Attention on apprenticeships

FOLLOWING the appointment of Gavin Williamson as Secretary of State for Education, it is crucial that he turns his attention to apprenticeships.

Not only has the number of apprenticeships in smaller firms declined, the funding for these apprenticeships is set to run out in the near future.

Throughout the 2018/19 academic year, new apprenticeship starts were only marginally up (6.6%) on the same period for the previous year, but this compares to a 30 per cent fall from the year before.

In the South East our business owner members are strong supporters of apprenticeships and we at FSB celebrate apprentice successes by hosting annual ceremonies for apprentices, their families and employers.

Apprenticeship funding needs to be urgently shored up to ensure that small firms are still able to take on apprentices and are not excluded from the system. The complexities and challenges in the system need to be addressed as well. Despite the increase in the uptake this academic year, progress remains sluggish and Level 2 apprenticeships are in decline.

The new Education Secretary must use this moment to address the issues that the apprenticeship system and small businesses face. Unless urgent action is taken now, many small firms will simply be unable to afford to take on an apprentice, which will only see numbers fall even further.

Brian Woods, Federation of Small Businesses South East Regional chairman