The delivery of modern apprenticeships: are training and enterprise councils the right mechanism?

Abstract

This article critically assesses the role of Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) in the development and delivery of Modern Apprenticeships (MAs). It begins by reviewing the genesis of TECs as a new form of policy delivery mechanism designed to re-create a market-led training system. It explains their role in the new policy of MAs. The discussion then focuses on two interrelated questions: can locally based employer-led agencies provide a strategic focus for identifying the economy's intermediate skills requirements and are TECs the best basis for forging a consensus on the need for MAs? The particular position of small businesses in relation to MAs is also considered. The article concludes that there needs to be a greater role for sector organisations and a new basis for dialogue about what the aims of training policy should be.