A record number of people have enrolled in apprenticeships in Lincoln over the past year.
In the last academic year (2011/12), 1,340 people in Lincoln started an apprenticeship – an increase of 86% from 2010/11. One three month period alone (August to October) saw 420 apprenticeships begin.
Nationally, half a million apprenticeships began over the past year in a range of fields.
Despite these numbers, there is still concern among business owners in Lincoln about taking on apprentices. Paul Killingsworth, owner PK Automotive said:
“A lot of the businesses I talk to would like to take on apprentices, but they’re frightened. They don’t know what’s out there or all of the regulations.”
Some business leaders say these concerns come from confusion owing to the number of changes to apprenticeship schemes over the last thirty years.
The Development Manager for the Greater Lincolnshire branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, Michael Self, said he was worried about the number of large corporations taking on apprentices and using them simply for cheap labour.