the Government has promised are not going to come from the IBMs of the world hiring another 50 apprentices. They are going to come from small businesses.”

The problem, Hunter claims, is that the small IT businesses have not been consulted about what apprentice training schemes should look like. This makes them less confident in taking on apprentices, according to Hunter.  He argues that the lack of a ‘gold standard’ of a STEM sector apprentice qualification makes smaller businesses reluctant to hire apprentices.