Minorities are missing out on the opportunities apprenticeships can provide, new research shows.
A report by the Learning and Work Institute, due to be published ahead of National Apprenticeship Week, states that on the basis of current trends, and considering the likely impact of the levy, the government is “largely on track” to achieve its target of 3 million apprenticeship starts by 2020.
“However, there is a risk of hitting the target but missing the point,” it warns. “To avoid this, we need to turbocharge our focus on access and quality. This can help us grasp a once-in-a-generation chance to build world-class vocational skills.”
There are significant inequalities in apprenticeship participation, the research finds. “People from black, Asian and minority ethnic [BAME] backgrounds, from low-income families, and with health problems and disabilities, are less likely to undertake an apprenticeship. There is also significant gender segregation by sector and occupation,” it concludes.
The report comes just weeks after the Department for Education announced the formation of the Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network, a group of 23 businesses, including Rolls-Royce, the BBC, BAE Systems and a number of small- and medium-sized employers, which is aiming to promote diversity within apprenticeships.
Championing diversity
The network will champion apprenticeships and diversity among employers, and encourage more people from under-represented groups, including those with disabilities, women and members of BAME communities, to consider apprenticeships.
According to the report, entitled Three Million Apprenticeships: building ladders of opportunity, people from BAME backgrounds make up 15.6 per cent of the working-age population but just 10.5 per cent of apprenticeship starts - despite accounting for 19 per cent of all applications to the Skills Funding Agency’s find-an-apprenticeship website.
“White applicants were twice as likely to succeed in their application than BAME applicants,” the report states.
Research shows that BAME applicants are more likely to apply to sectors with high competition for apprenticeships and live in areas with fewer vacancies, it adds. “So increasing apprenticeship opportunities in areas with relatively high BAME populations would help.”
However, tackling direct and indirect discrimination, ensuring diverse role models, support through the application process, and development of new forms of marketing and communication are also cited as important.
And while in 2015-16 women made up 52 per cent of apprentices, the sectors and occupations they were more likely to train in tended to be lower paid, according to the Learning and Work Institute.
“This inequality in participation therefore contributes to inequalities in pay. Taken together, apprenticeships are too often reinforcing gender pay inequalities,” the report says. “Our conclusion is that the government should not seek to further increase the number of apprenticeships beyond the current target. Instead it should set its sights on boosting quality and access, and focus on completions rather than starts.”
‘There is a risk of hitting the apprenticeship target but missing the point’
Stephen Evans, chief executive of the Learning and Work Institute, said: “Overall, access to apprenticeships should be just as great a focus as widening participation in higher education. Ladders of opportunity are great, but only if everyone can access them. And apprenticeships will only form ladders of opportunity if they are of the highest quality.
“We are concerned that, as it stands, we risk hitting the 3 million target but missing the point. We need to benchmark our apprenticeships against the best in the world. Quality is at least as important as quantity.”
And Shakira Martin, vice-president for FE at the NUS students’ union, said: “Unfortunately, what this research shows matches our experience of working with BAME apprentices and the experiences they have talked to us about. From dealing with micro-aggressions at their workplaces to the lack of pastoral support offered by training providers, there are many examples of BAME apprentices having to deal with barriers to their success.”
Ms Martin, added: “There is a massive issue with gendered pay gaps as well, with industries with high levels of women in apprenticeships paying significantly less than those with high levels of men in apprenticeships.”
Training providers are working closely with employers to encourage greater recruitment of apprentices from BAME backgrounds, according to Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers.
“Brexit and possible migratory controls shouldn’t be a factor,” he said. “But there is no denying that there will be more of an onus now on employers to train more home-grown talent, and the BAME community obviously offers a pool of talent that could be further taken advantage of.”
‘Important route’ for inclusion
Neil Carberry, the CBI’s director for people and skills, said: “Apprenticeships are an important route to improving inclusion and diversity in our workplaces. Firms need to work hard to ensure that they draw on the widest talent pool - it’s not just the right thing to do, it’s good for business, too.”
A spokeswoman for the DfE said that the government was committed to building an apprenticeship system in England that worked for everyone - no matter their age or background. She added: “Through the apprenticeship levy, we will be investing £2.5 billion in apprenticeships by 2020 - double what was spent in 2010-11.
“We have also committed to increasing the proportion of apprenticeships started by young people from BAME backgrounds by 20 per cent by 2020, and have recently launched a new network of 23 employer diversity champions for apprenticeships committed to sharing good practice and raising awareness.”
