Jason Holt leads new apprenticeship standard for craftsmanship industry

Craft employers, including Jason Holt, MD of gemstone specialist Holts London, have submitted a new apprenticeship standard for the craftsmanship industry.

The new Craft Phase 2 Trailblazer will deliver the “quality skills employees need to achieve excellence in the workplace.”

The new apprentice standard, led by Jason Holts, has been submitted after it was announced in March 2014 that craft would be part of phase two of the government’s trailblazer scheme to create national standards for apprenticeships in England.

The intention is to make apprenticeships more rigorous and responsive to the needs of the employers.

The standard aims to challenge misconceptions about apprenticeships and positioning them as an equivalent choice to ‘A’ Levels and university.

The Craft Trailblazer is just 1 of 40 industry standards that have been published across dozens of sectors this week. These standards will be implemented in 2015.

Holt said: “I’m delighted that the hard work put in by 35 different disciplines representing British craft has materialised in a new apprenticeship standard. British craftsmanship is renowned around the world yet in recent generations has been in decline.

“With the new standard comes a new era when to be a craftsperson can once again be a coveted position in society. My thanks to all my fellow trailblazers for making this possible.”