Some people have been quick to judge new employment schemes such as apprenticeships that promise to make a manager out of you in just one year.

Asda supermarkets are one of the newest employers to have introduced such a scheme. However, whilst they argue that they wish to create opportunities, especially for the in crises youth sector, some observers don't believe that this is the case. These onlookers see the schemes more as a way for businesses to attain cheap talent.

Those who are advocates of apprenticeship type schemes welcome them as a much needed tool for developing young workers and providing them with opportunities and alternatives to a now expensive university education. They acknowledge the benefits of learning on the job. The Asda scheme aims to make a manager out of a recent graduate in just one year. Surely, this is a welcomed opportunity for this struggling demographic? Others, however, do not agree it is in any way possible to create a manager in just one year. They point out the need for continuous learning and the fact that experience is what makes a manager able to perform successfully. Although these comments are true, there is no hiding away from the fact that such a scheme is surely still a good thing.

It would be wholly negative to argue that these schemes are merely a way for large companies to gain cheap management. Those who are involved in rolling out the schemes argue that the companies understand the need for fresh talent. They know that they need to develop young people for the future good of their brand. Taking on younger staff members allows them to groom these people into the managers of tomorrow. There will always be a need for a fresh perspective. A lot of the companies that provide these schemes are holding companies and understand that they can offer young people a wealth of opportunities. There has long been statistics concerning the length of time a person spends in any one job and indeed the number of roles they will undertake in a life time. If a holding company develops a management scheme that attracts young would-be managers and also has the capacity to give that individual a range of different opportunities, then perhaps there is a lot to be said for so called 'cheap managers'?