An apprenticeship is the traditional route for newcomers into a variety of industries to learn the trade on the job. Journalism is no different. Trade unions have a great opportunity to play a role supporting modern apprenticeship programmes, encouraging employers to hire and train new staff and providing sustainable employment for young people learning new skills.

The National Union of Journalists is leading the way with modern apprenticeships in digital journalism in Scotland. The union seized the chance to inject new blood to an industry that is undergoing drastic transformation with newspapers' print sales declining and the ever-growing public consumption of digital media via mobile phones, tablets, laptops and PCs.

The NUJ's lead has meant employers in the media sector taking on trainee reporters to learn the trade on the job, earning while they are learning, and at the same time attending college for further training in technical skills such as filming and editing, and more academic subjects, like media law. The modern apprenticeship in digital journalism means trainee reporters are receiving a comprehensive training experience, gaining valuable skills in the newsroom supplemented by technical and ethical training and guidance at college.

Costs & benefits

The cost of the training is met by the Scottish Government through Skills Development Scotland with the NUJ liaising between the employers, the colleges and the modern apprentices. Everyone benefits. The burden is taken off employers, the apprentices get jobs with training and the union's involvement cuts out much of the bureaucracy. It also keeps the union close to the employers and employees. Regular contact highlights potential difficulties, allowing a proactive approach to reaching a solution rather than reacting after the event.

These benefits could be transferred to any industry where the trade union plays a key role in a modern apprenticeship programme. It provides a chance for the union to get into the workplace, to meet members, to support the modern apprentices and to support the employer. Regular contact means the union keeps updated as to the employer's needs and is in a position to assist if need be.

Back to the future

In the old days, many journalists started out as an apprentice or "trainee" in the local newspaper, working on the local beat, learning on the job through practical experience, plus lots of guidance and tips from the more senior reporters and editors, with a bit of classroom learning thrown in at the local technical college to deal with the more academic side, like media law.

That was in the days before university degrees in journalism and media studies became fashionable. However there were many hardened editors who developed their skills and experience on the job through the "University of Life" and would gladly hire a keen news hound with a nose for news fresh out of school ahead of a graduate journalist on the basis that a paper qualification did not mean that person made a good journalist.

Now, apprenticeships have become fashionable again. The "modern" apprenticeship is seen as a smart new route for newcomers into a variety of trades, including journalism. Other trade unions should have a look at possible opportunities for their industries with a view to developing modern apprenticeships as a route to new, relevant jobs with training for newcomers to sector industries and developing relationships with employers and the workforce as a whole.