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Posted by on in Disability Discrimination
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Apprenticeship schemes excluding women and disabled workers

The Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in Scotland has released a report into inequalities in accessing Modern Apprenticeships, the Scottish Governments flagship training programme.

The report shows that, currently:

  • disabled people take up less than 0.5% of all apprenticeship places,
  • gendered segregation in apprenticeships is still unacceptably high - less than 2% of engineering or construction placements go to women,
  • Scotland is the only part of the UK where men’s access to apprenticeships is higher than women’s,
  • ethnic minorities also have poor access – less than 2% of all apprenticeships in Scotland are offered to ethnic minorities, and
  • although men are increasingly moving into ‘traditionally female’ apprenticeship programmes (e.g. the care sector), there is no evidence of women moving into ‘traditionally male’ apprenticeships.

Speaking about the report, Alastair Pringle, EHRC Director in Scotland said:

“At a time when the Government is moving people from welfare into work, the accessibility of training for skills is essential. Our report shows that out of the 26,000 apprenticeships placements available in Scotland, only 74 disabled people have been able to take up places.”

"The report also shows that occupational segregation remains a significant issue in Apprenticeships programmes, with little or no progress being made in trying to open up employment opportunities in traditionally “male” sectors of the economy such as engineering and construction, where men occupy 98% of the available apprenticeship placements.”

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