Apprenticeships: why the UK should follow in Europe's footsteps

Apprenticeship schemes embedded in work cultures across Europe have helped protect unemployment levels from the current uncertainty in the Eurozone. With the UK economy stumbling and widespread youth unemployment across Britain, we could do well to take a lesson from our European counterparts. Germany, whose 6.6% unemployment rate compares favourably with the UK's 8.1%, boasts a renowned two-to-four year apprenticeship programme which attracts roughly two-thirds of vocational school students. Similarly, in Switzerland, the apprenticeship model based on in-company vocational trainin...