Unions are warning young job seekers to be wary of unpaid trainee schemes which could actually damage their future job prospects.
It comes after the GMB, UCATT and UNISON had lobbied Newcastle
council to withdraw adverts for “exploitative” 6-month unpaid traineeships.
Officials say the adverts, which appeared last week on the website
of Access Training, offered people a 30 hours a week traineeship with half a day
of training in the Newcastle City Build Maintenance Warehouse.
The posts were due to last for 3-6 months with the possibility of
then qualifying for an apprenticeship paying £2.65 an hour.
The advertisements have been removed. Newcastle Council has denied
authorising them – it denies making any agreement with employers to recruit
unpaid trainees.
However, unions say they are concerned that the council is
currently training “multi-skilled” apprentices rather than fully training an
apprentice in a specific discipline such as carpentry, bricklaying, painting or
plumbing.
UCATT Northern regional
secretary Denis Doody said: “The removal of these adverts is to be welcomed.
These schemes are nothing short of exploitation.
“We need to remain vigilant to ensure that similar schemes are not
offered by other employers.
“Multi-skilling in apprentice training is yet another example of
the devaluing of construction skills training.
“Young workers forced to undertake such training will always be at
a disadvantage in the labour market.”
Unions at Newcastle council have warned that not training
apprentices properly in a specific trade reduced their transferrable skills.
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