A MOVE to increase apprenticeship grants from the current rate of £1,852 per student to a maximum of £2,350 per student to factor in inflation was soundly defeated.
Deputy Inna Gardiner also wanted to see an apprenticeship grants funding model introduced rather than funding them as part of general departmental budgets.
The Public Accounts Committee chair highlighted what she described as an unfair discrepancy between practical courses and those offered in educational settings such as Highlands College.
A-level students in government schools received the full cost of their courses – an average of £7,500 per year – funded by the taxpayer, she said, but those doing apprenticeships only received around a quarter of this sum.
“How can we say we value skills when our funding model tells apprentices they are worth a fraction of their academic peers?” she asked.
Deputy Gardiner said her intention was to bring apprenticeship grants in line with inflation from already existing and unspent funds, thereby supporting skills that were “much-needed” by the Island.
Education Minister Rob Ward said that the apprenticeship grant had gone up by 15% and that it was important to provide a funding model that offered “clarity and stability” to employers.
When it came to the vote, Deputy Gardiner’s amendment received nine votes with 27 Members voting against, and a further five abstaining.
