Apprenticeships can make a real difference. Despite persistent challenges, they have helped countless individuals to train while earning a wage, provided an entry route into the labour market, supported career change and progression and helped to meet employers’ skills needs. Evidence shows that they can increase productivity and boost staff morale and retention, and the best British apprenticeships are truly world class. However, apprenticeship starts are still well below pre-pandemic levels, with young people and new starters hit particularly hard. The risk is that the apprenticeship system reinforces inequalities that mean employers are three times more likely to train graduates than non-graduates, rather than tackling them.
Government reforms and the white paper
In November, the Government published its long-awaited Get Britain Working white paper. These reforms have implications for the apprenticeship system, and National Apprenticeship Week provides a good opportunity to reflect on the changes that lie ahead.
Apprenticeships play a key role in supporting the Government’s growth agenda and are referenced throughout the white paper, whether as an outcome of the Youth Guarantee or in continuing to be a fundamental route for hundreds of thousands of people to train, upskill and enter employment each year. The main reforms highlighted by the paper – the transformation of the apprenticeship levy to a Growth and Skills Levy and the introduction of short and foundation apprenticeships – have all been previously announced, but remain light on detail.
The Growth and Skills Levy
L&W has long argued for increased flexibility in how the apprenticeship levy can be used, and welcomes the development of the Growth and Skills Levy. Apprenticeships play a vital role, but are not always the best way for individuals or employers to meet their training needs. There is a need for appropriate safeguards to be put in place – for example, a requirement for employers to match non-apprenticeship spending to the amount they spend on apprenticeships for young people. But overall the Growth and Skills Levy has the potential to increase the effectiveness of employer training while retaining a core role for apprenticeships, particularly for young people at the start of their careers.
The risk is that the apprenticeship system reinforces inequalities that mean employers are three times more likely to train graduates than non-graduates, rather than tackling them.
Short and foundation apprenticeships: concerns and considerations
When it comes to short and foundation apprenticeships, more detail is needed. We understand the rationale for shorter apprenticeships, but care must be taken to ensure that reforms don’t compromise quality. Although the one-year minimum apprenticeship duration is a relatively crude proxy for a minimum standard of training, it’s short by international standards and we would argue for its retention. Shorter training courses have value, but not everything has to fall under the apprenticeship umbrella – particularly with the increased flexibilities of the Growth and Skills Levy. So we await further details, but in principle are not supportive.
Challenges with foundation apprenticeships
More information is also needed about the purpose of foundation apprenticeships, and what the Government aims to achieve with them. Despite the misleading name (these are not apprenticeships!), there is a clear need for further support to enable young people to develop skills and enter the workplace. They may also support those furthest from the labour market to progress into an apprenticeship at a later date. This would be especially important in supporting social mobility, and to help to address disparities in access to apprenticeships across different groups and their low uptake among young people. But again, the details are important. Traineeships were eventually scrapped by the last government over low participation levels, and it’s important that lessons are learned from this. In particular, it is essential that foundation apprenticeships are part of a clear and integrated pathway to apprenticeships for young people.
Lessons should also be learned from the experience of pre-apprenticeship programmes across Europe, which stress the importance of holistic and personalised support to enable and encourage participation among groups perceived to be harder to reach. There is also the question of whether employers will engage. The need for foundation apprenticeships is emphasised by the declining availability of intermediate (level 2) apprenticeships, which provide a route to advanced and higher apprenticeships but have dropped from 54% of starts in 2016/17 to only 19% in 2023/24. But, if employers are ever more reluctant to offer intermediate apprenticeships, will they be interested in offering apprenticeships at a lower level? And will there be enough intermediate apprenticeships for young people to progress to?
Persistent systemic issues
Of course, what’s missing in these reforms is any consideration of those persistent challenges with the apprenticeship system. The white paper is clear on the importance of apprenticeships to skills and employment, but the data shows that apprenticeship numbers have flatlined, with new starts well below their pre-pandemic levels. Most apprentices are aged 25 and above and have been in their roles for more than a year – and although training for these groups is important (and an apprenticeship is often appropriate) – there is a need to rebalance towards young people and new starters. There is also an urgent demand for increased numbers in sectors such as construction and digital in order to fulfil the Government’s growth agenda, but these are yet to appear. And there remain stubborn gaps in apprenticeship access for specific groups and local areas. There are also high rates of withdrawal from apprenticeship programmes, with our research showing the need for increased pastoral care and wraparound support for apprentices, and increased support for employers to enable them to better support apprentices. Addressing these challenges is key to ensuring the continued success of apprenticeships.
So, the verdict is mixed
We welcome the increased flexibilities of the Growth and Skills Levy and the rebalancing towards young people. But we would urge caution on short apprenticeships, and need to know more about foundation apprenticeships. There also remains much to do across apprenticeships in general. But above all, more detail needed, please!
