THE Jersey Construction Council is calling on politicians to back a proposal to increase public investment in apprenticeships – describing the disparity between academic and vocational funding as “extremely concerning”.
An amendment to the government’s draft Budget lodged by the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel, calling for additional funding and a comprehensive review of existing apprenticeship schemes, is due to be debated this week alongside a raft of other potential changes to minister’s spending plans for the next four years.
The JCC warned that a failure to prioritise vocational education was contributing to a shortfall in skilled workers and hindering efforts to address the Island’s infrastructure needs.
New data has revealed a sharp decrease in apprenticeship enrolment. The electrical apprenticeship programme at Highlands College has seen a 55% reduction in intake, dropping from three groups of 14 apprentices with a waiting list in 2023 to two groups of 12 apprentices with no waiting list this year.
In a statement, the JCC said: “The disparity between vocational and academic education is extremely concerning and this is leading to a shortfall in those students wanting to further their education on Island.
“Construction industry students, including apprentices, trainees and graduates are critical for developing those on-Island skills to maintain our critical infrastructure and built environment.
“Every pound spent in construction returns around three pounds of locally delivered value, so this investment would be local money well spent.
“Those completing apprenticeships live, learn and develop on Island, delivering benefits across all sectors, unlike some academic degree courses.”
The organisation’s vice-chair, Colin Russell, said: “We need to work together and cut through the red tape.”
He called for a collaborative, cross-departmental approach to lifelong learning.
Mr Russell added: “Compounding this issue is the impact of the introduction of the minimum wage in 2024 and the planned increase to the living wage in 2025.
“This is having a detrimental effect on all students undertaking vocational courses on and off Island; we fear the number being employed will be reduced year on year.
“We need a joined-up approach to lifelong learning, and would call on all the ministers involved – education, environment, infrastructure and economy – to get together and address this important issue.”
Government figures released in June showed that students at Hautlieu School benefit from between £7,000 and £8,000 in annual support, while those in vocational apprenticeships at Highlands College benefited from approximately £1,600 in investment per year.
While the government has allocated £500,000 of additional funding for apprenticeships in 2025, the Scrutiny panel argued that this would only cover the increased costs of existing programmes rather than expanding or improving them.
The panel’s proposed amendment to the government’s nearly £1.3 billion spending plans for 2025 to 2028 forms part of a series of changes that States Members have been putting forward in recent weeks.
Politicians began debating the Budget, including 20 amendments, today.
