The majority of employers would support the introduction of an ‘apprenticeships guarantee’ for people up to the age of 24, research by the CIPD has found, amid a decline in the number of apprenticeship starts among young people.
According to the HR body, skills shortages across the economy have worsened since the introduction of the apprenticeship levy in 2017, while employer investment in training has continued to decline.
The report, Balancing act: Youth apprenticeships and the case for a flexible skills levy, which was compiled with input from the Youth Futures Foundation, found that nine in 10 employers think apprenticeships should primarily be used to support young people entering the workforce. However, it argued that the way the current system is set up means that employers are instead rebadging existing training schemes – often management courses – as apprenticeships to claim back funding.
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It highlighted findings from the CIPD’s winter 2023-24 labour market outlook, which found 76% of employers have used their apprenticeship levy funds to convert existing management or leadership training programmes into apprenticeships.
This has translated into fewer opportunities for young people. Its analysis of Department for Education figures found that there has been a 41% reduction in apprenticeship starts for the under-19s and a 36% decline for those aged 19-24 between 2015 and 2023.
The CIPD found small and medium-sized employers were more likely to provide apprenticeship opportunities for young people.
In response, the CIPD called for the introduction of an “apprenticeship guarantee” to ensure every qualified candidate up to the age of 24 has access to a level 2 or level 3 apprenticeship. This was backed by 89% of the 2,000 employers it surveyed.
Sixty per cent of respondents felt the primary purpose of apprenticeships should be supporting young people to enter the workplace, while just 15% said they should be used to develop existing staff.
The CIPD also reiterated its call for the apprenticeship levy to be reformed into a more flexible skills levy, where at least 50% of funds would be ringfenced for apprenticeships for young people, but the remainder could be used fund other forms of accredited training employers find valuable.
CIPD chief executive Peter Cheese said: “The evidence in this report shows clearly that young people most need and benefit from apprenticeships, and that the erosion of this pathway has had a negative impact on social mobility for the most disadvantaged. The introduction of an apprenticeship guarantee would help reclaim apprenticeships primarily for young people and reverse the decline in opportunities for them.
“At the same time, a more flexible skills levy would enable organisations to invest much more effectively in wider workforce development. For example, to adapt to and optimise the use of AI and other technology, support green transition, as well as tackle skills gaps and shortages more broadly. Increasingly, employers are looking to modular forms of training and the use of ‘micro-credentials’ to develop employees, approaches which can be more flexible, cheaper and more effective ways of developing existing staff than relying on apprenticeships.”
Other recommendations included the reintroduction of a pre-apprenticeship programme to help people obtain the skills needed to succeed in an apprenticeship, financial incentives to encourage small firms to offer more apprenticeships, and a strengthening of sector bodies to identify skills shortages in local areas.
Barry Fletcher, chief executive of the Youth Futures Foundation, said: “International evidence shows apprenticeships are an important and impactful way to support young people prepare for and access jobs, yet apprenticeship participation has fallen significantly for young people, especially those most marginalised in recent years.
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“If we want to reverse this trend, we need to ensure that increasing the participation of young people in apprenticeships is at the centre of future policy development which is why it’s encouraging to see strong appetite from businesses for embracing proposals which would prioritise apprenticeships for young people.”
