The Traineeships programme –
which will be launched nationwide this August – is targeted at 16-24 year olds
who are unemployed and who need to gain additional skills to find an
Apprenticeship or employment.
The TUC agrees with ministers
that high-quality work experience is an important factor in helping young
people into work. However, it is concerned that poor quality schemes could lead
to exploitation, with trainees being used as free labour and possibly even
displacing existing workers.
Young people can also become
disillusioned with schemes if they are not given relevant high-quality training
and work experience or any chance of a job at the end of a placement, warns the
TUC.
The TUC has therefore launched
its Traineeships Charter – designed for union reps, but also useful for
employers, training providers and young people looking to start a traineeship –
that sets out several key points to ensure that a Traineeship is high quality.
•
Where work of value is done by a trainee, employers should pay them. This will
also help prevent trainees displacing existing workers.
•
Placements should give young people the skills relevant to their aims and the
needs of the local labour market to raise their chances of future employment.
•
Trainees should be offered careers guidance and advice on other work-related
issues such as health and safety and employment rights.
•
Qualifications received on a traineeship should count towards an apprenticeship
framework.
“Traineeships can provide a vital
bridge between education and work or an Apprenticeship – but only if they are
of sufficiently high quality.
“Bad schemes can exploit trainees
and displace existing workers from paid employment without doing anything to
help young people into work.
“For a work placement to be
genuinely useful it should offer fair pay when work of value is done, proper
careers guidance and a guaranteed job interview at the end.
“While the TUC Traineeships
Charter is primarily designed for union reps to negotiate better schemes with
employers, it should also be useful for training providers and young people
wanting to know what to expect from a good quality work placement.”
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