Apprenticeship provider appeals to businesses to provide placements as numbers drop

The number of young people studying apprenticeships continues to fall and it is calling for industry leaders to take action. According to Department of Education (DfE) statistics, the number of young people starting apprenticeships has declined for the fifth year running, leading to an appeal from apprenticeship providers for businesses to create apprenticeship opportunities and for young people to consider apprenticeships instead of going to university.

Jakki Lovewell, our Business Manager, explains what has contributed to the falling rate and what needs to be done in order to reverse that.

Commenting she said, “Apprenticeship starts among young people have been steadily decreasing since the government’s levy reforms in 2017 which led to changes in minimum wages and style of assessments.”

In 2018/19, under 19s made up 24.8 per cent of all starts, this dropped to 23.6 per cent in 2019/20, and in 2020/21 it fell to 20.3 per cent.

Jakki added, “Whilst the apprenticeship levy is not entirely to blame for the reduction in apprentice starts it still remains contentious – with many employers thinking it adds to bureaucracy and general confusion about the skills opportunities available to them and the associated costs – particularly SME’s, which is the sector that in the past has employed the most young apprentices.  The inflated incentive payments provided by Government post-pandemic has supported more new apprentices to enter the workplace but more needs to be done cut red tape and reduce admin.  The trend for many employers to use the levy to further the development and skills of their more senior/ currently employed team members rather than using it as a tool to support new talent to enter their business is still prevalent.

She continued  “We must all work together to create exciting opportunities and ensure young people understand that the apprenticeship route is a great way to gain valuable soft skills. This will increase their employability, provide them with recognised qualifications and enable them to earn a wage and not accrue student debt. We must all work harder to convey these benefits because apprenticeships are also a great way for businesses to nurture their own talent.”

Another factor causing concern is the number of apprentices that drop out before completing their final assessments. Data published by the DfE in March showed that only 53 per cent of apprentices on the new-style standards stayed on their programme until their end-point assessment in 2020/21 – meaning that 47 per cent dropped out.

Lovewell added, “Young people have finished school and maybe uncertain what to do next. Government, trade associations, schools and colleges need to co-ordinate together and get behind apprenticeships in order to highlight that they are part of a suite of high recognition development options for all young people which can potentially provide the same ‘goal’ focussed outcome across all sectors from hairdressing, nuclear science, construction and law.

We have recently been supporting businesses and organisations including DSV, Sandvik Coromant and VPI with their apprenticeship recruitment. Many opportunities are still open for applications simply because other, more academic routes seemed to be favoured by school leavers, parents and teachers.

 

Jakki Lovewell is a specialist in defining implementation plans for apprenticeships (including apprenticeship levy management) / L&D interventions across multi-sited businesses and works collaboratively with employers and delivery partners in anticipating and predicting the longer term impacts of national developments (political, economic) – Inspiring staff to engage fully with long terms visions to develop sustainable strategies.