3:00 pm
Christina McAnea: We are certainly very supportive of the proposals on apprenticeships and provision for 16 to 19-year-olds. We are happy that local government is being given a greater role in co-ordinating the process. What we would like to see is tied up with other provisions in the Bill, such as the right to train. We would like a clearer right for people in employment to access training. Many members of the unions represented here are those in local government with the fewest formal qualifications. When you look at what happens across employers—it is the same in local government and in schools—only 1 per cent. of the money spent goes to those staff who do not have a degree level qualification or equivalent. Almost all the money is spent on staff who already have some formal qualification. We would want a clearer right to train and a greater focus on how to upskill people who are coming in or are not in the workforce at the moment, with a level 2 or above qualification.