Apprenticeship growth remains a constant topic of discussion among senior leadership teams, largely because it is not constrained by lag funding and is one of the most effective ways to increase in-year funding.
Yet, in my experience of delivering apprenticeships over many years, true and sustainable growth rarely comes from traditional day-release models in which the apprentice spends one day a week with the provider and the remainder at work.
Instead, it flourishes when providers adopt a well-designed ‘block-release’ approach, of a one or two-week duration.
While day release certainly has its place, it comes with an inherent limitation: geography. Learners can only travel so far for sessions, which restricts the recruitment demographic. Block release overcomes this, but only when it is implemented with intention and precision. Simply re-timetabling classes is not enough.
I first saw the transformative impact of block release many years ago, when I was head of motor vehicle at Bridgwater College. At the time, we delivered a solid day-release programme with around 30 apprentices per year.
The senior team challenged us to grow numbers, so I designed a block release model informed by strong existing practice, especially in main dealer programmes with brands like Ford and Volkswagen.
The design followed a clear blueprint, with absolute consistency on dates once agreed with employers.
It ran for seven weeks a year, equivalent to the 35 days delivered through day release, each beginning at midday Monday and ending midday Friday, thus allowing for travel. We made the time up through evening delivery on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
We organised structured social activities, like bowling or go-karting, on Thursday evenings to foster group cohesion and give apprentices a positive end-of-week experience.
Employers received progress updates each Friday to set out the on-the-job tasks and learning their apprentices needed to complete before the next block.
This framework was remarkably successful. By my final year at Bridgwater College, the programme had grown to 55 block release groups with around 850 apprentices from across the country and with many diverse backgrounds.
Of course, the challenge posed by block release is always apprentice accommodation and related costs. But what the Bridgwater experience taught me was, if you get the product right, people will travel and pay for quality education.
Employers happily paid more as they could see the difference the training made in their workplace.
Whether you utilise existing student accommodation or create a list of trusted B&Bs, the safeguarding process needs to be the same. We appointed an accommodation officer to oversee this process. The accommodation income alone was circa £600,000 in my final year.
Twenty-five years later, shortly before stepping down as principal from my last college, we were discussing the future of the agricultural engineering apprenticeship programme.
With small numbers split across two campuses 90 minutes apart, delivery was costly and viability repeatedly questioned. Yet the level 3 agricultural engineering standard is generously funded at £27,000 per apprentice, making it a significant opportunity if delivered effectively.
Drawing on the proven model, we consolidated delivery onto one campus and shifted entirely to block release. We adopted the same core structure, but added a new wow factor: a sector-leading agriculture engineering interactive diagnostic lab, delivered through a partnership with Electude.
For around £84,000 investment, the workshops were significantly revamped and Electude provided both software and hardware, enabling apprentices and employers to access learning through an app potentially 24 hours a day. This reduced reliance on class-based teaching time and related costs.
On paper, it was a risky investment. In practice, it was well calculated because when the product and delivery model are right, block release works.
The programme grew from an average of 15 apprenticeship starts a year to 55 the following September, with 64 expected the next year. Financially, that represented an annual income uplift of £360,000 with no additional delivery cost.
If you want to broaden your reach, improve employer engagement, increase income and create a transformational learner experience, I’ve found block release wins every time.
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