Equalising Access to Apprenticeships: Investigating the Barriers to Young People Accessing Apprenticeship Opportunities

Apprenticeships are a key training route to help young people enter the labour market and for upskilling existing workers. Apprenticeships also have the potential to act as a vehicle for social mobility for young people (SMC, 2020). Significant reforms have been introduced to the apprenticeship system over the last decade which have led to a substantial decline in the number of apprenticeships started. The impact of this decline has been felt unevenly, with young people and those from disadvantaged backgrounds of all ages particularly affected. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who play a particularly important role in supporting young people to access apprenticeship opportunities have also been disproportionately impacted by these reforms. These trends were only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (Julius et al., 2021). While there has been some recovery in the number of apprenticeship starts during the current academic year, it is not clear to what extent this recovery will be sustained. The degree to which the fall in the number of apprenticeships started by young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, is driven by a falling supply of apprenticeships or a lack of demand from young people looking for an apprenticeship is not well understood. This report investigates the availability of intermediate (Level 2, equivalent to GCSEs) and advanced (Level 3, equivalent to A-levels) apprenticeship opportunities, and the barriers to young people accessing apprenticeships at these levels. It draws on Department for Education (DfE) statistics of the number of apprenticeships started by young people, 20 virtual and telephone interviews with SMEs and information from the 'find an apprenticeship' (FAA) service -- the DfE's online apprenticeship vacancy search website. The findings from the 20 interviews with SMEs are intended to highlight potential issues and areas of focus rather than to make generalisable statistical inferences.