Apprentice Sales Assistant - Next

elektra

paying £2.68 an hour .
This is an Apprenticeship. The employer has given an assurance that the position is government funded. Will be working towards level 2 NVQ in Retail. .

I can't believe what I am reading , I don't see this as an opportunity for someone, more like cheap labour for Next.

toadyfrog

Do you really need to do an apprenticeship to work in a shop?

Sues48

There's absolutely loads like that out there, as a Jobcentre Personal adviser I see them everyday and am supposed to sell them to my customers as a positive opportunity. I personally think it's a disgrace and gives genuine apprenticeships a bad name.

ohreally

Perhaps consider a trainee position, if suitable. The salary for these positions is more realistic at £19.5k.

bluenoseam

really - I know my boss wanted to send me on an NVQ years ago in HMV when I was over minimum wage but this is beyond a joke, apprenticeships I see as more for trades or professions, not sales assistants!

gibson123

Whilst I think the NMW rate for an apprentice in year 1 is too low and it should be at least NMW, I do understand why the employer advertises like this. Funding of training for apprenticeships is geared towards school leaver 16 to 19 year olds, however it is illegal for an employer to discriminate in term of age. Putting the rate low is going to attract younger people who are not yet financially independant. For a 16 year old, who wants to go into retail it is a much better option getting paid whilst working towards a qualification than going to college. People are often down on retail and also hospitality jobs, thinking they need little or no skill, whilst that may be true of some jobs at the very basic entry level, to progress you will need good skills and experience to back it up. With the way the economy is at the moment, an opportunity with a reputable company that is going to also result in a qualification is better than sitting at home on your playstation.

[Deleted User]

elektra wrote: »

paying £2.68 an hour .
This is an Apprenticeship. The employer has given an assurance that the position is government funded. Will be working towards level 2 NVQ in Retail. .

I can't believe what I am reading , I don't see this as an opportunity for someone, more like cheap labour for Next.

How long is the training?

Is the NVQ qualification and any associated costs paid for?

Is the £2.68 paid for hours worked in the retail environment, or does this include hours spent at college? study? exam?

Whilst on this wage, are they supernumerary, (above normal staffing levels, to have the time to learn what ever is required)

On successful completion of the NVQ, is there a guaranteed job at the end of it? And how much would it pay?

Is there opportunity for progression?

mustang121

Does sound a wee bit silly.

What's next? [STRIKE]An apprenticeship for Call Centre phone monkeys?[/STRIKE] Actually, scratch that I do not want to give them ideas.

Errata

toadyfrog wrote: »

Do you really need to do an apprenticeship to work in a shop?

Wouldn't have thought so, it's just gobblydegook management speak.

cmw1212

mustang121 wrote: »

Does sound a wee bit silly.

What's next? [STRIKE]An apprenticeship for Call Centre phone monkeys?[/STRIKE] Actually, scratch that I do not want to give them ideas.

Already exists I'm afraid. There's not much they won't put the apprenticeship label on now- anything you can do nvq2 in is fair game.

mustang121

cmw1212 wrote: »

Already exists I'm afraid. There's not much they won't put the apprenticeship label on now- anything you can do nvq2 in is fair game.

Sometimes I just cannot believe the country that we live in. I thought Britain was famous for its engineers and revolutionary ideas.

How did we end up with this 'Tertiary Industry' crap?

Seems like the Aerospace industry is one of the few things that Britain has left. Even that is slowly being mergered into European manufactors i.e. BAE into EADS.