The APPG for Apprenticeships met yesterday afternoon and published their annual report.
The recommendations outlined in the report are:
- Government should ensure that the apprenticeships system – including the Apprenticeship Levy – is flexible enough to meet the changing needs of business, and allows SMEs to access the resources they need to contribute fully to the delivery of apprenticeships.
- Government should ensure that educational providers are equipped to meet the needs of a modern economy, providing programmes which are flexible and can be tailored to the requirements of apprentices and employers.
- Schools should ensure that all young people have adequate access to careers advice which explains the full range of options available, is delivered by someone with the relevant skills, and gives parity of esteem to apprenticeships.
- Government should appropriately resource schools to provide high quality careers advice and incentives to give parity of esteem to apprenticeships when advising young people.
- National and Local Government should work with employers and other organisations who work with SMEs, such as banks, to promote apprenticeships to their SME customers. Consideration should also be given to new ways of supporting the recruitment of apprentices through the pooling of available resources such as Apprenticeship Levy underspend.
- Employers should seek to provide a clear path for career progression for apprentices to ensure that an apprenticeship is an attractive choice for a sustainable career.
- More should be done to address the retention of underrepresented groups in apprenticeships, by ensuring that workplace environments are accessible throughout employment and not just at recruitment.
- National Government should work with Local and Devolved Government to ensure that the apprenticeships system is responsive to the needs of all parts of the UK but also provides consistency for employers who operate across the country.
