On the announcement of the Full Employment and Welfare Benefits Bill, Alex Meikle, ECA director of employment and skills, said, ‘We support the government’s recognition of the importance of apprenticeships, but the UK needs quality not just quantity, to ensure the right outcomes for young people and the economy.’
Alex Meikle added, ‘The electrotechncial sector is unique in the high number of small and micro-businesses involved in four year ‘gold standard’ engineering apprenticeships. We look forward to discussing with the government how to meet its national targets, while delivering high quality training and skills and challenging jobs for young people.’
Following the announcement of the Enterprise Bill and the planned introduction of a Small Business Conciliation Service, Paul Reeve, ECA director of business affairs, said, ‘We know from the previous administration that the government recognises poor payment is a critical problem, notably in the construction supply chain. We look forward to the details behind the proposed Conciliation Service, which may provide help to smaller businesses. However, we also advise the government against relying on too many different initiatives in order to achieve fair payment, because it may leave gaps that poor payers can still exploit.’
