Technical apprenticeships celebrated at Bletchley Park, home to key intelligence work
Aspiring engineers are finding out how today's technical careers landscape looks like
A range of events across Bucks, Beds and Herts are this week celebrating apprenticeships, coinciding with government announcements aimed at slashing red tape to boost growth.
At Bletchley Park, one particular event saw HMGCC and FCDO Services, two government organisations doing confidential work, meeting with teenagers to talk about careers and pathways.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, Gayle Worvill, Director of People for FCDO Services, said: "It does all matter. It all protects the nation's interests.
"What we do it is contributing to keeping our people, our data, our buildings safe and protecting people."
HMGCC, His Majesty's Government Communications Centre, is about national security engineering.
The way they operate is by taking the most challenging problems and turning them into engineering solutions, and their work extends to manufacturing and forensics and can be digital, software or hardware.
And like FCDO Services, their work is sensitive and confidential.
FCDO Services create a range of engineering solutions to provide secure services worldwide to support diplomacy, development and defence for the UK government.
The majority of their work is based here in the UK, but also abroad, at embassies across the globe.
Just like for other employers, apprenticeships are an attractive pathway into their organisation.
Director of engineering and operations at FCDO Services, George Hickerton, said: "In my area with regard to engineering, a lot of it's around the ability to solve problems.
"So what we tend to find is we need people that can work in teams so they can work with other disciplines and design the heating, the ventilation, the lighting within a space, and that requires people to be problem solvers, but also work as a team, and that's a big part of what I look for in people."
And the location of the event wasn't picked at random.
Bletchley Park, the home to sensitive government work which saw the codebreakers decipher key intelligence messages in the Second World War, also has a direct link with FCDO Services through the wireless radio service they used to run.
Director of Global Services for FCDO Services, Jonathan Pilling, said: "Today's event really is powerful because it allows us to relate what we do in that slightly mystified world of diplomatic missions around the globe to actually what students are learning in a day-to-day level.
"So how do they how do they plant that seed of a physics lesson today is a technical engineering job, a diplomatic mission, tomorrow."
An apprentice enrolled with them, Jamie, added: "I think there's so many underrated skills that are the foundation that you need going into the working world, and I think it just provides all of that foundation so by the time you've got your degree, you're leaps and bounds ahead of someone who's gone a different direction."
Barriers to apprenticeships
There remain significant barriers to accessing apprenticeships, a concern raised by Anna Morrison, founder and director of Amazing Apprenticeships, based in Hitchin.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, she said: "One of the problems we've got with apprenticeships is people just don't know what's out there.
"They may have a misconception about what an apprenticeship is and the types of job roles available."
Another challenge is the complexity of the recruitment process.
"You've got to know how to find an apprenticeship, which isn't always straightforward. Although there's a government website, not all employers use it. Some advertise on their own sites, some use job boards, and others rely on training providers. It’s a real mix, and that can be daunting," Ms Morrison added.
Recent government announcements on apprenticeship reforms
The government this week introduced changes to apprenticeship requirements, particularly concerning English and maths qualifications.
Ms Morrison explained what that means: "One of the announcements we've had is around English and maths no longer being an exit requirement for apprenticeships.
"Previously, if you didn’t have GCSE English and maths, even as an adult, you had to complete functional skills qualifications. This put many people off starting or completing their apprenticeships."
Another change involves shortening the duration of certain apprenticeships.
The government is now piloting three apprenticeships that will have a minimum duration of eight months, as opposed to the current 12 months duration, allowing quicker completion for those who can progress faster.
A new programme, Foundation Apprenticeships, is also set to launch later this year, which Ms Morrison said would help individuals who haven’t been able to access a Level 2 or Level 3 apprenticeship, whether due to confidence, experience, or other barriers.