Multicultural Apprenticeship & Skills Alliance

Industry news The Government has announced plans to build more than 70,000 social and affordable homes over the next decade.   It is already committed to building 1.5 million homes by the end of this parliament and that would involve building 300,000 a year but at present the annual build rate is said to be 200,000 so it is well off target.   At one time local authorities were big landlords and Birmingham City Council was once the largest landlord in Europe.   But this has largely changed with social and affordable homes very much left up to housing associations and charities.   Housing associations are organisations that are run not for profit. They own, let and manage rented housing.   The Government has allocated £10 billion for its social and affordable housing programme with funding promised in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire, North East England and Liverpool.   There is a separate £6 billion allocation set aside for London.   But one of the biggest challenges facing house builders in the private and social housing sectors are a lack of skilled workers.   It has been estimated that there will be a need for more than a million new construction workers over the coming decade.   The workforce is ageing with an estimated more than a third of construction workers aged over 50 which means hundreds of thousands are approaching retirement. Only a small proportion of the construction industry workforce is aged below 30. Brexit has also exacerbated the problem with the loss of an estimated 200,000 workers from the European Union over the past seven years.   Jobs where there are shortages include project managers, bricklayers, carpenters, plasterers and painters.   It is a sector in which apprenticeships can play a big part in putting more construction workers on site. Safaraz Ali MBE founder of the alliance said “Some of our patrons are very close to what is happening in construction, and will be major players in what is to come  NOCN Group City & Guilds plays a vital role as an accreditation body making sure training schemes are up to scratch whilst  BAM UK & Ireland is a giant civil engineering company involved in many large infrastructure projects, there work will be critical if the government is to meet its ambitious targets"   Last autumn Richard Parker Mayor of the West Midlands announced a £75 million programme to train 12,000 construction workers over the next three years. Funding is being drawn from the West Midlands Combined Authority adult skills budget. Suneal.P Ram Kissun FIEP Kasim Choudhry Martin Chandler Pathway Group Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards Andrea Fisher Stephen Gray CEng FICE Paddy Craven FIEP Paul Archer Krishna Parekh Graham Hasting-Evans Simon Lewis FIH Tyron Wain Darren Reski Cliff P. Andrew Kibbler David Tomalin

Industrial policy A Reform UK government would allow employers to do their own training in house. The move would make the involvement of a trading provider optional. Reform say that the move would increase the number of apprenticeships by cutting costs to employers and removing unnecessary bureaucracy. In a policy paper Reform says it will: “focus on skills not credentials and will allow employers to conduct the training of their apprenticeships in-house, according to their professional judgement and industry standards.” “They can focus on practical on the job training or set aside time for book-based learning if necessary. External providers can still be used but it will be optional.” If Reform had their way it would also be for the employer to determine the entry requirements and if level 2 Maths and English are needed. The Reform policy led by former The Conservative Party cabinet minister Suella Braverman MP who now leads for her new party on Education Skills and Equality says that the current system that requires an employer to find, choose and arrange is training provider is a barrier. “Whilst this may be a minor inconvenience for large businesses with HR departments, for small SME’s it is psychological as well as a practical barrier to entry.” Reform also says that the requirement for apprentices to spend time away from the workplace whilst the employer picks up the bill is also a barrier for potential employers of apprentices. Reform say that the Government must get better at communicating the benefits of apprenticeships and claims that a YouGov survey found that two thirds of employers were not aware of available support from the government, including 42 per cent of those who currently employ apprentices and 79 per cent of firms with fewer than 50 employees. The party says that small firms are often concerned that having invested in an apprentice they will leave soon after qualification. An Apprenticeship Retention Bonus of £2,000 will be paid to every worker who completes two years’ service in a small firm after completion of their apprenticeship. Safaraz Ali MBE founder of the Multicultural Apprenticeship & Skills Alliance said the proposals represent major change. “We will be consulting with our members and patrons and keeping a close eye on this,” he said. Suneal.P Ram Kissun FIEP Kasim Choudhry Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards NOCN Group Graham Hasting-Evans Occupational Awards Limited Jan Richardson-Wilde MA FIEP BAM UK & Ireland Andrea Fisher Compass Group UK & Ireland Jonathan Foot Severn Trent Kellie Emery Kaplan UK Jenny Pelling Lucy Hunte NHS England The Development Manager (TDM) Derrin Kent Youth Futures Foundation Chris Goulden Nishi Mayor City & Guilds Paddy Craven FIEP City of Wolverhampton College BMet Rebecca Bond Birmingham City University Danny Pardoe Northeastern University London Lauren Adams The Open University Dr Lynsey Quinn

Unintended Consequences. Increases in the minimum wage for young people is denying some of them jobs and training opportunities, especially in small and medium sized businesses.   Higher pay is good news for those in work but can mean that others are not getting the chance of an apprenticeship or training place.   It is known as the Law of Unintended Consequences.   The apprentice minimum wage was £6 an hour in 2023, rising to £7.50 in 2024 and £10 in 2025 – a 66 per cent increase in just two years. The minimum wage for under-18s rose again to £10.85 in April 2026.   This is proving a barrier to businesses hiring apprentices and is especially problematic for small and medium sized businesses which is where there are potentially huge opportunities for job creation.   Rising employment costs are making it increasingly difficult for SMEs to offer apprenticeship opportunities, despite the urgent need for skilled workers across British industry.   Plant & Works Engineering Magazine reports that an engineering business based in Yorkshire says that the intake for level 3 apprenticeships is lower than it has been at anytime in the past decade.   The company Tadweld Limited’s is reported as saying it  is now facing the difficult decision of reducing its intake at a time when the UK is already facing a significant shortage of skilled welders.   Whilst the UK is expected to need in the order of 35,000 new welders by 2030 there were only just over 200 welding apprentices trained across the UK in 2024.   “The desire to ensure that young people get a fair wage for the job they do cannot be faulted but there are unintended consequences and the significant increases in pay will make some employers stop and think before they take on apprentices,” said Safaraz Ali MBE founder of the Multicultural Apprenticeship & Skills Alliance.   “It is the smaller and medium sized businesses that are hardest hit by the higher cost of employing young people. There is a real dilemma because there must be a way found to increase the availability of apprenticeships because demand is on the up.” Suneal.P Ram Kissun FIEP Kasim Choudhry Martin Chandler Pathway Group Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards NOCN Group BAM UK & Ireland Andrea Fisher Graham Hasting-Evans Make UK CBI Midlands CBI London CBI North West CBI North East Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) British Chambers of Commerce Institute of Directors (IoD) IoD British Asian Business Group Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce

Industry News Sainsbury's is to provide 10,000 work experience opportunities for young people in the coming year. The Kickstarter initiative will give young people hands-on experience in stores, depots and offices.   It comes in response to the report led by Alan Milburn into the issue of a million people aged between 16 and 24 years not being in employment, education or training.   One of the barriers to young people getting a job is put down to the lack of work experience opportunities. Work experience enables the learning of skills but also boosts confidence and gets people used to the world of work.   The programme has been designed by Sainsbury’s Early Learning Careers Team and Store Support Centres. It will run alongside a separate pilot scheme that Sainsbury’s is helping to develop alongside The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) and the IGD (Institute of Grocery Distribution). This is intended to help young people gain meaningful work experience and make them more aware of the opportunities available.   There are two Kickstarter programmes, one is aimed at 14-16 year olds and has been designed by Sainsburys in conjunction with The School Outreach Company. This will combine in school learning and practical work experience.   Kickstarter Insights is for the 18-24 years category. It has been designed in house and in partnership with the youth employment charity Movement to Work and partner Aim A Little Higher. This programme will be made up of regional employability workshops and include help with CV writing, completing application forms and interview skills.   These will take place across England, Scotland and Wales and will focus on communities with high levels of young people not in employment education and training and where there are a high proportion of schools where pupils are eligible for free school meals.   Safaraz Ali MBE founder of the Multicultural Apprenticeship & Skills Alliance said that this was excellent news. “There is clearly a response to the first stage Alan Milburn report and the commitment from the New Prime Minister Andy Burnham to tackle the NEETS issue, once again the giants of UK PLC are stepping up to the plate to deal with this issue. I look forward to seeing this talent in the future represented at the Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards that is being held at the Vox Conference Venue this year on the 6th of November". Lindsay Rowe Carly Collins Kirsty Thompson Katharine Sherwood Helen Masters Suneal.P Ram Kissun FIEP Kasim Choudhry Martin Chandler Qasim Ali Andrew Kibbler Pathway Group #neets #Sainsbury’s

A job for life is a rare thing these days.   Most people will not only change jobs, but many will also change careers during a working lifetime.   People like BBC journalist and radio presenter Alex Worsick who at the age of 49 has swapped the newsroom and radio studio for the cab of a railway train.   She decided to make the change after listening to an interview with train driver Lauren Pugh who was encouraging more people to look at a career in the railways.   Alex has who previously worked for BBC Radio Lancashire had been a journalist for 22 years before deciding to make the change.   “I had got to the stage where I had done everything I wanted to do with the BBC – reporting, producing, news reading and editing,” she is reported as saying.   “It was a bit nerve wracking changing career in your mid-40’s but I thought if I don’t do it now, I never will.”   After passing the acceptance stage, she had 20 weeks in the classroom and is now gaining hands on experience in the cab. When this is complete, Alex will be qualified to drive five different types of train across five different routes in Merseyside and Lancashire.   Northern runs more than 2,500 services and is the top ranked train operator having been placed 24th in the ‘Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers’ as listed in the Sunday Times.   The train operator employs more than 800 apprentices across a range of different roles.   Northern is reported as saying that its apprenticeship programme is a big part of its work to develop a diverse and skilled workforce to “bring the next generation into the rail industry.”   “Apprenticeships are not just about bringing young people into the workforce but also upskilling existing workers and as with the case of Alex, enabling people to make a career change,” said Safaraz Ali MBE founder of the Multicultural Apprenticeship & Skills Alliance. Multicultural Apprenticeship & Skills Alliance Suneal.P Ram Kissun FIEP Kasim Choudhry Danny Gorman Jo Manifold Michelle Doyle Richard Meyers Chartered FCIPD Angela Hern Sebastian Cabot Martin Chandler Qasim Ali Pathway Group Andrew Kibbler #rail #Northern

Industry News Morrisons is giving youngsters a fresh start and the opportunity to build a career in retail.   The supermarket chain is launching 1,000 new apprenticeships to provide hands on experience in retail management and leadership over a two-year period.   Initially new starters will spend three months on the shop floor, after which they will move onto a 12 month apprenticeship in a chosen specialism which can include hospitality, bakery, butchery or training as a fishmonger.   Morrisons scheme is an initiative to support the Government’s aim to reduce unemployment amongst young people aged 16-24 years. It provides work opportunities in a sector that has traditionally been a first rung on the ladder for people entering work.   “There are a million young people in this age bracket who are not in employment, education or training,” said Jodie Keating, Morrisons Group People Director.   “At Morrisons, we want to play our part by providing proper jobs that give young people the opportunity to earn, learn and build lasting careers. Our Proper Jobs: Fresh Start Programme will combine real, hands-on experience with a fully funded qualification, for example in craft skills as butchers, bakers and fishmongers.   “It will also provide a clear route into leadership for a new generation of Morrisons colleagues whether they want to run a store, manage a logistics depot, lead a team at one of our Myton Food Group manufacturing sites or progress into a central business role.   “This initiative is part of Morrisons ongoing commitment to building skills, talent and supporting the next generation of leaders in our business. We are working in partnership with the IGD (Institute of Grocery Distribution), British Retail Consortium and other businesses across the retail industry on the NEET challenge, as no one organisation can fix this alone.”   Over the past year Morrisons has recruited more than 20,000 people with almost half in the 16-24 years age group.   Applications for the Fresh Start: Proper Jobs places will open in Yorkshire in September.   Founder of the alliance Safaraz Ali MBE said “ It is great to see Morrisons making such an important commitment, some people see supermarket work as just stacking shelves. This could not be further from the truth they are true key workers as we all saw during the COVID 19 pandemic". "They help keep us all fed to see Morrisons offering apprenticeships in butchery, bakery and fish-mongering, is great to see their commitment to these age-old professions. I look forward to seeing this new talent over the years being represented at the Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards this year being held at the Vox Conference Venue on November the 6th". Morrisons Early Careers Suneal.P Ram Kissun FIEP Kasim Choudhry Martin Chandler Pathway Group Alison Guest Georgina Francis Katie Thomas Jenna Curley PGCHE #MorrisonsMorrisons #apprenticeships #Neets  

Industry News Lloyds Banking Group sponsor of the Judges’ Choice award at the Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards at the Vox Conference Venue on November 6th has announced that by 2030 it plans to support more than 600,000 young people in the UK with career opportunities, skills experience, and financial education.   Lloyds says that it will between 2027 and 2030 hire 2,000 apprentices and graduates, double work experience places to 120,000 and offer nearly 490,000 young people skills and employability programmes.   The group says that it has supported 490,000 young people in the past five years and the latest announcement will take it to achieving the target of a million in a decade.   Since 2022 Lloyds say it has increased the number of T-level placements from 6 to more than a 100 and that around half of these young people have gone on to secure jobs within the business at the end of their placement.   Lloyds say that its work experience placements are helping some of the young people furthest from the chance of getting a job.   The banking group says that it will keep working closely with Youth Hubs, employers, colleges and community organisations in order to help young people get skills, experience and build their confidence.   Since the publication of phase one of the Milburn report into the problem of young people aged 16 to 24, not in employment, education or training earlier in the summer, there has been a raft of announcements about initiatives. The report revealed that there are a million (NEETS) in this country and one of the problems with getting work is that they cannot demonstrate any work experience.   Safaraz Ali MBE founder of the Multicultural Apprenticeship & Skills Alliance welcomed the announcement from Lloyds whom he said had been supporters of social mobility over many years.   “Alan Milburn and Andy Burnham have certainly moved the issue of youth unemployment up the agenda,” he said.   “Work experience is an important step towards getting into work but on their own these placements are not enough because there must be real sustainable jobs at the end of it.”   “ I have had the privilege of knowing Kathryn Marshall MBE for many years now and I know she has played a critical part in this amazing endeavour and I must thank her for being the true champion of social mobility that she is” photo Saf and Kathryn on the set of the Canny Conversations Podcast Suneal.P Ram Kissun FIEP Kasim Choudhry Martin Chandler Brad Edwards Andrew Kibbler Qasim Ali Alan Hill Pathway Group Jack Etherton Ahmed Ali Kimberley Dee Elaine Cowen Chartered FCIPD Jatinder Kaur Jason Gregory James Freeman NOCN Group Kaplan UK Mindful Education City Century Royal Navy British Army Paragon Skills Severn Trent QA Ltd NatWest Group Pearson Lifetime AstraZeneca Amazing Apprenticeships BMet

Patrons Delivering Many sports are easy to pick up and intuitive to understand.   In athletics it is simple to grasp that the person who runs fastest, jumps highest or longest or throws furthest is the winner, With football, the team that scores most goals wins. But cricket is something different. How many sports can be played for five full days and end in a draw or have long legs, short legs and square legs on the same side? Are there any other sports that have meal breaks?   Meal breaks in cricket are part of the ritual. Lunch and tea are important parts of the day, often more important than what is happening on the pitch.   This was even more the case on a day like yesterday at Edgbaston Stadium where Warwickshire County Cricket Club was playing Sussex County Cricket Club because spectators spent their time dodging showers.   The irony that after weeks of drought the Gods had decided to turn on the rain taps to welcome the restart of four-day cricket was not lost on the crowd.   Our team member Andrew Kibbler was at the game and commented “ although, the cricket did not deliver due to the rain, the hospitality definitely did, the food and staff were amazing”   Compass Group UK & Ireland a patron of the Multicultural Apprenticeship & Skills Alliance are major catering providers at many sports stadiums around the country, including at Edgbaston.   Sports catering and hospitality provider UK Levy Limited a division of Compass Group, agreed to a continuation of its long running contract at Edgbaston Stadium earlier this year.   The agreement continues a long-established partnership with Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham.   Edgbaston is also where compass have their Xcelerate with Compass training facility.   Compass Group are winners of large employer of the year two years running at the Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards and have 5 apprentices short listed for the awards being held at the Vox Conference Venue on November 6th,   Founder of the alliance Safaraz Ali MBE said “I have been to Edgbaston stadium, many times for all sort of things, I have always received exemplary service, there is always an added spark knowing that some if not all of the staff that are looking after me are trained by compass". "Knowing the dedication and effort that Jonathan Foot Barry Rotherham and the whole compass team put into training their staff, really shows as those individuals are really trained to a gold standard of hospitality". Photo taken by Paul D. France Suneal.P Ram Kissun FIEP Kasim Choudhry Martin Chandler Path 2 Apprenticeships | Powered by Pathway Group Pathway Group Mathew Ludlow Luke Ford Callum Greene Kirsty Adams Lifetime Charlotte Bosworth HIT Training Jill Whittaker OBE FCA FRSA FIH FBII Jonathan Davies Maria Scullion Ros Wilson Nicole Evans Jennie Hardy #Edgbastonstadium #hospitality #cricket #goldstandard

Patron new THERE has been no summer holiday for students studying Travel and Tourism Sandwell College.   That is because before the college broke up for the summer, they attended a recruitment day run by Butlin's.   This gave the students a chance to show off their talent and enthusiasm.   And yes, all of them were successful and secured seasonal jobs.   It seems that they have been spending the summer getting hands-on experience and building the confidence and skills that they will need for future careers in hospitality, travel and tourism.   “Experiences like these highlight the importance of strong employer partnerships and real world opportunities available to students throughout their studies,” said Melissa Parker of Sandwell College in a social media post.   Butlins is celebrating its 90th birthday this year.   In 1936, Billy Butlin changed the face of British holidays. His aim was to make the British seaside break accessible to all.    It started on a short visit to Barry Island where Billy felt sorry for families staying in drab guest houses with nothing much to do. He wanted to create a “place of colour and happiness” where quality activities and entertainment would be provided so that families could really enjoy their time together. So in 1936, Billy bought a plot of land in Skegness (where the resort is to this day) and set about making this dream come true. He not only pioneered a whole new way for British families to enjoy a seaside break, but was also a pioneer in the world of service. He wanted families to feel really looked after and cared for while they were away, and so he built a team that set the standard for providing brilliant service to his guests.   These are the Redcoats who are at the heart of making guests feel welcome.   The business has expanded and adapted and in addition to Skegness, there are now resorts at Bognor Regis on the south coast and at Minehead in Somerset.   Hospitality is an important part of the UK economy employing in the order of three million people and accounts for one in 15 jobs.   The hospitality sector is much more all year round than it was 90 years ago and as well as the summer months, resorts stay open throughout the year offer short stays and specials like Christmas breaks. #butlins #hoilday Safaraz Ali MBE Suneal.P Ram Kissun FIEP Kasim Choudhry Lisa Capper MBE Claire Williams Luke Minshell fCMgr Nargis Bostan Tahir Noor Katy Price Vincent Harley Georgina McLeod-Morgan Lona Williams Assoc CIPD Aimee Jenner Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards

Industry News   Eyebrows were raised when earlier this year Skills Minister Jacqui Smith was reported as saying that getting a degree apprenticeship was harder than getting into University of Oxford or University of Cambridge   But a survey undertaken by BBC shows the extent of the problem with more than 11 applications for every available degree apprenticeship. This compares with less than 3 in 2023-24.   The situation is not much better with a similar trend for apprenticeships at Levels 4 and 5 which is equivalent of a Foundation Degree.   At the core of the problem is that whilst demand for higher level apprenticeships have increased fourfold, the number available has dropped off a cliff.   The BBC News data relates to apprenticeships advertised through the Find an Apprenticeship website in England which is run by the Government and subject to Freedom of Information requests.   Data shows that whilst the number of these apprenticeships available was almost cut in half from 7,300 to 3,700 the number of applications almost tripled over the same three-year period from 8,100 to 21,800.   Part of the reason for the change is the high cost of student loans for people going to university whereas apprentices are paid to ‘earn as they learn’ and do not accumulate debt.   The Government has ended the funding of degree apprenticeships for people aged over 21 because these apprenticeships have been taking an ever-higher slice of the apprenticeship funding cake.   Whilst higher level apprenticeships have become ever more popular the take up rate for introductory and intermediate level apprenticeships has not been taking off.   Safaraz Ali MBE founder of the Multicultural Apprenticeship & Skills Alliance believes that the survey supports the view that more young people are becoming aware of the benefit of apprenticeships.   “With the average university graduate likely to incur more than £50,000 worth of debt by the time they qualify, a degree apprenticeship is a no brainer,” he said.   “Who would not opt for the opportunity to get a degree, learn on the job and get paid at the same time?   “Degree apprenticeships are flagged as the gold standard but its important to remember that introductory and intermediate level apprenticeship also offer huge benefits to employee and employer.”   “the work we are trying to do at the alliance and the Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards being held on the 6th of November at the Vox Conference Venue are all part of the greater objective of raising awareness of apprenticeships in under-represented communities, the news is encouraging that more people want to take up apprenticeships but we know that more needs to be done” Suneal.P Ram Kissun FIEP Kasim Choudhry Graham Hasting-Evans NOCN Group Kaplan UK Jenny Pelling Charlotte Bosworth Lifetime Royal Navy Sara Balls Severn Trent Kellie Emery Pearson BMet Rebecca Bond Lloyds Banking Group Kathryn Marshall MBE NatWest Group Nazma Ghafoor Amazing Apprenticeships AstraZeneca