Dating-style app needed for Welsh apprenticeships

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A dating-style app is needed to attract people to apprenticeships in Wales, the skills minister has said.

It comes as industry experts warned "inadequate" advice and "out-dated perceptions" were preventing people taking-up placements.

Last year, 45,295 apprenticeships were taken up - a 6% drop from 2014-15.

Julie James said careers advice had to be "fit for the 21st Century" and said there was a disconnect with young people which needed addressing.

Ms James told an assembly committee that changes were under way to modernise careers services in order to give school leavers all options on clearing this summer.

She added a Welsh Government-funded apprenticeship app was "not fit for purpose" and would be scrapped and replaced.

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Image captionJulie James told an assembly committee progress had been made with promoting apprenticeships

"What we have is a disconnect with young people, because I say this all the time, how can you want to be something you have never heard of? That's a big issue for us," she said.

Industry advisors from Wales' three regional skills partnership bodies (RSP) told the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee last Wednesday "inadequate" careers advice and "out-dated perceptions" about apprenticeships by teachers and parents were stopping young people making informed choices about their futures.

The bodies - charged with advising the Welsh Government on funding priorities for skills - highlighted issues including:

• Issues selling the benefits of apprentices to small and medium-sized businesses, which do not have human resources departments
• A shortage of Welsh speakers to train care and health service apprenticeships in Welsh speaking heartlands
• The introduction of the UK-wide apprentices levy has caused "confusion and concern" among employers in north Wales - especially those close to the English border
• Apprenticeship matching service is "not user friendly" and limited and finding information about placements can be "difficult"
• Perceptions about apprenticeships by teachers and parents need to be challenged

According to the latest figures there is approximately one careers advisor for every six schools, the equivalent of one to about 4,500 pupils.

Careers Wales - a Welsh minister-funded service charged with providing impartial careers advice - will have all its web-based tools redesigned, with its apprenticeship-matching tool scrapped.

The service saw a 66% cut in its budget from the Welsh Government from £18m in 2016-17 to £6m in 2017-18