The government is to cut the length of postgraduate teaching apprenticeships from 12 to nine months to bring them in line with the school year.
The bid to get “thousands more teachers into the classroom” – which is part of Labour’s plan to recruit an extra 6,500 teachers – will see newly trained teachers reach classrooms more quickly. The change will be made from August this year.
Most postgraduate teaching apprenticeship courses currently run from September to September, leaving trainees unable to start jobs quickly. It also makes it difficult for schools to support apprentices while training.
The route had become increasingly popular in recent years as schools sought ways to spend money paid into the apprenticeship levy and trainees find a way of earning while they learn, said the schools minister Catherine McKinnell.
The Department for Education (DfE) said more than 1,400 people trained to teach via this route this year, but demand for places currently far outstripped supply, with about 2,800 eligible applicants last year unable to secure a place.
Analysis by FE Week found the number of starts on the postgraduate apprenticeship between August 2024 and January 2025 was up 33%.
Figures from the Department for Education also show that last year about 2,800 eligible applicants were “unable to secure a place on a coveted course”.
Ministers hope that by changing the course’s duration, more schools and providers will take on apprentices.
McKinnell said the move followed “early progress on teacher recruitment”, with about 2,000 more people training to become secondary school teachers this year, alongside a 25% boost in the proportion set to begin training in shortage Stem subjects.
She added: “Recruiting and keeping high-quality teachers in our classrooms is the single biggest driver of high standards in schools, which is why our Plan for Change has a clear commitment to recruit an additional 6,500 expert teachers by the end of this parliament.
“Our schools are crying out for more expert teachers, and this government will continue to pull every lever it can to plug the gaps and build on the green shoots we are already seeing.”
“Bringing teaching apprenticeships in line with the school year is not only logical, it will open the doors for more and more people to become brilliant teachers, shaping the lives of the next generation.”
Schools are being offered up to £28,000 by the DfE to cover the cost of training apprentices in mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, computing, and modern foreign languages – the subjects that have the highest teacher shortages. This means apprentices pay nothing for their training and will earn a salary while they are training before moving on to full-time teacher pay salary.
Last summer, ministers awarded teachers a 5.5% pay rise and a targeted retention incentive, worth up to £6,000 after tax for early career teachers working in shortage subjects.
National Institute of Teaching executive director of programmes Reuben Moore said he welcomed the removal of barriers to the training route. “Courses will still offer the same high-quality content but at a reduced length with trainees gaining qualified teacher status after they have completed the programme, going on to build successful careers in teaching.”
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