Future priority areas that we would like to have a closer look at include investment in the older workforce.iEEFW Committee, Official Report, 26 February 2019, col 30
The CITB also acknowledged that the funding structure could act as a barrier for older learners:
The reality is that it is not attractive for, say, a 25-year-old to enter construction on an apprenticeship wage rate, and we are keen to explore what more can be done to make that an attractive proposition for older individuals.iiEEFW Committee, Official Report, 26 February 2019, col 56
Elliot Ruthven, an adult apprentice studying plastering at Edinburgh College acknowledged that balancing outgoings with the apprenticeship wage was sometimes challenging:
I have to pay my rent, my council tax and my bills, pay for my car, and still have to pay for the normal amenities, so if I do not get a little bonus every week or two weeks, covering my bills can be a bit of a stretch, given that I am on what is, basically, the minimum wage.iiiEEFW Committee, Official Report, 5 March 2019, col 10
With regard to training and retraining older workers, SDS said that improvements were already being made:
It is current Government policy to give young people the best possible start in their careers, but I point out that a third of those in the modern apprenticeship programme are 25 years and over.