A continued drop in 16 to 18 apprenticeship starts has prompted a call for the government to clampdown on schools that are failing to promote vocational options.

The number of under 19 apprenticeships started in the first half of this year was provisionally put at 69,600 — a 12 per cent drop on last year’s provisional figure of  79,100.

It comes just two months after the government revealed under 19 apprenticeship starts had fallen for the first time in three years — from 131,700 in 2010/11 to 129,900 last year.

A spokesperson for the government said: “Sixteen and 17-year-olds face tough competition to secure apprenticeships in a difficult economic climate.

“We are providing grants to encourage smaller employers to take on young apprentices and the National Apprenticeship Service [NAS] has increased outreach to employers and is running local and national campaigns to encourage them to offer apprenticeships.”

She added: “We will build on this experience as we launch our traineeships programme in September, which will give young people the skills and experience they need to help secure a job or apprenticeship.”

However, a spokesperson for the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) urged the government to ensure schools promoted traineeships.

He said: “Traineeships will be important in trying to reverse the 16 to 18 fall.

“In fact, provided the world at large knows about them, they will be a very important alternative option to sixth forms if it is true that schools are now using the introduction of Raising the Participation Age as an excuse to fill their sixth forms next September without offering impartial advice about other post-16 choices.

“Our members are increasingly concerned that many 16-year-olds are only hearing one message which is ‘You must stay on in school for another year’. This has to be addressed quickly.”

The AELP’s call for action comes just two months after House of Commons Education Select Committee chair Graham Stuart MP questioned schools who, he said, “put their own interests ahead of that of their pupils, restrict access to other education providers and make the filling of their sixth form places more of a priority than their statutory duty to provide independent and impartial advice and guidance for pupils”.

Teresa Frith, Association of Colleges senior skills policy manager, said: “While an initial reaction might be to blame a lack of available placements, quite a few of our members are finding it difficult to find young students who are ready to put in to those placements.

“This is a fairly recent phenomena and suggests there is a real need for traineeships. Why young people are unready for placements on apprenticeships is an area that warrants further consideration.”

Nevertheless, the AELP welcomed a rise in the number of 19 to 24 apprenticeship starts — up 6.5 per cent to 82,100 for the first half of this year.

Its spokesperson said providers deserved a “great deal of credit for encouraging employers to take on more 19 to 24 apprentices”.

The overall number of apprenticeship starts grew from 457,200 in 2010/11 to 520,600 last year.

However, according to the latest Statistical First Release, the overall number of apprenticeship starts so far this year was down on the same period for 2011/12.

The provisional figures show that across the age ranges there was a 4.5 per cent decrease to 245,000 starts for the first half of this year.

“The Tory-led government needs to stop being complacent over these figures and recognise we need a step change to boost apprenticeship opportunities,” said Shadow Skills Minister Gordon Marsden.

“Yet only two weeks ago, they voted against our proposals to use public procurement to create thousands of new apprenticeships for young people and deliver that step change — an action that is even more incredible when you consider the numbers of apprenticeships for young people are down 12 per cent.”

David Way, chief operating officer at NAS, said: “Our new statutory standards are ensuring higher quality in apprenticeships which is essential for both the apprentice and the employer.

“We are seeing a short term impact on the number of people starting an apprenticeship as some delivery models adjust. Raising standards is crucial to securing the longer term success and growth of apprenticeships.

“We are working hard with employers and training providers to increase the number of young people who are ready and able to take up apprenticeship opportunities. This work includes a dedicated marketing campaign targeting employers and raising the profile of apprenticeships to young people considering their career options.

“Our online recruitment service, Apprenticeship Vacancies, is matching thousands of young people to suitable opportunities.

“In addition, the apprenticeship grant for employers has now supported 25,100 new apprenticeships, of which 65 per cent are 16 to 18-year-olds.”

Skills Minister Matthew Hancock added: “The action taken to increase the duration of apprenticeships and improve quality means that numbers are shifting towards more higher level apprenticeships.

“We are reforming apprenticeships to make them more rigorous and responsive to the ever-changing needs of the modern workplace.”

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7 Comments

  1. I hate to say “I told you so”, but here goes, “I told you so!!” Graham Stuart and his committee were 100% right — but no one in the DfE listens (or cares?) and Matt Hancock hasn’t mastered his brief yet — or maybe he’s mastered it too well.

    • Patrick Watson

      Certainly hadnt mastered his brief when he appeared before the Select Committee and waffled about this that and the other.. more personal opinion and reflection than articulation of evidence based policy..

  2. The numbers of young people entering apprenticeships will continue to fall while schools act out of self interest and continue to place ‘bums on seats’ to the detriment of their pupils. Traineeships are not the answer for 16 plus young people, they would be for 14-16 year olds. Why wait until school has bored and failed some of our young people? Ofsted surveys have shown just how effective good link programmes were for this age group who became turned on to vocational education. We all knew that the wording in legislation of that schools ‘should’ give impartial careers advice would lead to this. My son’s outstanding school is going to have a chef’s academy for year 12 doing NVQs in catering with no job and pupils having to pay for the food they use. If they gave impartial careers advice the kids would all be going onto apprenticeships or Westminster College, not wasting yet another year of their lives ‘playing’ at learning a vocation. There needs to be national careers advice linked to work experience that is relevant to what young people want to do, not what the school can arrange, but which is generally totally irrelevant to the interest of their pupils. These messages have been given again and again to civil servants and their implementation would make a big difference to the work ethic and determination to train of our young people.

  3. Mark C

    Whilst I concur with other comments posted; there is a polarisation of what ‘the system’ wants to achieve (more 16-18 participation in Apprenticeships) and what employers are really prepared to recruit.

    I spend quite a bit of time with employers talking about their (perceived) barriers to do more with regard to work experience, employment and Apprenticeships with young people – there is a marked difference in their opinion of 16-18 candidates and 18-21.

  4. With the transition in school leaving age and little or no work experience offered to those kids not suitable for academia secondary schools will simply park young people until they are 18 and then they will be more unprepared than the same 16 year olds that left school last year!

    We need a clearer route into work from year 10