The postcode lottery of small business support is undermining the
government’s ability to address England’s national skills
shortages, according to a new report by IPPR.
Under the current model, which has emerged organically in
response to the needs of employers, ‘coldspots’ with little or no
available support are preventing employers from recruiting and
retaining apprentices.
It comes as apprenticeship numbers have fallen off a cliff edge
following government reform in 2017, with starts declining from a
peak of half a million in 2015 to less than 350,000 in 2021/22 –
the latest data available – representing a fall of over 30 per
cent.
Half of apprentices are now dropping out of their apprenticeships
and without action the government will fail to meet its target to
increase retention to 65 per cent by 2025.
Alongside the fall in numbers and poor retention, apprenticeships
are also increasingly inaccessible to young people, ethnic
minority groups and those in-work on low pay or in precarious
contracts. Entry level apprenticeships fell by 69 per cent
between 2014/15 and 2021/22, while higher level apprenticeships
increased by over 400 per cent.
Addressing the shortcomings of the uneven geography of business
support could create more opportunities for England’s workforce,
address poor productivity, promote social mobility and help lift
people out of poverty.
IPPR recommends that a network of ‘one-stop-shops’ is necessary
to ensure that employers in poorly served communities are able to
upskill. In order to embed business support, the government
should also establish an independent umbrella body,
‘Apprenticeship Support England’.
IPPR says that the one-stop-shops would provide business
engagement support to increase demand for apprenticeships,
practical 1-2-1 help to navigate the apprenticeship creation
process, support employers to access funding and promote the
benefits of apprenticeships.
On top of this, IPPR recommends that:
- The government redirect the 10 per cent top-up it
provides to employers to fund Apprenticeships Support England and
seed funding to support the development of employer support
networks, especially in places that can benefit the most;
- The government builds an evidence base of ‘what works’ by
formally evaluating employer support networks to ensure that
employers receive the support they need.
Anna Ambrose, Director at the London Progression
Collaboration and co-author of the report, said:
“Despite significant demand, the lack of support available to
businesses is failing thousands of apprentices every year.
“That means fewer skilled carpenters, plumbers and bricklayers to
build the homes our communities need, fewer social workers to
support the most vulnerable and fewer skilled engineers and
environmentalists to protect our environment from climate change.
“With the right support for small businesses across England,
thousands of young people at the beginning of their careers could
benefit from apprenticeships every year. Doing so would lift more
people out of poverty and precarious work and turn the dial on
nationwide skills shortages that are holding back economic
growth.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
-
Join the Dots: The Role of Apprenticeship Intermediaries in
England will be published on Thursday 11 May 2023 at
00.01. It will be available for download at: https://www.ippr.org/research/publications/join-the-dots-apprenticeship-intermediaries
- Department for Education, Academic Year 2021/22:
Apprenticeships and Traineeships. For more
information: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2021-22.
