Nothing but a figures and attendances excercise for the colleges so they get paid. My apprentice has been with us over a year and every time we get a problem his reply is 'we haven't done that yet' He can't even tell one metal from another, hows that for not knowing the basics.
Same thing with the last three lads, none of them are with me now, they have to WANT to learn, and many aren't, so away they go. I make it clear from the start that I won't take time to teach them a skill if they can't take time to retain the knowledge. They don't get many chances with me. Too busy to carry slackers.
Finding someone keen, no, passionate about their job is almost impossible and in this trade. It isn't just a job, it's a career. You can't work on a car with a half cocked attitude, someone will get hurt. I keep telling my lads, just being good enough isn't good enough ! You won't leave college with a knowledge pill to take, you've got to go out and read books, take granny's washing machine apart, dad's lawn mower etc and be hungry to know not only how it works, but 'why' it works. Big difference.
I remember having motor crossers in bits before I was ten, I bought an old car and had it in pieces for five years in dads garage, working on mates cars all weekend, getting a kick out of proving a 40 year old mechanic wrong about brake fluid properites when i was an apprentice ( but he made my life hell for a year after that ! ). I wanted to do it better, quicker, neater than the next guy, and as far as I can see no one seems to feel that way anymore. They just can't be bothered.
It's not just the colleges, they could still learn if they had the desire to be the best.