We’re delighted to announce the start of Small Business Summer, the natural next step in our Apprenticeships Work campaign. Small Business Summer is designed to help young people in years 7 to 13 find out all about the small businesses in their local community and understand the huge benefits of being an apprentice in a smaller organisation. We’re also supporting small businesses to explore the different ways that they can connect with local talent and take the next step towards offering an apprenticeship.
We’re really excited to be working with Amazing Apprenticeships who will be leading this stage of the campaign. Small Business Summer is the natural next step for Apprenticeships Work and we’re hoping to make a real difference for young people and small businesses in local communities. Small businesses represent 99.8% of businesses and 60% of total employment in the UK but only employ 37% of apprentices. Amazing Apprenticeships founder and director, Anna Morrison CBE said, "We’re hoping to make a real difference, so we’ve put together a programme of resources and activities that involve and inform young people and local employers. We can help schools and their students explore the range of local businesses, find out more about what kind of careers are possible and understand how smaller businesses recruit. We’ll also help local employers understand how they can develop apprenticeship opportunities in their own businesses and recruit and develop young people at the beginning of their careers."
Small Business Summer is running throughout the summer term 2026 from April until the end of July, but you can get involved right now. Take a look at our Small Business Summer pages to find out how.