A big number worth celebrating

Skills Minister Robert Halfon MP shares his thoughts on National Apprenticeship Week 2024.This National Apprenticeship Week, I want to reflect on what government, businesses and educators have achieved together in the remarkable growth of high quality apprenticeships. For over a decade, this government has been striving to make high quality the feature that distinguishes these qualifications, whatever profession they lead to.There were fewer than half a million people doing apprenticeships in 2009/10. Those training programmes had no requirement to last at least a year, and no minimum guided learning hours. Last year over 750,000 people participated in apprenticeships, training to the more rigorous standards we introduced from 2014. These were designed in partnership with many different industries, to restore the rigour and respect that apprenticeships had lost. There are now over 690 high quality standards available, for roles ranging from structural engineering to software development. Crucially, each one now delivers the skills that those industries are seeking in their new staff.This academic year we’ve already seen 130,830 apprenticeship starts (August-October 2023), up 7% on the same period the previous year. Among those, the number of young people under 25 starting an apprenticeship is up by 6%, at 78,960 starts. And the number of achievements is up 22% so far this academic year, with 37,400 people passing their apprenticeship.This is obviously great for those directly involved – the businesses nurturing talent that will give them a competitive edge, and the apprentices climbing the Ladder of Opportunity to higher earning power. But the legacy of this government’s skills revolution will also be long term economic growth, with high quality apprenticeships creating a pipeline of talent that boosts business success.Social justice incl. Care-leavers, Disabled Apps and the Teacher Degree ApprenticeshipAnother reason to celebrate the growth of high quality apprenticeships is the wider distribution of valuable opportunities. When I’m on the road this National Apprenticeship Week, going from West to East, the apprentices I most look forward to meeting are those whose apprenticeship has made the biggest difference. People (young and old) who did not do well at school, were held back by their circumstances – or just never thought they were the sort of person to land a job at Airbus, or graduate from Exeter University with a degree apprenticeship. That the apprenticeship programme can facilitate these outcomes is real social justice in action. These opportunities need to be available everywhere, particularly to people unlikely to apply for them unless encouraged to by their school or college.I’m keen that we present apprenticeships to disadvantaged candidates as an attractive, supported option. That includes young people who have been brought-up in care, and haven’t enjoyed a stable family background to guide decisions about their future. That’s why in August we raised the bursary for care-leavers starting an apprenticeship to £3,000. These young people can now begin their career confident they can cover the living costs usually met by family. This is on top of the £1,000 available to both the employer and training provider who take on a care-experienced apprentice – making a total of £5,000 of additional funding per apprentice to boost outcomes for this group.I also want to explore how we can help disadvantaged apprentices to progress and complete their training. That’s why we have begun a pilot scheme to help training providers offer quality mentoring to disabled people embarking on an apprenticeship. This will give participants tailored support from someone who understands the programme, as well as their individual needs and circumstances.Developing apprenticeships that widen access to traditional graduate professions demonstrates their further potential for social justice. That’s why the Secretary of State launched the Teacher...