According to this NFER report, intermediate and advanced apprenticeships continue to be a declining option for 16-19-year-olds entering the labour market. After strongly bouncing back post the pandemic, the latest official statistics indicate that the number of starts at these levels are still declining.
Young people continue to face a number of barriers to accessing apprenticeships both at the point of application and prior to starting, according to apprenticeship providers.
The most common barrier remains a lack of in-depth understanding of apprenticeships amongst young people, their parents/carers, and teachers, including the opportunities for career progression. This is preventing young people from even getting to the point of application.
At the point of application, providers perceived the most common barriers for young people to include not being ’work ready’; not having GCSE English and maths at Grade 4+ (or the equivalent); low levels of psychological health and wellbeing; apprenticeships not being affordable; and some apprenticeships not being widely available.
Young people’s lack of readiness for work remains a key issue, which has been further exacerbated the pandemic. In addition, young people require more support with their job applications to effectively compete with older, more mature applicants.