The apprenticeships scheme is an absolute scam IMO. Subsidises firms to employ staff on less than minimum wage on the promise of non-existent jobs when the apprenticeship ends. My company now has about 50% of its client facing staff from this scheme, they've replaced full time, salaried positions. There's no training plan for them, they just have to google stuff and try and work it out for themselves. While they are nice enough people they have zero clue how to do the job so their work flows up the chain to my team.
The cost of their education is paid to the FE college by the tax payer, a middleman company is paid by the taxpayer to run the apprenticeship schemes and their wages are also subsidised by the taxpayer. Who is benefitting from this?
At least in the industry I work in, and I suspect others are the same, it has reduced the number of people employed in actual jobs and has helped to suppress wages.