The new government needs to focus on the alarming fall in apprenticeship starts [feedly]

a post by Kathleen Henehan for the Resolution Foundation blog

With a new year, a new-ish government and the country soon to (officially) exit the European Union, there’s hope that policy makers will renew their focus on domestic concerns. And given the figures published today (Thursday) showing an alarming fall in apprenticeship starts – a greater focus on this issue would be a good place to start.

The apprenticeship story post- levy and associated training rules coming into place during spring 2017, has been an overall fall in the number of people starting an apprenticeship. The number of apprentices on lower-level programmes has fallen sharply, while the number of older (age 25+) apprentices on higher education-equivalent programmes has risen. This morning’s [3 February] figures continue that trend, with some of the more worrying features of the system becoming even more prominent.

So, what’s happened?

First, the number of people starting an apprenticeship during the first quarter of this academic year (2019/20) is nearly 24,000 (16 per cent) less than the same period last year. This year-on-year fall is concerning. Many of us thought that the number of apprenticeship starts would stabilise once the recent reforms had bedded in. Instead, they’ve continued to fall.

Continue reading to discover second, third and fourth worry.

This piece first appeared in TES.com

Labels:
apprenticeships, higher-level_increases, overall_decrease,

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