Apprenticeships change lives. That\u2019s the mantra of Charlie Mullins OBE, founder and chief executive of Pimlico Plumbers in London, a thriving business that employs 350 workers, 45 of them apprentices.<\/p>\n
Mr Mullins spent four years as an apprentice plumber in south-west London.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was a kid, it was a great achievement to get an apprenticeship. We were trained properly and we were taught that we were as good as anyone else; that one day you could even have your own business,\u201d he told Chief-Exec.com yesterday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good way to learn. You get the money to pay the bills and earn a bit of respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Mullins said his apprentices \u2013 young men and women training to be plumbers and administrative staff \u2013 attended college one day a week and some took evening classes.<\/p>\n
\nWe\u2019ve got a massive skills shortage, massive unemployment among young people. Businesses need to contribute because there\u2019s no future without apprenticeships<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
If he could, Mr Mullins would make it compulsory for companies to employ one apprentice for every 10 workers, a move that he says would improve the UK\u2019s skills base and cut youth unemployment. And the unemployed young would have their job seekers allowance paid directly to business in exchange for an apprenticeship.<\/p>\n
But the government\u2019s new apprenticeship levy scheme is a good start, he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Mullins supports the levy \u2013 half a per cent for businesses with a pay bill of more than \u00a33 million from April \u2013 which his company will pay.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a massive skills shortage, massive unemployment among young people. Businesses need to contribute because there\u2019s no future without apprenticeships,\u201d Mr Mullins said.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that some companies had mixed feelings about the levy.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome don\u2019t understand it. Some are worried they can\u2019t afford it. It may not be the simplest thing in the world, but we\u2019ve got to start somewhere. And a lot of the small businesses won\u2019t pay anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Mullins said he had seen both sides of the equation \u2013 as an apprentice and as a business owner.<\/p>\n
\u201cSkills are in demand. You can be self-employed, a success. That\u2019s what I say when I go to colleges to speak to young people.<\/p>\n
\u201cApprenticeships give you very transportable skills. It\u2019s even becoming fashionable to be an apprentice.\u201d<\/p>\n
By Aban Contractor<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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