The theme for this year’s National Apprenticeships Week is ‘skills for life’, and at the National Theatre we recognise the importance of investing in skills and education to empower the next generation, sustain the creative workforce and open up career pathways for young people nationwide.
Data from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport shows 30 per cent of job vacancies in the cultural sector are affected by skills shortages, with 60 per cent of theatres reporting that staff shortages have become much worse since 2019.
Ravensbourne University London also found that three-quarters of 18-25 year-olds want to work in creative sectors, but almost half say it’s too hard to find entry-level opportunities.
Investing in skills and training for young people now is vital to sustain and support the pipeline of talent into the creative industries.
The National Theatre’s apprenticeships programme, which was recently awarded a Princess Royal Training Award in recognition of its impact across the sector, has recruited over 50 apprentices across 17 departments since 2011.
It has upskilled 17 employees and recruited four apprentices as part of the government’s pilot portable flexi-job apprenticeships scheme – in conjunction with the Royal Ballet and Opera, Ambassador Theatre Group and White Light.
Ten apprentices are currently training across the organisations in areas including technical theatre, finance, props and carpentry.
Over 90% have gone into paid professional work
Over 90 per cent of those entry-level apprentices who completed their training with us in the last decade have gone directly into paid professional work in the area they were trained in, with eight former apprentices now working at the National Theatre.
Skills are also being applied across the creative industries and further afield, with former apprentices going on to work at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Netflix, the Royal Navy and one even going on to open their own tattoo parlour, now employing their own apprentices.
We also recognise the need to ensure this training is fit for purpose and meeting the needs of employers. Recognising the growing gaps in the range of qualifications and training for essential technical roles, we are working in collaboration with the Royal Ballet and Opera and other organisations across the industry to deliver new, early career pathways for the UK’s world-leading live performance industry.
New apprenticeship standards have been developed for key backstage roles including wig and make-up technicians, costume performance technicians and scenic artists, giving young people the opportunity to learn hands-on, transferable skills to benefit the whole creative industry.
In the context of skills for life, it’s not just entry-level routes into early careers that apprenticeships offer. Level 7 apprenticeships offer the equivalent of a master’s degree and provide essential training for the creative sector that otherwise would not be available.
There are currently 10 level 7 apprenticeship standards in the creative and design route, from curator and archivist to visual effects supervisor and production manager.
These apprenticeships provide paid professional training and can open routes that would otherwise be inaccessible due to barriers such as cost. An archivist, for example, would traditionally require an MA which incurs a huge cost that excludes some prospective candidates. The level 7 archive assistant apprenticeship gives training equivalent to this.
A recent House of Commons library research report shows that the higher education entry rate among 18 year olds was only 36.4 per cent in 2024, so it’s essential we recognise the need to offer alternative and viable pathways for the next generation.
Our current apprentice archive assistant Nadia had intended to study for a master’s degree to get the necessary qualification, but found it was not financially feasible for her. Through her apprenticeship, she says she “can learn about the archive industry in an accredited archive with experienced and knowledgeable colleagues, and earn at the same time”.
National Apprenticeships Week shines a spotlight on the value of apprenticeships to create meaningful career pathways for young people. By recognising their worth, we can open opportunities and make a real and lasting impact on our world-leading creative industries.
National Apprenticeship Week is always a humbling experience. As you speak to young apprentices across the country you can’t help but be inspired by stories of determination and skill.
These young people are often trailblazers, showing the next generation that excellence doesn’t have to mean the well-trodden path to university.
Notwithstanding the success stories, there are steps we can take to ensure young people transition onto apprenticeships and other skills pathways with more confidence and are set up to succeed. Modern careers education has an important role to play.
However, interest doesn’t always lead to uptake. Our own study, conditions for transition, found this can be due to a variety of reasons, including interest in sectors with opportunities and availability of roles. Even so, when careers support puts technical pathways front and centre, it can help bridge the gap.
Perceptions of jobs and the labour market are formed remarkably early. By age seven, children are ruling options in and out – often based on gender or class stereotypes.
Evidence suggests that bringing employers into primary schools, and teachers showing how the curriculum links to the world of work, can broaden horizons.
Secondary school careers education can then build on broad early ambitions and support young people with more specific next steps, highlighting pathways to work like apprenticeships.
Employers often tell us they place a premium on generic skills when taking on young apprentices – such as initiative, problem solving and collaboration.
Young people sense this too, and report that they want more support on skills development. In particular, our data highlights that they can struggle with speaking and listening skills. Employers agree, highlighting presenting at interviews and in assessment centres as a skill they want but don’t always know how to develop.
Part of the solution lies with the government’s ambition for two weeks of work experience pre-16.
At its best, work experience is as much about learning new skills as developing job preferences.
For our part, we are working with partners to bring together multiple work experience opportunities for young people with a set of challenging learning objectives that help students secure tangible skills.
Even when young people have been inspired by the world of work and have developed skills, at points of transition between education and work they can fall through the cracks.
Young people who face economic barriers are particularly at risk. However, in these circumstances emerging pilot evidence suggests that intensive careers support can help.
This looks different in different contexts, but some common features of success include young people having a trusted adult they can talk to, feeling listened to and the chance to meet relatable people from an industry they are interested in.
So, as we look ahead to changes in the skills landscape, including the introduction of Skills England and the growth and skills levy, we need to see high quality careers education as an important entry point to the system.
Once young people are aware of and excited about what’s possible, they can be the ones to power apprenticeship pathways forward.
Training providers will soon be allowed to sign off on parts of their own apprentices’ assessments in a government drive to cut red tape and costs.
Ministers have announced a series of apprenticeship assessment changes they claim will streamline and simplify the system while not compromising standards.
From April, standards will be reviewed and updated to allow for apprentice assessments during their course rather than having to wait until the end.
And assessment plans, which are currently detailed 30+ page documents, will be slashed, containing only the “must haves for occupational currency”.
Writing for FE Week, skills minister Baroness Jacqui Smith revealed Skills England will begin reviewing and updating all 700+ existing apprenticeship standards from April.
In a further attempt to remove bureaucracy, the government said it will remove the need for training providers to upload apprenticeship data to multiple databases in order to be paid. FE Week is seeking more detail on this announcement.
In-house assessment
Apprentices must currently be assessed by independent organisations known as end point assessment organisations (EPAOs).
Current guidance from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) states: “The organisation delivering the assessment and the individual assessors making assessment decisions must ensure independence. For integrated degree apprenticeships the organisation does not have to be independent but the individual assessor must be.”
DfE has decided to allow part of an apprentice’s assessment to be conducted by training providers themselves in future.
It will be for EPAOs to decide which EPA elements can be delivered by training providers once reviews of each standard are complete. EPAOs will also be responsible for quality-assuring provider-assessed EPA elements.
Not having to rely on external bodies to assess each element of an apprentice’s assessment could save training providers time and money. For example, shortages of EPAO assessors for some apprenticeship standards can delay completion and achievement.
Responsibility for assessing the ‘behaviour’ elements of apprenticeship standards will be transferred from EPAOs to employers “to remove unnecessary duplication” and allow EPAOs and providers to “focus on assessing essential knowledge and skills”.
What’s the (assessment) plan?
EPAOs use published apprenticeship assessment plans, written by employers under guidance from IfATE, to produce assessment materials.
Current IfATE guidance has an extensive list of requirements for assessment plans, and it’s not yet clear which of these will be scrapped to create a “simpler” new model.
The government wants to slash the length of apprenticeship assessment plans. Published plans for some of the most popular apprenticeships currently stand at 30+ pages.
Smith said: “Following feedback, assessment plans will now be shorter and more flexible, focusing on the ‘must-haves’ for occupational competency and also allowing providers to deliver assessments in some cases without compromising quality.”
IfATE’s current guidance for assessment plans contains an extensive list of requirements they should include. This includes justifying which methods are required to assess the knowledge, skills and behaviours the apprentice should obtain through a standard.
New-style assessment plans will be “short (eg 2 pages) and high level” according to DfE’s fresh ‘assessment principles.’ They will also be able to allow “on-programme” assessments, such as “assessing a work-based project while on the programme.”
Reducing dropouts
The previous government got the ball rolling on reforming EPA last May. Officials floated a range of alternative models via the DfE’s expert apprenticeships group following concerns EPAs were too costly and burdensome.
Amending assessments is the government’s latest attempt to improve dire apprenticeship drop-out and achievement rates.
As it stands, 45.7 per cent of students do not fully achieve their apprenticeships. Drop-outs have funding and accountability implications for training providers, even if apprentices leave with qualifications but no EPA.
Earlier this week, the governments scrapped rules requiring adult apprentices to undertake English and maths qualifications alongside their programme. This move was also designed to cut red tape and help increase the number of apprentices that complete and achieve.
Declan Swan is a man with two goals – developing his BTEC sports students and winning promotion for Sandbach United FC. It’s a game of keepy-uppy that fills his day from dawn till dusk…
For Declan Swan, football isn’t just a passion, it’s his profession both in and out of the classroom.
By day, he’s shaping the next generation of sports professionals as a lecturer at Stoke-on-Trent College. By night (and at weekends), he’s leading Sandbach United from the touchline.
It means his learners, who are aspiring sports coaches themselves, get an industry role model and mentor, as well as a teacher.
After a knee injury meant his childhood dreams of playing professionally came crashing down, Swan focused on helping others achieve their sporting goals – as a personal trainer, then as a scout for Manchester City and now as a college lecturer.
His packed schedule reflects the workload pressures on the ‘dual professionals’ – those with industry and teaching skills – we want in our FE classrooms.
No two days are the same for Swan, 33, who divides his weekdays teaching level 3 BTEC courses in sports science and sports coaching at the college’s two campuses, with Wednesdays devoted to planning and marking.
On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and on Saturdays, he puts the coaching skills he teaches into practice by managing his own squad.
Here, Swan reveals his typical Tuesday…
Declan Swan by the pitch
6.30am
I take my lovely brindle boxer dog, Lola, for a walk and sniff around our estate. Then, after showering and wolfing down some Shreddies, I jump in the car.
I’m a little tired as last night I was on an hour’s Zoom call doing a Football Association CPD session for coaches of non-league clubs like mine on how to develop players. I learned some useful tips to use in my teaching job too.
I’ve been a sports lecturer since 2022, first at Macclesfield College, then at Stoke-on-Trent College since June.
I always wanted to be a professional footballer as a kid, and at age 16, I did a similar course to the one I teach now at what was then Mid Cheshire College.
But I fell out of love with football altogether at the age of 20 after I dislocated my kneecap while playing. I was devastated. I couldn’t even watch a game on TV for a long time.
I had several operations to try to fix the tendon ligament damage, all unsuccessful.
These days I can go for a 5k run, but my knee will swell up and be quite sore for a couple of days.
Stoke-on-Trent College buildings
7.30am
It’s an hour’s drive to Stoke-on-Trent College’s Cauldon campus in Shelton, which I spend making calls and visualising the day ahead.
I’ve been with Sandbach for four years now, initially as first team coach and then as manager since 2022. We’re third in the North West Counties South division out of 18 teams, so we’re hoping to get promoted into the Midlands Prem.
8.30am
Stoke-on-Trent College has grown massively in recent years, with over 2,000 young people currently on programme – it’s highest ever number. Adult learner numbers grew too from 5,000 to 6,000. Work is currently ongoing with two exciting capital projects to accommodate the increase, and the college has received funding for a new green technologies hub.
First, I head to our cafeteria for a free breakfast – my second of the day! My sports department colleagues and I gravitate to a table together. It’s nice spending that time catching up because I won’t see them again for the rest of the day.
9.00am
My mornings and afternoons mirror each other because I teach the same class in the morning (the level 3 BTEC sports coaching and development) as the afternoon.
It’s a two-year course for young people aspiring to become football coaches, professional trainers and gym instructors. I really enjoy teaching them how to coach because of my first-hand experience of it.
Today, my morning class of 27 (25 boys, two girls) learners are on a programme with Stoke City. My afternoon learners (19 boys, no girls) are with Port Vale.
Declan Swan teaching his students
10.00am
I set my learners a presentation task about the sport development continuum – the tiers from beginning sport at a foundation level to being professional.
With more young people now spending their free time on consoles and communicating by messaging, my learners are not as used to face-to-face interactions. That means it’s getting harder for them to stand up in front of people and speak.
I often tell them that although I’m a confident speaker now, I was far from being the loudest person in class when I was 16.
But as a coach or trainer, you must be able to adapt to different settings. Personal trainers are often self-employed, so if they don’t have the confidence to speak to strangers to generate business, they’re not going to get paid.
During the 12 years I spent as a personal trainer, I built up my confidence in speaking to all sorts of people I wouldn’t otherwise have engaged with.
I was earning really good money but I hit a ceiling. I found I was teaching the same things, deadlifts and squats, over and over again.
Then one of my clients, a primary school headteacher, encouraged me to spread my wings and do coaching. I worked with her year 6 class while doing an FA level 2 qualification.
The team were pretty poor when I started, but it became one of the best teams in Cheshire.
I then worked as a scout for Manchester City’s academy in their development centres and trained their under-8s teams at the Etihad Stadium on Sundays.
Teaching and personal training involves working a lot of unsociable hours – early mornings, late into the evening and at weekends. So I moved into teaching, first as a school PE teacher before lecturing in colleges.
Coaching work was also very driven towards development but I missed the competitive element of the game. So I started coaching Sandbach to feed my competitive drive!
Declan Swan enjoying a break-time snack
10.30am
I give my learners a break of 15 minutes – time for me to grab a drink of water and a bag of crisps. I’m always eating! I look at my phone to double-check the availability of the football squad I picked yesterday.
A rewarding part of teaching for me is seeing my learners return from their work experience placements full of beans, excited at how they were able to put into practice what they’ve learned in class and with more of an idea about the next steps for when they finish college.
We do have challenges in securing work placements but we’re fortunate to work with two very accommodating football clubs willing to give them a real insight into their clubs.
We have a learner in his second year on a placement in Port Vale’s women’s academy getting valuable experience of coaching high-level players. Others go into local high schools and grassroots football clubs.
When I get reference requests for my learners from universities or sports businesses, that’s when I feel like I’ve really had an impact on their lives.
Declan Swan’s classroom, featuring the apt quote: ‘sport has the power to change the world’
12.15pm
After a quick tidy-up of the classroom, I drive to my next class in Burslem.
There’s a lot more to being a football manager than my young learners first realise. While I’m driving, I might be on the phone to one of my players discussing a tactic or to my treasurer about budgeting issues. The job is 24-7.
1.00pm
My next lesson involves teaching about different coaching styles.
For example, command style is where the coach makes all the decisions and gives orders.
The drive-by coaching style is when you approach a player while a football game is in progress and then step away.
Then there’s guided discovery, where you ask the player a question and tell them to go find the answer for themselves. People retain information better if they’ve found out the solution themselves.
Declan Swan – the sense of anticipation building before that evening’s big game
2.00pm
I’m also teaching a unit on careers, which involves helping learners write CVs and cover letters. We spend some time exploring different jobs that they might want to go for.
The sports sector is a busy one, there are lots of jobs available. A lot of my learners chose this course because they love playing football. But when a young person enters non-league football, if they’re in it for the money, they’re probably in it for the wrong reasons. And the standard of football expected of them is a lot better than they think.
Out of all the kids who are trained up, there might be only one who makes it as a paid professional. I try to make sure my learners understand that.
Part of my job involves trying to show them they could channel their passion for sport into doing something completely different – perhaps as a teacher.
Declan Swan preparing for the game
4.15pm
I finish up, check my emails and I’m on the road to tonight’s match.
The anticipation is building when I arrive. The floodlights are on, and there’s a lovely smell of burgers cooking.
I take myself away from everyone to go over in my head what I’m going to say to my players before entering the changing room. There’s a crossover in the skills I use in teaching coaching, and how I talk to my players before the match. It’s just different pressures.
My players range from 17 to 36 and include university students, labourers and an estate agent. They travel in from as far afield as Manchester and Liverpool.
In my first full season as manager we got to the playoff final at home and lost. The following season, we got to the playoffs again and lost in the semi-finals – it’s frustrating that we keep getting so close.
When you’ve got the community coming together to watch the game in those moments, with the cheering and the drums, it’s a real occasion. Tonight, there are about 200 people watching us.
Declan Swan in managing mode
6.45pm
I see what the opposition have put out and we have our team talk, warm up, then it’s back into the changing rooms to sort the boots out before kick off.
During the game itself, I’m not a screamer or a swearer. But my players know by my demeanour when I’m frustrated. I see my style as being like that of Pep Guardiola.
When that final whistle blows, if we’ve won then the sense of elation is unbeatable.
9.40pm
After the game and our post-match chat, I do an interview for social media, then drive home. The journey might take two hours if it’s an away match so I might not be home until after midnight. I take a shower and check my phone before trying to sleep.
I’m still buzzing for several hours after a game because of the adrenaline rush.
The hardest thing for me about balancing my two jobs is not getting enough sleep. I know the dog’s going to wake me up for a walk at 6.30am!
The apprenticeship levy was introduced to encourage employers to invest in the next generation of skilled workers. But in the face of reformed apprenticeship standards its flexibility has decreased, making adaptation to employers’ needs more difficult.
Combined with the complexity of apprenticeship administration, this puts many employers off using their levy.
In instances where the levy is used, it may be to upskill already highly qualified professionals rather than giving opportunities to new workers.
We’ve worked with employers to create bespoke apprenticeship training courses which use existing standards but add additional training where required. This has included giving gas engineers and plumbers heat pump system training in our Vaillant green skills workshop, and training bricklayers in modern methods of construction in partnership with CITB and ABC Training.
We utilise other standards with enough transferrable skills and relevance as we make an inflexible system work for employers, often at our own cost as an expensive extra.
We also recognise that some employers need modularised training.
To counter this, we’ve created a programme of short courses funded via a mixture of adult skills funds, boot camps or at full cost.
These help employers upskill their workforce, particularly in areas like green skills and retrofit where we have learned that the skills that fit into the green agenda are not always those that we anticipated. Consequently, funding opportunities can be more difficult than they should be.
Overdue change
Expanding the range of foundational apprenticeships will introduce greater flexibility into the system and be a welcome move for training providers. But it may not go far enough for all employers.
The proposal that the levy be ring-fenced with half for apprenticeships and half for other forms of training, although fraught with danger for apprenticeships, could address some of the upskilling gaps that we as an education provider have encountered.
If parts of the levy were opened up for wider training, this could provide realistic levels of funding for courses which currently struggle significantly, such as engineering and welding, as large infrastructure projects with a green angle loom on the horizon.
At present, adult skills funding rates often do not reach the point at which such courses become viable.
Driving green skills agenda
The City of Liverpool College is currently one of only three FE colleges offering complex refrigeration and air conditioning apprenticeships and training programmes.
We work with Alstom UK, helping them upskill their engineers to refurbish air conditioning units on trains rather than replacing them, which drastically reduces carbon footprint.
We have also worked with Marshall Fleet Solutions to develop a shorter standard focused on mobile refrigeration units.
Whilst we can offer the full apprenticeship to any employer, we often cannot offer funded access to the shorter training courses.
Even if the levy is opened up to adult skills funding, this will not help in those sectors for which funding is too low to make courses viable. This means smaller and medium sized enterprises cannot take advantage of these training opportunities in the same way that larger employers with more resources can.
If the levy is opened up, it needs to be done in such a way that the system will not be abused and opportunity is widened for all.
The funding should be directed towards training which is currently beyond the reach of the SMEs that are the country’s backbone.
SMEs are being left behind by the way standards currently work. They do not have the capacity to absorb the additional costs of an apprentice learning on a programme that is not quite the right fit, or have the time to invest in creating an entirely new programme.
If the government wants to meet its green skills targets, it doesn’t need to win over huge companies. It needs to get onside the smaller, local companies that we call when the boiler breaks down.
National Apprenticeship Week is upon us – an important moment to celebrate apprentices and their positive impact on communities, businesses and the wider economy.
We want to remind potential apprentices and their employers that apprenticeships drive opportunity and growth, providing paid work and sought-after skills that lead to great careers.
But behind the spotlight shone on apprentices this week, the government is driving reforms to make apprenticeships work better for everyone.
We recognise that employers want more flexibility in designing apprenticeships to suit their industry. That’s why we’ve decided to reduce the minimum duration of an apprenticeship from 12 to eight months.
This flexibility will mean apprentices can complete their training more quickly, for example, where candidates have prior learning in their field or that industry typically trains other people up in less than 12 months.
This will help to grow the economy, allowing these workers to complete their training to the same high standard, but at a quicker pace.
Three trailblazer apprenticeships in key shortage occupations will enable us to pioneer shorter apprenticeships, with green energy, healthcare, and film and TV production becoming some of the first to welcome apprentices on these accelerated courses from August.
We are committed to working with others on how this can help them too. This change will break down barriers to opportunity, quickly bringing more skilled workers into the labour market to drive growth.
We are also removing barriers which can prevent apprentices from completing in critical sectors like construction. Employers will now be able to decide whether adult learners over 19 will need to complete up to a level 2 English and maths qualification in order to pass the apprenticeship.
This could mean as many as 10,000 more apprentices a year will be able to complete their apprenticeship, in high-demand sectors such as healthcare, social care and construction.
Skills England is our new national body to oversee and simplify skills training over the next decade. One of its first orders of business is to identify apprenticeships best served by a reduced duration, prioritising key shortage occupations as per the industrial strategy.
The secretary of state has just announced that Phil Smith CBE will chair Skills England, with Sir David Bell serving as vice chair.
Smith brings gold standard industry expertise as former chief executive and chair of Cisco UK and Ireland, and Sir David is a recognised education leader, formerly DfE permanent secretary and now vice chancellor of the University of Sunderland. Both will be instrumental in bringing together key partners to meet the nation’s skills needs.
We’ve also listened to employers and apprentices’ insights on other aspects of the programme. This includes end-point assessments and how they could better test professional readiness.
Following feedback, assessment plans will now be shorter and more flexible, focusing on the ‘must haves’ for occupational competency and also allowing providers to deliver assessments in some cases without compromising quality.
The sector tells us this will remove unnecessary duplication with on-programme assessment, and allow some flexibility in their delivery.
To make sure there is parity and rigour across the board, we will ask Skills England to review end-point assessments for each apprenticeship standard from April onwards.
On the other side of the coin, we are simplifying payment processes for apprenticeship training providers and will no longer require them to replicate their data entry to receive funding for apprenticeship training delivered. As a result, providers will no longer encounter data mismatches, eliminating the problems they cause such as delayed payments and increased admin errors.
This National Apprenticeship Week, while we celebrate the successes of today’s apprentices, employers and providers, we are getting on with cutting red tape in the system we inherited. By doing so, we will boost uptake and, ultimately, drive the economic growth that this country needs.
Electricians and plumbers are the linchpins of the UK’s infrastructure, housebuilding and net-zero goals set out in the draft industrial strategy.
Their expertise is essential for meeting the government’s targets for clean energy, sustainable housing and modern transport networks.
Without a secure, high-quality pipeline of professionals into these fields, it simply won’t happen.
Apprenticeships remain the gold standard pathway, ensuring a highly-skilled workforce capable of working in these safety-critical occupations. The government must maintain its commitment to these apprenticeships, including through independent training providers (ITPs).
To even start building the workforce needed to realise the industrial strategy’s ambitions some key considerations must be made.
Shortages threaten ambitions
Despite rising demand for skilled electricians and plumbers, the pipeline of new workers remains inadequate. According to Office for National Statistics data, since 2018 the electrical workforce has reduced by 19.6 per cent, from 277,000 to 222,800 by mid-2024.
Without decisive action, JTL projections indicate the workforce will decline by a further 15 per cent to 188,480 by 2038.
This threatens the UK’s housebuilding targets, infrastructure projects and energy transition goals. Increased apprenticeship starts and completion rates would reverse this decline.
Funding disparities
JTL is one of the country’s largest work-based learning providers, training more apprentices than anyone else in the building services engineering sector (including a third of electricians and 12 per cent of plumbers), so we know the pivotal role ITPs play in the skills ecosystem.
Key to this is ensuring training meets rigorous safety and competency standards. However, the current system for funding, including for capital, favours FE colleges.
Despite rising costs, funding for electrical apprenticeships has not risen since 2019. The funding model needs revision to reflect the true cost and complexity of delivering industry-standard training.
There is consistent demand for apprenticeships from young people, but the system does not have capacity to train them. ITPs are excluded from capital funding and many other support measures – we need equitable access.
Despite rising demand the pipeline remains inadequate
Then there is the applicability of some levy reform proposals – foundation apprenticeships and shorter-duration apprenticeships. The value of a foundation apprenticeship is evident for some sectors, such as retail or health, but doesn’t suit the building services engineering sector.
While short apprenticeships may have a role in the upskilling of already qualified workers (complementing the experienced worker route), they would not be appropriate substitutes for the full apprenticeship.
The nature of safety-critical roles like electricians and plumbers demands thorough training to ensure competency and safety. Offering short courses as fast-track routes into these jobs risks undermining workforce quality and, therefore, public safety.
Ultimately, we must guard against unintended consequences of levy reforms which would reduce support for high-skilled apprenticeships which are essential to meet national productivity demands.
Balancing devolution with national aims
Finally, the complex policy landscape requires careful coordination between national and local bodies.
While devolution allows regions to better tailor training initiatives to local needs, and we see mayoral combined authorities successfully spending their adult education budgets, a lack of cohesion risks fragmented delivery.
National priorities – such as the rollout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and sustainable heating systems – require central government oversight to ensure resources are targeted consistently and efficiently.
Additionally, some regions supply skilled workers elsewhere. This is particularly true of the inherently mobile electrical workforce, including apprentices, who cross regional boundaries regularly.
Achieving the right balance between regional flexibility and national alignment is key.
The government must prioritise long-term investment in high-quality apprenticeships, including through ITPs, and foster better coordination between national and regional bodies.
Only through a well-funded, cohesive approach can the UK build a resilient workforce capable of meeting industrial strategy goals.
If the UK is serious about solving skills shortages, supporting young people into employment and upskilling to meet demands in emerging sectors, apprenticeships must be at the centre of employer growth strategies.
For education providers, that means tackling outdated perceptions, ensuring apprentices earn competitive wages and strengthening employer partnerships.
Many employers know apprenticeships are a fantastic choice for their business. But apprenticeships can be difficult to navigate, and there is work to be done to ensure businesses of all sizes understand how they can access apprenticeships and the support available to them.
Plus, while some young people love the idea of earning and learning, there is often a misconception amongst parents or the public that apprenticeships are a second-tier option with limited career potential.
This is a huge frustration when we know the apprenticeships we run across NCG offer a wide range of knowledge, behaviours and transferable skills that equip learners with industry-recognised qualifications linked directly to employer demand and can lead to rewarding careers.
So, what can we do about it? Newcastle College has planned ambitious business numbers for 2025-26 alongside the introduction of six new apprenticeship standards to support growth.
Apprenticeships are uniquely effective because they are designed with employers from the outset, where they evolve in real time to meet employer, sector, and regional needs.
Innovation constantly reshapes job requirements, and apprenticeships adapt accordingly. This agility is essential to support developments across industries.
Working with employers
The Persimmon Homes Academy at Newcastle College is an example of how, by working directly with employers, apprenticeships in construction provide an immediate talent pipeline, addressing persistent shortages in the industry.
The academy, launched in partnership with the college in 2024, provides bricklaying, joinery and roofing apprenticeships, ensuring that learners receive industry-standard training from the outset. With the direct support of Persimmon’s regional apprentice manager, apprentices gain hands-on experience and structured career progression within the company.
This kind of collaboration should be the norm, not the exception. If more industries adopted similar models, skills shortages in key sectors could be significantly reduced.
Employers often require specific skills that may not yet be incorporated into traditional provision, which can lead to a disconnect. To overcome this, Newcastle College has adopted a flexible, industry-responsive approach.
By closely collaborating with employers like Persimmon Homes, the college ensures apprenticeship programmes are continually updated to reflect the latest industry trends and standards.
This proactive approach not only bridges the skills gap but also builds stronger relationships between education providers and employers, ensuring apprentices are equipped with the skills employers need.
Pay competitive salaries
For apprenticeships to remain a viable alternative to full-time study, wages must reflect the value apprentices bring to businesses.
Currently, the national apprenticeship minimum wage is just £6.40 per hour – significantly lower than the real living wage. While some sectors, such as engineering and construction, can offer incremental pay rises, others, like hospitality and hairdressing, often have no choice but to adhere to the apprenticeship minimum wage, making recruitment a challenge.
Employers who invest in apprentices with structured pay progression see higher retention rates and a more motivated workforce.
Apprenticeships must not only be seen as a training route but as a financially attractive career choice. Government incentives should encourage and help businesses to pay apprentices fairly and reflect the long-term value they bring.
Rethinking apprenticeships in FE
Over the next two years we are keen to introduce new “dark green apprenticeships”, potentially in the digital and energy sectors, ensuring that sustainability is embedded into training at every level.
FE institutions and businesses must push for greater government support in funding, promotion, and a streamlining of bureaucracy. Without significant reform, we risk missing the opportunity to equip the next generation with the skills they – and the economy – urgently need.
Beyond National Apprenticeship Week, we have to keep shouting about apprenticeships and ensure they get the recognition they deserve.
We finally have the long-awaited outline of the new Ofsted inspection framework for implementation in November.
Opinions will be split on whether it is going to cause more work for providers and inspectors, is different enough to what we have now, and focuses on the right things.
And we must be careful not to jump the gun as the new inspection methodology is out for consultation and pilot inspections of FE and skills providers start this week, so further changes may be made.
So, what are the major game changers?
No overall effectiveness grade
This is the big headline change, which Ofsted states has been driven by feedback from us all during its ‘Big Listen’ consultation.
The nuanced evaluation descriptors for each of four parts of a provision type might be useful if handled correctly, but will those descriptors be that far apart anyway? Surely a ‘strong’ curriculum must result in similarly strong teaching/training, achievement and participation and development, otherwise it isn’t ‘strong’?
There are some interesting questions here too about what happens to providers that are ‘causing concern’ regarding all, or most, of the areas. What will that mean for their continued existence and ability to tender for contracts?
The evaluation scale – ‘strong’ and ‘exemplary’
I’m in favour of differentiating between the current ‘outstanding’ and ‘good’ as so many providers are not quite the former but better than the latter, which is the hole that ‘strong’ will presumably fill.
Some readers will remember the old and extremely useful ‘very good’ grade used by the adult learning Inspectorate. The fact that any ‘exemplary’ judgements now have to go before a panel to approve them should be interesting and might lead, one would think, to inspectors being wary before handing them out.
No more deep dives I think is a backwards step
No more deep dives
This suggests we are moving further away again from giving the customer an accurate view of a curriculum area at the ‘coal face’ which I think is a backwards step.
The idea that the areas to be focused on will be determined in part by leaders’ improvement priorities is an interesting idea given that many providers’ self-assessment reports, sadly, are principally still written for external audiences. And what exactly is starting from the standpoint that the provision is ‘secure’ actually going to entail?
Achievement
It’s already clear that achievement rates are going to carry greater weighting and this might ring alarm bells for some apprenticeship providers with continuing high levels of withdrawals, and employability providers with little evidence of successful job interviews and outcomes.
Given the plethora of external factors impacting negatively on apprenticeship achievement rates over the last 10 years, not least the pandemic and the move to apprenticeship standards from frameworks, the easing back of the weighting put on performance data in the current Ofsted framework has perhaps been fortunate for all concerned.
I hope not to have a return, however, to the days when provider ‘grades’ were almost predetermined by the inspectorate based on their overall achievement rate against national averages.
Inclusion
Whilst colleges will probably be very comfortable with this being a headline evaluation area given the very good work they already do in the high-needs arena under the current framework, this may send ripples of concern through the training/employer provider/local authority sectors where the arrangements to support and fund learners with additional learning needs have tended to be less clearly delineated and refined.
Longer notice periods
Although not officially part of the new framework, there is little doubt I think that revised notice periods for notification of inspection are in the pipeline.
These have already been implemented for colleges and larger training and employer providers which now get five or six days’ notice.
However, the extension is likely to be less drastic for other providers, perhaps moving the current two working days to three or four days.
On balance, I suspect most providers will value this, especially those with lots of different types of courses and/or learners located around the country which have a lot to organise pre-inspection.
