Apprentice abuses must end, says UCATT

The government must take urgent action to stop safety and other abuses of apprenticeship schemes, the construction union UCATT has said. The union was commenting after 'serious safety concerns' were revealed in a BBC Panorama investigation broadcast earlier this month. The programme found private training providers were 'signing off' apprentices who had not been assessed and had not completed necessary training, using forged and doctored paperwork. Steve Murphy, general secretary of UCATT, said: 'Unless apprentices are directly employed by a company and have their education managed by a fully accredited college, then there is always going to be a fundamental problem with apprenticeship training. Private sector providers will invariably cut corners to boost profits. This creates real safety concerns as companies then employ someone who they believe is properly skilled and understands construction dangers when that is clearly not the case.' UCATT is campaigning for the number of construction apprentices to be increased. It wants the introduction of public sector procurement policies that require companies working on government contracts to train apprentices, with companies failing to do so not eligible for the work.

UCATT news release. The Great Apprentice Scandal, Panorama, BBC, 2 April 2012.