Apprenticeships have a unique value proposition. They give people the opportunity to learn new skills while earning a wage.

Apprenticeships should appeal to many young people, but they are not as popular as they could be. In the UK, the vocational route only attracts 30 per cent of students, whereas across other Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries the average is 50 per cent. What, then, explains this gap? Partly, this is the result of long-term cultural issues.

Apprenticeships tend to be at a disadvantage as the British education system prioritises academic over technical progression pathways. This trend has intensified since the 1990s, when government policy focused on expanding university participation and access.

Many learners who would have been better suited to a technical pathway are going to university because it is seen as the more prestigious option. The apprenticeships brand, while slowly improving, is still perceived by some with negative connotations. A survey conducted by the Student Room in 2017 found that 68 per cent of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that there is a stigma attached to apprenticeships.

Getting the right balance of apprenticeships

To improve the perception of apprenticeships, we need to ensure that a broad cross-section of learners can access them. This means being able to strike the right balance between young people using apprenticeships to enter the workforce and apprenticeships being used to upskill existing employees. In the 2017-18 academic year, there were 341,400 apprenticeship starts, but only 31 per cent of those were from under-19s. Current data shows that 42 per cent of existing apprentices and 60 per cent of higher-level apprentices are existing employees.

We are also witnessing a faster rise in degree apprenticeships when compared with enrolments for intermediate apprenticeships. An achievement data survey for 2017-18 showed that there was a 49 per cent increase at higher levels. An increase at higher levels should be celebrated; however, this should not come at the expense of enrolments for intermediate apprenticeships.

Conversely, we have seen a decline of more than 30 per cent in level 2 apprenticeship starts over the past year. Lower level apprenticeships enable young people and disadvantaged groups to develop skills and enter the labour market, so we need to ensure that they are given equal access to apprenticeship opportunities. Following reports that the apprenticeship budget is set to be overspent, the proliferation of expensive higher-level apprenticeships could be restricting available funding for lower and intermediate level apprenticeships.

The risk of undermining social mobility

The risk here is that the current system could be undermining the government’s commitment to social mobility. Apprentices tend to come from significantly less deprived backgrounds than other FE students because of the academic qualifications needed to secure an apprenticeship. If a learner does not have a passing grade in maths and English GCSE, they could be excluded from apprenticeship opportunities.

Otherwise, they might be required to take these qualifications, or functional skills, as part of their apprenticeship, but this is usually in addition to their 20 per cent off-the-job training requirement. This may serve as a barrier preventing employers from offering apprenticeships to those who have not excelled academically.

But academic credentials are not always the most reliable indicator of a learner’s capability to undertake an apprenticeship successfully. Equally, we need to encourage high academic achievers to undertake apprenticeships. If we want to create parity between academic and technical routes, it must be a credible alternative to university.

To create a more inclusive system, we need to encourage apprenticeship growth in all areas, particularly for young people. If we can broaden the demographics of apprenticeship participation, we can change the perception of who they are for.  

Ian Pretty is chief executive of the Collab Group of colleges.

Collab Group recently published a report on how the apprenticeship system can be improved . You can read the full report here.