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Making apprenticeships a recovery route is creating more productivity problems

There’s a growing contradiction at the heart of the UK skills agenda: apprenticeships are being treated less as a planned progression route into skilled work, and more as a recovery mechanism for young people who have already fallen out of the system.

While the pressure to use apprenticeships as a solution is understandable, it risks asking employers, educators and young people to do too much, too late.

Lifetime Training’s recent data is telling. Around 79 per cent of applications into apprenticeship recruitment are from young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET), alongside indicators of wider disadvantage.  Are apprenticeships being used to patch earlier system failures, rather than build a sustainable talent pipeline?

The scale of the challenge

According to the Office for National Statistics, around 957,000 young people aged 16–24 were NEET in October-December 2025, approaching the highest level seen in more than a decade.

Behind these headline numbers, around 580,000 are economically inactive, meaning they are not currently seeking work or education.

This matters because the solutions required are very different. For some young people the barrier is access to opportunity. For others it may be confidence, health challenges, caring responsibilities, or previous negative experiences of education.

There is no single NEET group, but a diverse population with a wide range of needs, circumstances and aspirations.

All too often however, support for these groups of young people comes too late and is not adequately tailored to their needs.

Just this month, the London mayor announced that unspent adult skills funding would be diverted to tackle youth unemployment. Not only was there little explanation of how this would be deployed to support people in differing circumstances, but the stripping back of funding for adult apprenticeships risks removing development routes for young people as they progress in their career.

It points to a deeper structural issue in the skills system. The reliance on short‑term or repurposed funding streams suggests a system that is better designed to respond to NEET status than to prevent it, stepping in once barriers are entrenched rather than supporting smoother transitions in the first place.

What does this mean for productivity?

From a system perspective, intervening once young people are already NEET is problematic because it results in support being more intensive, longer-term and costly. Barriers are more entrenched; learners may experience deep lack of confidence, mental health or housing issues that can be more difficult to resolve as time goes on.

When apprenticeships become a late-stage recovery route, the system carries higher risk: readiness gaps widen, completion becomes harder, and employers shoulder more onboarding cost, diluting the very productivity gains apprenticeships are meant to deliver.

With the government explicitly pushing youth-focused reform and new routes (including foundation apprenticeships in hospitality and retail) alongside a major youth employment drive, it’s vital that apprenticeships are protected as a planned early-career pathway.

In practice, this means urgently rebuilding the stepping-stone provision before level 2 so young people don’t reach apprenticeships when they have already experienced a fractured system.

The importance of building the foundations

Many young NEETs face multiple barriers to learning or work and may not yet be ready to begin an apprenticeship or vocational qualification.

For these individuals, foundation programmes and pre-apprenticeship pathways can play a crucial role by building confidence, work readiness, and core employability skills.

The question policymakers and providers must ask is: Are we investing enough in these pathways that sit before level 2?

From our discussions with employer partners, too many don’t have a concrete understanding of what a foundation apprenticeship is designed to do.

Are they primarily a route for young people who are not yet ready for level 2? Are they a way for employers to widen access and derisk recruitment? A structured bridge into full apprenticeships? In reality, they can do all of these things, but without that clarity, it’s hardly surprising that uptake remains patchy. With clearer understanding and confidence in pathways, employers would have more incentive to engage with schools or colleges, supporting young people’s awareness of their options.

Looking ahead

To ensure young people and employers can fully understand and engage with the options available, the system now needs

targeted, ringfenced investment in pre-level 2 provision. Foundation programmes and pre-apprenticeship pathways should not be funded through repurposed or leftover budgets but treated as a core part of the skills system with dedicated, multi-year funding. Without this, the system will continue to intervene too late, when support is more costly and outcomes are less certain.

Alongside this, government must set out a clear, end-to-end progression framework. Employers and providers need to see, in practical terms, how a young person moves from a foundation programme into level 2 and level 3 apprenticeships, including expected timelines, support requirements and outcomes. This should function as a coherent pathway, not a set of disconnected options.

Employer incentives also need to better reflect reality. While payments of up to £2,000 are helpful, they often fall short of the true cost of onboarding young people who require intensive early support. A more effective approach would include:

Higher incentives for foundation and entry-level pathways
Staged payments linked to progression and completion
Additional support for employers working with higher-need learners
Contribution towards salaries until an individual is work ready

At the same time, schools and colleges must be required to provide clearer, earlier careers guidance on these pathways. This includes:

Embedding foundation and apprenticeship routes into mainstream careers education
Improving communication with parents
Work preparation content and initiatives built into the school curriculum
Ensuring young people understand not just what options exist, but who they are for and where they lead

Finally, accountability needs to shift from reaction to prevention. Success should not be measured solely by how many young people are moved out of NEET status, but by how many never reach that point in the first place. That means setting explicit targets for participation in pre-apprenticeship pathways and tracking progression into sustained employment or further training.

The question is not whether we can afford to act. The real question is whether we can afford to keep intervening too late.

Smaller steps could transform English and maths resits

The Department for Education is currently consulting on proposed post-16 English and maths stepping stone qualifications for students who leave school with a GCSE grade 2 or below. As most of these students study in colleges, how should the sector respond?

Around a third of secondary students do not achieve a GCSE grade 4 in English and/or maths by the age of 16. Although many have developed their literacy and numeracy skills over time, their Year 11 results mean they often arrive at college demoralised and demotivated, while also facing greater socio-economic disadvantage.

College teachers work hard to rebuild these students’ confidence and get them back on track. In 2024-25, more than 70,000 college retakers improved their GCSE grade in either English or maths, and 27,000 (39 per cent) of these improved from a grade 2 or grade 1. From my own experience of teaching basic numeracy, I know that with encouragement, structured support and effective feedback, these students can succeed.

Aiming for fluency in English and maths cannot be optional, and restricting ourselves to the merely ‘functional’ would cap aspiration and add curriculum disadvantage to socio-economic disadvantage. I have spent my professional life arguing against the labelling, tracking and segregation of young people based on prior attainment because we know who loses out in these systems. But there is no magic bullet for raising achievement; it requires a positive institutional culture alongside coherent and well-grounded pedagogy. That is the message of the DfE’s recent publication on effective college retake practice.

So how might new stepping stone qualifications help GCSE retakers? For many students at this level, the gap between where they are and where they want to be can feel too wide. They are a highly diverse group with a broad range of needs, but we know that to re-engage them we must start where they are, while recognising and valuing their progress. The point of a stepping stone qualification is precisely to overcome barriers, break the journey to grade 3 into manageable stages and build confidence for the next step towards grade 4.

The Social Mobility Commission has recognised the importance of smaller, incremental steps rather than a ‘massive leaps’ approach. Social immobility is shaped by a complex interaction of inequalities and will not be solved simply by introducing a new qualification. However, well-designed stepping stones can help support progression.

Providing stepping stones is what colleges already do. Everything we offer students is a step towards something else: employment, higher-level qualifications or further skills development. A good stepping stone should build confidence and mastery while leading somewhere meaningful. It should value incremental progress towards a shared goal and ensure that no one is excluded, segregated or left on a road to nowhere. That is the exact opposite of a two-tier or tracked system.

We also need to avoid myth-making about new qualifications before we know what they will look like. At this stage, the design is still under discussion, but some points are already clear. First, the standard will be pitched at a strong GCSE grade 3 which, like grades 1 and 2, sits within level 1. Progress within a level does not mean standing still; it is real progress and can be measured. Second, there is no suggestion that stepping stone qualifications will be mandatory or that learners will be prevented from retaking GCSEs as soon as they are ready. Third, they may not have a simple pass/fail outcome, with grading at both module and qualification level appearing possible.

Reform always creates pressure and brings opportunity costs. But change in this area is long overdue, and the benefits of a more inclusive and staged approach, alongside the proposed pedagogical support, could far outweigh the initial costs.

College English and maths teachers deserve the best possible tools for the work they do. That includes qualifications which recognise student progress at every stage, from GCSE grade 1 towards grade 4 and beyond. Stepping stones may be exactly what we need to support students who have experienced the stumbling block of “failure” at 16.

Whether you agree or not, please engage with the DfE consultation.

Learning Curve Group appoints new CEO

Large national training provider Learning Curve Group (LCG) has appointed a new CEO five months after its high-profile boss suddenly stepped down.

Durham-based LCG, whose previous chief executive Brenda McLeish left in December, has now announced Tracey Fletcher-Ray as its new CEO.

Until last September, Fletcher-Ray was CEO of Witherslack Group, one of the UK’s largest special needs businesses. The Abu Dhabi-owned SEND school has seen profits soar in recent years, as education secretary Bridget Phillipson considered new measures to “curb profiteering” by private firms running special schools.

Fletcher-Ray’s career has also included senior leadership roles at organisations like Barclays and Bupa.

LCG has more than 55 sites across England and Wales, an annual turnover of about £59 million and is owned by Agilitas Private Equity.

The new CEO said: “I’m excited to be joining at such an important stage in the organisation’s journey and look forward to building on the strong foundations already in place.

“My focus will be on continuing to support quality, culture and sustainable growth, ensuring Learning Curve Group continues to make a meaningful impact for learners, employers and communities.”

Fletcher-Ray has previously worked in the housing, banking, education, healthcare, and chemical industries.

Her previous role at Witherslack Group involved oversight of a £208 million turnover education business, which is majority owned by Mubadala Capital, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund.

She is also a non-executive director on the board of Social Housing REIT, has previously been a non-executive board member at housing association L&Q.

Until Fletcher-Ray’s appointment, LCG had been run on an interim basis by its strategic board.

The training provider group, which has more than 15 subsidiaries, delivers a range of education and training, including employability, adult learning and skills bootcamps.

Its most recent accounts suggest some uncertainty over its finances, including about £86 million in external borrowing by its parent holding company, due to expire in March this year but with an option to extend until August.

Last week, FE Week revealed that LCG launched legal proceedings against Tees Valley Combined Authority.

Shortly afterwards, the combined authority paused its adult education contract procurement process, which LCG also is bidding for, although it remains unclear if the two are linked.

Last year, LCG came to a secret financial settlement with the Department for Education following a legal dispute about losing out on a national adult education budget contract in 2023.

Ofsted considers replacing glitchy evidence-gathering system

Ofsted is considering replacing the electronic evidence-gathering (EEG) system used by inspectors following years of issues.

The system was introduced in 2019 to replace paper records, but has faced repeated and sustained software glitches which in the most serious cases led to the loss of key inspection evidence.

The inspectorate is now considering a replacement.

An Ofsted spokesperson told FE Week’s sister title Schools Week: “We’re currently undertaking a programme of digital modernisation aimed at ensuring long-term and sustainable digital inspection tools – including evidence gathering tools.”

No timeline has yet been confirmed for when a new system could be introduced.

Matt Newman, national officer at inspectors’ union the FDA, said they had been “consistently flagging concerns around the effectiveness of EEG as a tool for our members.

“We welcome the news that the system may be completely replaced.”

‘Problematic from the outset’

Newman added that it was “essential” members “have access to reliable and top class digital tools to deliver for parents and children”.

Former HMI Frank Norris said he too was “pleased to discover Ofsted is reviewing the EEG”, describing it as “problematic from the outset”.

He said he recently heard of an inspection at which the “system crashed and significant amounts of evidence were lost”.

“Completing inspections in the available time is tough without having these additional burdens thrown in as well.”

Norris said inspectors regularly reported having “little confidence in the EEG” and “many…have created protocols and processes to ensure they are not left high and dry when the system crashes”.

Long history of glitches

Developed for Ofsted in 2017, the EEG was launched for all schools, FE and skills inspections in September 2019. It was then rolled out to initial teacher education inspections in 2021.

Both full-time his majesty’s inspectors (HMI) and part-time Ofsted inspectors use it to record written notes during inspections, which are uploaded to a cloud.

Following the on-site part of inspections, a lead inspector uses their team’s notes to write a draft inspection report.

Ofsted said the electronic system helped inspectors better “review and synthesise their notes” and offered a “notable improvement” in security.

But Schools Week revealed in 2024 that long-running issues meant inspectors had for years suffered glitches that wiped data about inspections.

‘Disappearing’ evidence

Inspectors described how screens would freeze and evidence “disappeared” before their eyes mid-visit. Others found evidence had been wiped after they had left the inspection.

This prompted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver to commission a rapid review.

The internal investigation revealed that of the 26,431 inspections made using the EEG between February 2021 and May 2024, inspectors reported evidence was lost in 191 cases.

Only four of these resulted in inspectors returning to gather extra evidence, while the inspectorate said it was “confident that the judgement…is secure” for the other 187.

The report noted benefits of the EEG, such as “significantly” strengthening the quality assurance process.

But it acknowledged there “have been some technical issues with stability and reliability” since it was introduced. It said some issues were linked to the application itself, and some to the Microsoft technology it was built on.

‘Technical issues’ persist

The review said Ofsted hae made improvements over time, but there were “still issues with the application intermittently ‘freezing’ and closing unexpectedly” on some inspections which it said “does create uncertainty and additional workload for inspectors”.

The issues have continued since the renewed education inspection framework was launched late last year.

In an email to inspectors in December, Ofsted revealed “an underlying technical issue” had been “causing EEG to freeze when inspectors type notes directly into the application”.

Ofsted said a “contingency plan” had been put in place. It is understood this involves inspectors recording notes using Microsoft Word. But there have been reports of crashes when the data is finally uploaded to Ofsted’s system.

Contingency still in place

Ofsted’s email in December said this was “a temporary measure” and that it would provide an update by February half-term.

However, the watchdog confirmed on Monday the contingency arrangement is still in place.

A spokesperson said Ofsted is working with Microsoft, and is currently testing a fix to the platform on which the EEG was built.

“Once we have confirmed it is working reliably, we will consider whether we transition back to using EEG until any new digital tools are ready to launch.”

Lorraine Heath made permanent principal of Basingstoke College

Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT) has announced long-serving staff member Lorraine Heath as its permanent principal.

Heath has worked at the college for almost 30 years and was most recently deputy principal for curriculum, performance and innovation before being made acting principal in February.

She took on the position as interim accountable officer after the sudden retirement of Anthony Bravo, who served the college as principal for over 16 years and stepped down in the middle of the academic year to “focus on his charitable activities”.

Mike Howe, BCoT chair of governors, said Heath has been a “cornerstone of BCoT for almost 30 years”, serving the last seven years with “incredible dedication and distinction as our deputy principal”.

He added: “During the rigorous and transparent interview process, it became clear that Lorraine’s deep understanding of our college culture, combined with her bold vision for our future, makes her the perfect person to lead us into this next chapter. No one understands the heart of this college better than Lorraine, and we are thrilled to see a homegrown leader take the helm.”

Heath joined BCoT in 1997 in corporate services before she qualified as a teacher in 2001. She worked in multiple teaching and curriculum roles before taking responsibility for apprenticeships and employer engagement in 2011.

A BCoT spokesperson said that as deputy principal for business, Heath was “instrumental in expanding the range of apprenticeships offered at the college and has overseen significant growth in the number of learners and employers engaging in apprenticeship programmes”.

More recently, as deputy for curriculum, performance, and innovation – and with five years of experience as an Ofsted inspector – Heath has “proven she possesses the national expertise and local lens needed to lead BCoT”.

Heath said: “I am delighted to be named principal of BCoT, a place that has been my home for nearly three decades. I’ve seen the College grow and change over the years, serving thousands of young people from our community.

“I look forward to continuing that positive momentum and delivering high-quality education opportunities that directly equip our students with the specific skills our local economy and community need to thrive.”

BCoT was judged ‘good’ by Ofsted in 2023. The college employs around 430 people and teaches almost 5,000 students, according to its latest financial statements for 2024-25 which show ‘outstanding’ financial health.

Over 100 providers approved for LLE modular courses

The first colleges and universities to deliver short higher education courses through the lifelong learning entitlement have been revealed.

From January 2027, eligible adults will be able to access student loans to study “modules” instead of three-year-long qualifications, drawing down a maximum £39,160 of their lifelong learning entitlement (LLE).

The Department for Education (DfE) today confirmed the list of 130 providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) that can deliver modules of courses in the government’s priority skills areas, such as economics, computing and engineering, at levels 4 to 6.

It comes as a recent interim report on the “modular acceleration programme” raised concerns around student understanding of the short courses and difficulty engaging employers.

The LLE will be available for modules in any subject from a higher technical qualifications (HTQ) and 10 approved subjects for level 4, 5 and 6 modules from full-level 6 “parent” qualifications.

These approved subject areas are computing, engineering, architecture, building and planning (excluding landscape gardening), physics and astronomy, mathematical sciences, nursing and midwifery, allied health, chemistry, economics and health and social care.

Eligible students will also be able to apply for maintenance support to help with living costs, with funding provided in smaller amounts linked to the size of the course being studied.

People who already hold a degree may still access the new funding if they have remaining entitlement available or want to retrain in the above priority subject areas.

DfE opened an expression of interest process between July and October 2025, confirming providers can follow two routes of funding approval based on their teaching excellence framework (TEF) status or Ofsted ratings.

See the table at the end of the story for the full list of providers.

Those with gold or silver TEF ratings and/or high Ofsted grades would be eligible for a “simpler and quicker” approval process.

Route two was reserved for providers with lower TEF and/or Ofsted ratings were required to submit more information that demonstrates evidence of high-quality outcomes and established course delivery.

Two colleges and one university received funding approval through the alternative entry mechanism to run the following computing, mathematical sciences and engineering courses.

Skills minister Jacqui Smith said the modules would open up new opportunities for adults balancing work and family commitments.

“Whether it’s fitting study around a job, retraining for a completely new career, juggling childcare, or getting qualifications later in life, the new lifelong learning entitlement will open up new opportunities for thousands more people,” she added.

The announcement comes after two government-backed precursors to the full LLE roll failed to deliver results demonstrating demand for short courses.

The first trial back in 2022-23 hit a “shocking” 5 per cent of its student enrolment target.

The second more recent trial, which cost £5 million, fared marginally better and reached a fifth of its recruitment goal.

Here’s the full list of delivery providers below:

£184m to beat population bulge in devolved areas

Post-16 capacity capital funding allocations of up to £22 million for 19 devolved areas have been revealed as a “demographic bulge” works through the education system.

An announcement confirmed that in February, eight combined authorities received a total of £87 million for projects to “provide additional capacity” for learning.

It added that this “spring”, a further £97 million will be paid to another 11 combined authorities and local authorities with devolution deals.

The funding seeks to address capacity constraints due to an expected 67,000 extra 16 and 17-year-olds in education by 2028.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “A demographic bulge is currently working its way through the education system. In previous years it has impacted mostly schools, but it is now moving through post-16 education.”

Allocation levels have been decided using a formula based on local authority population projections that are weighted using local building cost data.

The largest allocations, of £22 million and £20 million, will go to East Midlands Combined County Authority and West Midlands Combined Authority respectively.

According to an accompanying memorandum of understanding template, devolved areas have been asked to agree that funding will be for additional capacity at providers lacking existing suitable space.

It should also be spent in the “most efficient and sustainable way possible”.

Any unspent funds must be immediately repaid to the government if requested.

Capital capacity cash

The national funding allocations mark a shift in control of post-16 capital funding from central government to mayors and local leaders, following the one-off award of £20 million to Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Leeds City Council last year.

The £184 million in post-16 capacity funding for devolved areas is part of a total of £570 million for further education providers in England in the 2025-30 period.

A further £99 million in capital will be handed to 13 devolved areas for construction skills capacity.

Although it is unclear how construction skills capacity funding will be allocated to all 13 areas, combined authorities such as South Yorkshire recently confirmed it will receive about £12 million.

Last month, the Greater London Authority also confirmed it has up to £20 million available, with half set aside to help meet the objectives of the construction technical excellence college programme and half for “project-based capital” to meet employers’ specific training needs.

For providers in non-devolved areas, £287 million will be awarded by the DfE through a national bidding round that closed last month.

This will be split into £191 million for post-16 capacity and £96 million for construction skills capacity.

According to DfE guidance, providers in non-devolved areas receiving construction skills capacity funding must be either a construction technical excellence college or committed to working with one as a “spoke”.

The previous government’s capital capacity funding was released between 2021 and 2023.

Around £230 million was shared between 89 colleges and sixth forms with the aim of creating additional capacity by September 2024.

Congrats

Court action preceded Tees Valley’s skills delay

A mayoral authority has indefinitely paused a £21 million adult education procurement after a training provider hit it with legal action.

Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) began a fresh tender for adult skills funding in January – with contracts set to begin this August and run for three years.

But on April 15 officials took the unusual step of “temporarily” pausing the procurement without explanation.

The north-east authority’s procurement team told providers involved in the bidding stage of the process that a new timeline would be provided “in due course”.

FE Week has now learned that Learning Curve Group and two of the company’s subsidiaries filed a legal claim against the combined authority at the Technology and Construction Court, which handles public procurement disputes, on April 13 – two days before the delay announcement.

A spokesperson for TVCA said the authority was unable to comment due to the live procurement process. They did not respond when asked for a second time whether the procurement process was delayed due to the legal action.

Learning Curve Group, which is understood to have submitted a stage-one bid for a Tees Valley adult education contract, also said it would be inappropriate to comment.

The action comes a year after Learning Curve, based in County Durham, reached a secret financial settlement with the Department for Education following a legal dispute over losing out on a national adult education budget contract in 2023.

Negotiations

Tees Valley’s £21 million tender will cover at least three years from 2026-27, with an option to extend for a further year.

According to documents published by TVCA, the procurement process is being conducted through a “competitive flexible procedure” in three stages.

Stage one focuses on whether providers meet compliance requirements, while stage two will assess the quality of detailed tender submissions.

Stage three will involve face-to-face negotiations over costs and delivery plans.

The stage two clarification deadline, which came shortly after providers’ tenders were submitted, was planned for March 20. But on March 30 the combined authority said the submission deadline was “extended” until April 9.

After pausing the whole procurement on April 15, an update was issued on April 29 where the authority said a new deadline would be communicated to bidders “in due course”. Contract winners were due to be announced on June 10.

Grant funding returns

The combined authority last procured its adult skills contracts in 2021, for a period of three years with an extension up to July 2025.

Winners of the 2021 procurement included Learning Curve, Realise Learning & Employment Limited, Think Employment and Back 2 Work Complete Training.

Tees Valley, run by Conservative mayor Ben Houchen, is thought to be the only combined authority to have forced FE colleges and local authorities to bid for adult education funding alongside independent training providers, rather than offering them grants.

TVCA further extended the contracts won under the previous procurement for a one-year “call off” period in 2025-26, hoping to receive a more flexible multi-year “single pot” budget from the government, known as an integrated settlement.

However, the government refused to agree to single pot funding due to an ongoing “best-value notice” placed on the authority over governance concerns.

The notice, which remains in place, relates to an investigation into concerns about “corruption, wrongdoing and illegality” around its management of a large brownfield site.

TVCA has now decided to revert to the standard adult skills fund (ASF) allocations process of grant funding colleges and local authorities, while only running a tender for independent training providers.

For the next academic year, TVCA has a £30.5 million ASF budget and £2.7 million in free courses for jobs funding.

The £7 million-per-year in contracts for independent training providers would account for about one third of the combined authority’s adult skills funding.

Prosperity fund axe puts apprenticeship hubs in danger

Fears are growing for apprenticeship ‘hubs’ after ministers slashed a key post-Brexit funding stream, triggering warnings of closures and lost brokerage support for small businesses and young people.

The government scrapped the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) in March, a programme created by the Conservatives following the loss of about £1.5 billion per year in European Union social and regional development funding.

In a joint open letter to work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden this week, several sector bodies warned the cuts would threaten England’s network of ‘apprenticeship hubs’, partially funded by the UKSPF, that aim to boost recruitment, particularly among SMEs.

They wrote: “Without mitigating action, the loss of this funding stream will result in local brokerage services being scaled back or closed entirely, a loss of service that cannot easily be reversed because of the contacts and trusted relationships they have built up.”

The signatories – including Engineering UK, Logistics UK, Edge Foundation and Skills Federation – call for a “sustainable funding stream” for the estimated 27 apprenticeship hubs that exist across England.

The hubs most at threat are those outside mayoral areas that stand to be left out of a £140 million apprenticeship brokerage pilot to be funded through the government’s apprenticeship budget.

This appears to be the first time that apprenticeship levy funds have been used to fund initiatives outside of training and incentives.

Double whammy cold spots

The UKSPF’s partial replacement, the Local Growth Fund, could help keep apprenticeship hubs open but will only be targeted at 11 mayoral strategic authorities in the North and Midlands which have the “highest productivity catch-up and agglomeration potential”.

This excludes local authorities, often rural counties and smaller cities, facing “unprecedented risk” to their apprenticeship hubs and employment support.

English cold spots lacking both Local Growth Fund and apprenticeship brokerage pilot funding include counties in south west and central England, county councils in the West Midlands, and Cumbria and Lancashire in the North West.

Several areas have voiced concerns about the impact this will have on flexible employment support offered by councils, small charities and training providers.

Although details have been limited since its announcement five months ago, the government’s apprenticeship brokerage pilot is expected to offer help and opportunities to potential apprentices, including candidates who missed out on their first-choice applications.

This is similar to the offer provided by some of the apprenticeship hubs currently under threat.

Brokerages ‘already exist’

According to the Edge Foundation, the hubs offer brokerage support such as promoting the apprenticeship training route to young people and SMEs, connecting employers with training providers, and helping with recruitment and bureaucracy.

The letter’s authors urged McFadden to match the ambition of his apprenticeship brokerage pilot with support for the “many pockets of great practice” that already exist.

Norfolk County Council argued that its hub, Apprenticeships Norfolk, had helped grow apprenticeships year on year, including by 18 per cent in 2021-22, which was more than double the 8 per cent national rate.

Apprenticeships Norfolk also runs a levy transfer scheme that has moved over £4.5 million in just over two financial years to around 220 businesses, supporting 440 apprentices, and provides financial incentives for hiring.

A variety of hubs with various brand names have sprung up across England since the late 2010s, set up by local enterprise partnerships, local authorities and training provider networks using a combination of funding that often included UKSPF and EU development funding.

While some are run by combined authorities such as in the North East, Liverpool City Region and West Midlands, others are run by councils and training provider networks such as the Western Training Provider Network.

Local employment services hit

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which is responsible for UKSPF, did not assess the impact of it being scrapped, arguing it was always a “time-limited” programme.

Jude Day, employability programme manager at the Sussex Community Development Association, said the cuts had resulted in its employment-focused staff body being halved to 13 this year, with further potential redundancies to come.

The association works with people “furthest from the job market” across East Sussex, helping them into work, volunteering, education and training programmes.

Day said that at its peak it employed about 40 people via DWP, EU and UKSPF programmes.

She told FE Week it takes years to build employment advisors’ knowledge of local businesses and how to work with economically inactive and unemployed people.

“These skills are being lost at the very time it is getting harder to find work, use AI appropriately, to attend interviews and secure the job,” she added.

Lancashire Combined County Authority, which had a £22 million UKSPF allocation last year, has warned the loss of funding creates “unprecedented risk” for local authorities, training providers and local charities.

A report by the authority noted that £3.5 million is spent on local people and skills projects, and that national programmes offering employment support fail to offer the “breadth or the locality” of UKSPF-funded provision.

It added that the “long-term sustainability” of local voluntary and social enterprise organisations may make continued delivery of skills projects “unviable”.

UKSPF history

Covering an initial three years, the UKSPF was devised by the Conservative government under Boris Johnson, who pledged in his 2019 manifesto that post-Brexit funding would “at a minimum” match the size of EU funding, which was distributed in seven-year cycles.

However, its delivery was plagued by delays, tight spending timelines and complex rules.

It was replaced with the £225 million-per-year Local Growth Fund which was worth 75 per cent less than the UKSPF in 2024-25 and, as the government confirmed in the autumn budget, will only go to 11 devolved mayoral strategic authorities in the North and Midlands.

It meant that as of April this year, more than 150 local authorities have lost annual allocations of between £327,000 and £61 million, depending on their size and deprivation levels.

A government spokesperson said: “Our growth and skills L=levy reforms, backed by £1 billion additional investment, will support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships over the next three years, giving them a vital route into skilled work.

“This funding includes £140 million to explore how mayoral strategic authorities can best use their expert local knowledge and expertise to connect more young people with local apprenticeship opportunities.

“We are taking significant steps to transform how local growth is funded, which is an important part of our long-term goal. This is alongside making local government finance more sustainable and allowing funding to be targeted where it is needed most.”