The blitz on leadership training is daft policy that drains growth

In May last year I described as ‘daft’ the decision by the education secretary to only fund level 7 apprenticeships for apprentices aged 16-21.

The move to defund leadership and management apprenticeships – which should be a cornerstone of England’s vocational education and training offer – represents another short-sighted policy that will undermine both opportunity for young people and the nation’s long-term productivity. The term ‘double daft’ seems appropriate here.

The government’s determination to withdraw public funding from a range of management apprenticeships caused alarm amongst apprenticeship stakeholders, including employers in the run up to the announcement made on Monday.

Skills minister Jacqui Smith had already signalled that apprenticeships which ‘resemble continuing professional development rather than discrete occupations’ may no longer be regarded as appropriate for public funding.

The now-confirmed decision removes programmes that have become vital progression routes into management roles for learners of all ages, including ambitious school and college leavers. 

Her position and the government’s rationale appear to be one of financial reprioritisation – targeting more money at front-door apprenticeships for young people at the lowest levels and reducing investment in higher-level programmes.

This creates a false dichotomy: you cannot meaningfully increase social mobility and opportunities for young learners while stripping away the very programmes that develop them into our future leaders across all sectors and professions.

Consider the wider workforce context. Census data for England and Wales categorises roles by occupation and age, showing a stark under-representation of young people in managerial positions.

For too long, the narrative around management apprenticeships has been dominated by myths that they are executive perks for older employees. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Apprenticeships like the chartered manager degree apprenticeship (CMDA), the most popular at level 6, are engines of inclusion.

Employers and training providers report that around 30 per cent of roles generated through the CMDA pathway go to those aged 24 or under.

They provide a vital bridge into management for young people, many of whom would not otherwise access or be given the opportunity for formal leadership training or qualifications. They act as a recognised bridge to higher-paid careers and a route to the professions that was first mooted by the last Labour government.

Pipeline matters. As funding is removed from these apprenticeship standards, thousands of talented young people will be stopped from progressing into positions as they invariably age and fall out of funding favour.

Management apprenticeships have demonstrable impact. Business-facing apprenticeship starts have been climbing at higher levels as demand grows, highlighting employer appetite for leadership and management development. 

Yet, future successes will be removed amid policy shifts. When senior leadership and management routes are diminished, so too are the pipelines into strategic roles that underpin business growth.

Defunding now compounds a systemic challenge. Youth unemployment and economic inactivity remain, rightly, substantial concerns in our UK labour market. Removing investment in leadership training for those early in their careers will not tackle these issues; it will compound them.

Culturally, we must reframe leadership training as part of the solution to the UK’s social mobility and productivity goals – not as expendable in policy terms.

This is the aim of both the Chartered Management Institute and Institute of Leadership & Management petitions to government.

In a global economy where nations are competing on innovation and productivity, reducing our investment in leadership skills undermines our competitive edge. Countries with strong vocational and leadership development systems see a correlation between management capability and organisational performance. Skills England’s own early research as well as the history of labour market analysis draws the same conclusions!

The Westminster government should be positioning the nation alongside them – not retreating.

In the month in which we’ve showcased and celebrated the very best of apprenticeship and skills training at this year’s apprenticeships and training conference (ATC), let’s hope for a public policy U-turn at some future point.

Until then, I’ll remain less bewitched and more bothered and bewildered.