Apprenticeships are on the move – week by week

Building partnerships and promoting apprenticeships during EU Vocational Skills Week

The world of work needs talented and skilled young people more than ever. We need their ideas, their energy, and their innovative outlook.

Our education systems produce a steady flow of young talent, full of ambition and eager to work. But these bright young individuals often lack the skills or training that the world of work really needs. It’s as if our education and employment systems are not quite playing to the same tune.

It is time we changed this for the better. It is our duty to make sure future generations have the skills they need to adapt to and thrive in a rapidly changing world. We have to do more to connect the world of education with the world of work.

This week, we celebrate the second EU Vocational Skills Week. It is a fantastic initiative: proof that vocational training is taking its rightful place at the heart of our labour market and education systems. The “apprenticeship movement” is gathering momentum.

These success stories have two things in common: they are demand-driven and they are fuelled by the power of partnerships.

The Adecco Group is fully engaged this week, and I am in Brussels to meet with fellow private sector representatives and speak at several events to encourage more companies and governments to invest in apprenticeships. I am convinced they have a huge role to play in shaping a fairer, happier and more prosperous world. I also met with his Majesty the King of the Belgians – as a follow-up to his Majesty’s Delegation’s visit we co-organized in Switzerland last  June.

The evidence making the case for apprenticeships speaks for itself. The Global Talent Competitiveness Index that the Adecco Group publishes with INSEAD each year shows that countries with work- readiness programmes come out on top. Youth unemployment is also lower where there are effective apprenticeship systems.

So what is stopping more countries, young people and companies from embracing vocational training?

For some people vocational training still has an image and an access problem because society favours old-fashioned education and career paths. This is starting to change, but we need to do more as a society to end this stigma. An apprenticeship is one of the most effective, fulfilling paths for independent-minded, ambitious people into the world of work.

Many companies are not truly aware of the benefits of apprenticeships, and may not think they apply to their sector. They might lack the expertise to implement such a programme.

In education, we need a relationship between what is taught and what is useful in the workplace. And we need to ensure that all training and learning schemes are placed on an even footing in the eyes of the system and society.

Governments need to underpin all of these efforts with a regulatory set-up that allows vocational training to flourish. This is why I have signed the Joint Appeal with fellow CEOs linked to the Pact for Youth calling on Governments to accelerate the pace of reforms that will make business-education partnerships the new norm for Europe.

Research conducted since the 1990s by Economiesuisse proves that apprenticeships are a real win-win for businesses and society. Why? Apprentices have exactly the skills needed by the respective company and that brings a competitive advantage to both the business and the country. Take Switzerland; here the companies define the curriculum of apprentices as they know best what is needed in the market, while the state is ensuring consistency and quality in the education.

Through our own experience, the Adecco Group knows that the power of partnerships make a real difference in changing attitudes, and in influencing public and corporate policy.

I see this first hand through our involvement with the Global Apprenticeship Network, which builds private and public partnerships to create more opportunities for young people. We’re getting important partners such as Accenture, Nestle, Hilton, ABB, Microsoft, UBS and IBM on board to deliver our 20x20x20 goal: 20 million young people in work readiness programmes with 20 global companies and 20 GAN National Networks by 2020.

In Europe, we fully support the European Alliance for Apprenticeships, notably via our Pledge to provide 5,000 young people with a work-based training experience between June 2015- June 2018.

In France, the Adecco Group is helping to drive the apprenticeship movement through our Grande Ecole de l’Alternance programme, which has made us the largest employer of apprenticeships in the country. We support companies from 17 different sectors so that they can take on apprentices. We act as the employer, hiring apprentices, paying their salaries, building the curriculum, and managing all of the administration.

From transport to textiles, we are showing the true value of vocational training to industry across France.

In Italy, our “Young Digital” programme provides 12-week workshops in ICT, working with the government to ensure young people have the digital skills they need to work.

Through all these initiatives we also contribute to the Alliance for Youth, launched by Nestlé in 2014, currently reaching over 200 partners expanding from Europe to Latin and North America.

These success stories have two things in common: they are demand-driven and they are fuelled by the power of partnerships.

Young people want fulfilling and rewarding careers, and they want education and training that they can put into practice in real life. Vocational training gives young people a purpose and a chance to pursue a career that they are passionate about.

And for companies and governments, the return on investment is obvious: higher productivity, better-trained workforces, and lower unemployment.

The apprenticeship movement is gaining momentum. Let’s continue to work together to give our young people the skills they need, and the careers they deserve. Let’s turn every week into a Jobs for Youth and Skills for Business, not only with declarations, but with actions.