UK Apprenticeships and Software Development
2 September 2009
Corey Haines recently blogged about building a software development school and it got me thinking about UK Apprenticeships and how we could improve the “craft” here in the UK.
UK Apprenticeships (a rebranding of “Modern Apprenticeships” - also known as “Day Release”) is essentially a scheme that combines on and off the job training. They cover a large array of careers but all have the same common principle: apprentices spend most of their time (typically 4-days per week) working in a real business under a mentor, and the remaining time at college studying for a recognised qualification.
According to the Apprenticeships website) an Apprenticeship is not a qualification itself but a framework containing separately certificated elements.
The Apprenticeship frameworks cover a wide range of industries including an ICT Professional apprenticeship - I wonder what it would take to develop a scheme for software developers which would enable UK development workshops to start taking an active role in developing the next generation of software craftsmen?
