Since 2010 over 5.5 million apprentices have started their
apprenticeship journey in a wide range of industries, from health
to business, to engineering and beyond.
We’re committed to making sure that everyone who wants to become
an apprentice can do so, so that people of all ages can earn
while they learn and gain the skills they need to build a
rewarding career.
Here are just some of the things we’re doing to widen access to
apprenticeships.
1. Boosting up take of apprenticeships
From Autumn 2023, UCAS will expand its
service so that young people can see more personalised options,
including apprenticeships. From 2024, students will then be able
to apply for apprenticeships alongside degrees, so that they can
decide which route suits them best.
By opening up the service to apprenticeship opportunities,
thousands more young people will benefit from a wider choice of
high-quality options. The plans will also help put technical and
vocational education on an equal footing with traditional
academic routes.
We will also launch a new online platform this Autumn where
people and employers can search for and compare all our
high-quality training offers including apprenticeships - all in
one place.
We are also supporting employers to take on more apprentices
including by cutting the steps needed to register to take on an
apprentice, allowing them to backdate funding so their apprentice
can start straight away and updating 100 apprenticeships in
sectors such as construction and healthcare so they reflect the
latest technological advancements
2. Bursaries for care leavers
We’re increasing financial support for care leavers who opt to do
an apprenticeship as they make the transition to independent
living.
From 1 August, care leavers who start an apprenticeship will be
entitled to a tax-free bursary of £3,000, up from £1000,
providing more support for those who want to get high-quality
training through an apprenticeship.
3. Introducing more high-quality apprenticeships and
degree apprenticeships
There are now more than 670 high quality apprenticeships in a
wide range of roles. This includes degree apprenticeships in
nursing, engineering, law, and science. The first ever NHS doctor
apprenticeship will all start from September 2024, and we’ve
just announced a brand-new degree apprenticeship in space systems
engineering also launching next year.
Apprentices earn while learning on these programmes, helping
widen access to advanced education by providing a tuition
fee-free route to a bachelor’s or master’s degree.
4. Improving the quality of apprenticeships
We are making sure more people have access to high quality
training and complete their apprenticeships. We have introduced
more support for training providers, apprentices and employers,
as well as a new accountability framework to strengthen how we
hold training providers to account. Ofsted will also inspect all
training providers by 2025.
We are already seeing encouraging signs, with latest figures
showing a 20.1% increase in the number of apprentices who
completed their apprenticeship compared to the same period last
year.
5. Mentoring support for disabled people
The latest data shows more people with learning disabilities are
doing apprenticeships, with 15.1% of apprentices declaring a
learning difficulty – up from 13.8% and 12.1% in previous years.
We know that people with learning difficulties and disabilities
may need extra support to manage their training and complete
their apprenticeship.
To support them we’ve announced a new mentoring pilot to be
launched later this year, which will offer bespoke training to
disabled apprentices to help them through their apprenticeship
journey.
6. Additional funding for employers and training
providers
We pay £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they
take on any apprentice aged under 19, or apprentices aged 19-24
who have an Education, Health and Care Plan or have been in care.
We also fund 100% of the training costs for small employers
(fewer than 50 staff) when they take on apprentices aged under
19.
This means that more businesses are able to offer apprenticeships
to these young people.
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