The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission has warned apprenticeships are failing to deliver to young people…
A new report from the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission said apprenticeships for young people were failing to deliver.
The commission said enrolments among the under-25s were flatlining, with figures showing just a four per cent increase in the number of starts between 2010-14. Comparatively, starts for over-25s rose by 17 per cent.
The news comes on the heels of National Apprenticeship Week, which ended on 18 March, and will undoubtedly be disappointing for the government, as it has shown significant commitment to pushing apprenticeships as an alternative route into work.
The report stated: “The overall growth in apprenticeship starts has been driven by large increases in participation by over-25s.
“While youth apprenticeships have roughly flatlined since the early years of the decade, starts by over 25s are over 150,000 higher in 2014/15 compared to 2009/10.
“In comparison to this increase there were over 5,000 fewer apprenticeship starts by under-19s in 2014/15 compared to 2010/11.
“And there were around 1,000 fewer 19-24 apprenticeship starts in 2014/15 compared to 2011/12.”
The report added if these figures were projected forward adult apprenticeship start would continue to grow while youth starts would stagnant or decline.
Additionally, most of the training courses taken were not deemed to be a step up from the apprentice’s previous level of study. The report said some 68 per cent of A-level age apprentices were studying apprenticeships at GCSE-level, while 98 per cent of degree-age apprentices were studying at A-level or lower.
Commission chairman Alan Milburn said: “The government is committed to giving all young people a chance to make something of their lives, but the current drive to increase the number of apprenticeships isn’t delivering for people under the age of 24.
“The number of young apprentices has flatlined since 2010 and many of these apprenticeships don’t offer young people a foundation they can build on.
“The government needs to increase the quality of apprenticeships on offer to young people and make sure that every apprenticeship offers a genuine route to success.”
A spokesperson for the government said the government remained committed to delivering three million apprentices by 2020 and had allocated an additional £25m funding to recruit 16 to 18-year-olds.
“Apprenticeships give school leavers the opportunity to gain the skills they need to get on,” he said.
“Our reforms mean apprenticeships are more rigorously tested, last longer and are more responsive to the needs of employers.”
