Entry-level apprenticeship starts in England have plummeted by 72% per cent since 2014, while higher-level apprenticeships, often taken up by older people, have boomed, analysis has shown.
The London Progression Collaboration (LPC) – an initiative to boost apprenticeships in the capital – is urging government “not leave the youngest behind” this National Apprenticeships Week as the decline in entry-level apprenticeships particularly affects young people.
Its analysis shows that starts in higher level apprenticeships have skyrocketed by 400%. The LPC, which has supported more than new 700 apprenticeships in 160 small businesses over the past 18 months, says there is a serious concern that this leaves those out of work, on zero-hour contracts or on the bottom rung of their career ladder, less able to access apprenticeships.
It found that the decline in apprenticeships for young people has been particularly stark in London. The number of under-19s starting an apprenticeship fell from 9,550 in 2016/17 to 3,880 in 2020/21, accounting for just 11% of apprenticeship starts.
Previous research has found apprenticeship starts in small-and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) fell by more than 36% following the introduction of the apprenticeship levy in 2017.
Anna Ambrose, director of the London Progression Collaboration, said: “The collapse in entry-level apprenticeships is bad for young people at the beginning of their careers and it’s bad for small businesses. Apprentices are now on average older and studying higher-level apprenticeships than they were in 2015.
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“Small businesses are a crucial part of the apprenticeship ecosystem because they create entry-level apprenticeships, yet they haven’t been employing apprentices anywhere near the numbers we’ve previously seen.
“Apprenticeships are a key pathway to a high-quality job, lifting people out of poverty – and they deliver the greatest benefits to those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Upskilling reduces the burden on local authorities and the Department for Work and Pensions, and it creates dividends for local economies as they continue their post-Covid-19 recovery.”
The LPC said that small businesses it works with often cite the complexity of navigating the apprenticeship system, as well as cost, as key barriers.
“On all measures, apprenticeships have to be at the heart of the levelling up skills mission,” added Ambrose. “And this won’t achieve its aims unless small businesses are supported, both practically and financially, to create the opportunities their communities need.
“The good news is that large businesses can play a part in this right now, via the transfer of their unspent apprenticeship levy funds to pay for SME apprenticeships. To date, the London Progression Collaboration has secured over £9 million from 70 of London’s levy-payers, which has helped us to create more than one in every 100 apprenticeships across London over the last financial year.”
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