Although the idea of apprenticeships may seem a good idea with a layed down format of training and development, I don't think that's the way to go.
There's a tendancy with employers who employ apprentices to keep investing in the apprentice even if they turn out to be not up to the job and once they have invested it's very hard to sack them. In my previous employment if someone wanted to know what was the borderline of unexceptable behaviour they just had to see what the apprentices were doing. It was also known for them to be given posts that were completely unsuitable for just because the company wouldn't lay them off. I know of only one former apprentice that was sacked and that was only when his house was full of the company's tv's!
Thinking about it further, the best example of poor working practices probably came from the apprentices. The less accountable you are for your actions the poorer the working practices become.
