Inspector slams training

The quality of construction training and the level of trainee achievement have been severely criticised by David Sherlock, the government's chief inspector of adult learning.
"Training in construction has nose-dived, with foundation apprenticeship success rates falling six percentage points to 18% and advanced apprenticeship successes falling seven percentage points to 31%," he said.
"It seems reasonable to conclude that the availability of well-paid jobs is diverting apprentices and employers from insisting on framework completion."
In its 2003/04 report, the adult learning inspectorate slams the quality of much of the training.
It states: "Inspection grades for construction training in further education colleges were worse this year than last.
"The proportion of unsatisfactory grades doubled to 28% and the number of good grades fell slightly. No provider was awarded a grade one.
"The quality of work-based learning in colleges was worse, with nearly half of all contributory grades unsatisfactory."
Commenting on the near-70% drop-out rate among apprentices, the report said: "In an environment where jobs are plentiful and where pockets of construction skills shortages exist in many parts of the country, once a learner has achieved their NVQ or an acceptable level of competence, some employers place less emphasis on framework completion than might otherwise be the case."
The inspectorate concluded that some learners were on courses that were inappropriate for their ability. "This was partly because of poor screening and misdiagnosis of numeracy and literacy support needs or no diagnosis at all."
Poor basic and key skills training is said to be an ongoing weakness in construction. But the inspectorate said there are signs of an improvement this year with a better diagnosis of literacy and numeracy support needs.