Young women being trained up for the pay gap in the workplace

Citation

(2006), "Young women being trained up for the pay gap in the workplace", Education + Training, Vol. 48 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2006.00448eab.004

Young women being trained up for the pay gap in the workplace

Female apprentices, aged 16 to 25, are being trained up for the gender pay gap by earning 26 per cent less than their male colleagues. The findings come as the Equal Opportunities Commission, one year on from its investigation into occupational segregation, asks the government to report on action they are taking to tackle gender stereotyping in careers advice and training: action which the Women and Work Commission flagged as critical if the pay gap is to be closed.

The apprenticeship pay survey has revealed that the pay gap is primarily due to the types of training young men and women do. In the best paid sectors, electro-technology and engineering, nearly 100 per cent of trainees are male. The worst paid sectors, early years care and education and hairdressing, are almost entirely female. Early years apprentices earn on average £95 per week, compared to £165 for trainee engineers. Although the government encourages employers to pay apprentices at least £80 per week, nearly half of early years care and education trainees earn less than the required minimum, with some earning as little as £40 per week. A further survey is needed to see how much progress has been made over the last 12 months to improve trainee pay rates. The gender pay gap for apprentices is extended further by overtime pay. Of male apprentices, 73 per cent are paid for their overtime, compared to just 52 per cent of young women.

The high levels of gender segregation in vocational training is deepening the UK skills crisis in key job sectors. In construction alone, 350,000 extra jobs are required to fulfil existing contracts, with a further 35,000 workers needed for the Olympics, yet just 2 per cent of construction workers are female, indicating an untapped pool of potential labour. The shortage of childcare workers is exacerbated by the sector being a virtually ”no-go” area for men. Although the situation is improving – the number of female construction trainees increased by 50 per cent in the last 12 months and the number of childcare apprentices rose from 242 to 352 since 2003 – the figures are from a very low base.

In March 2005, the EOC’s final report into tackling gender barriers to better jobs called for a national strategy to tackle gender segregation in careers advice and training. The report also called for girls and boys to have better access to information on pay rates and non-traditional jobs, to enable them to make an informed choice about the kind of work they wanted to do. At today’s ’One Year On’ conference, the government will report on how much progress has been made in tackling gender segregation in the workplace.

For further information or to obtain a copy of the EOC report, Free to Choose: Tackling Gender Barriers to Better Job – One Year on Progress Report, please contact Rob Holdsworth in the EOC press office on 020 7960 7439 or e-mail: Robert.Holdsworth@eoc.org.uk