Chaos to Coordination - Towards a 'one-stop' apprenticeship platform
Edge has published two new reports that examine the relationship between apprenticeships for young people and SMEs. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the UK economy, but their participation in apprenticeships has been in sustained decline. While successive governments have sought to simplify the apprenticeship system, the reality for many SMEs is a fragmented and complex landscape, with a lack of tailored support to help them engage with apprenticeships and skills training. Apprenticeship brokerage services (intermediaries that connect employers, training providers, and prospective apprentices) have emerged across localities and industries as a vital bridge in this gap. But these services remain patchy, inconsistently funded, and vulnerable to policy churn.
Our new policy report, Agents of Change, explores how we can increase apprenticeship opportunities in SMEs through brokerage services by providing tailored support to help them engage with apprenticeships and skills training. Together with our second new report, Chaos to Coordination, we try to understand how to make apprenticeships work much more effectively, especially for SMEs. This work was supported by employer polling undertaken by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation on behalf of Edge. The full data tables are available to download here.
Alice Gardner, Chief Executive, Edge Foundation“These reports make clear that apprenticeships work – but only if the system works for young people and for the small businesses that want to employ them. Right now, we have a generation eager to learn and contribute, and SMEs ready to grow their teams, yet both are being held back by unnecessary complexity and lack of support. By creating a simple, joined-up system and ensuring every employer can access practical advice, we can unlock thousands of life-changing opportunities.”
This is one of two reports which follow on from our Flex without Compromise report, which explored how to grow the supply for apprenticeships. This new report dives into Flex’s recommendation on expanding support for SMEs to help them navigate the apprenticeship system. Both reports underpin our new national campaign, Apprenticeships Work.
Joe Dromey, General Secretary, Fabian SocietyApprenticeships can provide a fantastic opportunity for businesses to develop the skilled workers they need. But too many small businesses struggle to engage with the skills system. SMEs account for 97% of the decline in apprenticeship starts since the introduction of the apprenticeship levy. This report contains some excellent recommendations to reverse that decline, and support more SMEs to invest in skills.
Written by
Sorah Gluck and Holly Papworth, Edge Foundation.