National Apprenticeship Week 2025 is here and there’s so much to celebrate. From the welcome introduction of tariff points for apprenticeships coming later this year, to the Big Apprenticeship Thank You from Lifetime Training, which gives apprentices discounts at Cineworld, Prezzo, Everyone Active, and Pret, among others. Apprentices even out-earn graduates in some fields. Businesses, educators, policymakers and members of the public increasingly recognise the enormous economic and social value of apprenticeships. Recent polling by Edge found that 82% of the public believe that apprenticeships should be as respected as academic pathways. We are proud to champion apprenticeships at Edge. We strive to drive forward quality, prestige and clear pathways in the vocational education and training sector (VET), and we spotlight unheard voices and experiences, as well as learning lessons for best practice. Here we reflect on all that we have done over the past 12 months.
Our brilliant research team has dedicated significant effort to understanding the experiences of Degree Apprentices, culminating in three qualitative research reports:
This research taps into some knotty questions about Degree Apprenticeships (DAs). For example, while DAs are often tagged as tools for social mobility, our findings are that newly recruited young people are less likely to fit widening participation definitions than adults and existing staff. It’s unfair though, to group DAs in traditional widening participation frameworks because they’re fundamentally jobs with training, with responsibility for recruitment lying with the employer not the university.So although DAs benefit both employers and apprentices (we heard directly from both in our recent webinar [add link]), it’s clear that elements of their design and delivery need reform including mentorship and student support.
Our policy team has been working hard to ensure that apprenticeship opportunities for young people are front and centre of the Government’s plans for post-16 education and training. In Flex Without Compromise, we explored barriers employers face across different industries and how we ‘de-risk’ or incentivise younger hires to grow the supply of work-based training opportunities. We also discussed the potential for even further decline of entry-level apprenticeships for young people under the new Growth and Skills Levy, potentially compromising the Youth Guarantee, presenting feasible options for Skills England to mitigate that risk. We were thrilled to hear the Prime Minister and Skills Minister Jacqui Smith take heed of these arguments, promising to “rebalance” levy funding in favour of younger hires but there is still more to do. Our Four Nations Skills Guide, launched in 2024, offers an up-to-date deep dive into the apprenticeships and skills systems across the UK, serving as a helpful guide to policymakers who want to understand the different systems.
Since the last National Apprenticeship Week, a whole new intake of MPs and peers have entered Parliament. They will be central to the future of vocational education and training in the UK. At party conferences, we held panel events in both Liverpool and Birmingham, reflecting on how to improve access and participation in non-university routes. On our Labour conference panel, Adam Thompson MP drew on his experience teaching mechanical engineering degree apprenticeships. He spoke with immense passion and understanding, having supported people in further education who wouldn’t have otherwise gone to university. Back in Westminster, we held a parliamentary reception to mark 20 years of Edge, where we were joined by dozens of MPs and Peers. We also had apprentices join us from the British Army, Tesco, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the BBC and (aptly) the House of Commons. MPs had the chance to talk directly with these young people and reflect on what they can do as policymakers to broaden these opportunities further (and they count on Edge for support here).
We’ve done a lot in this past year. We will continue working with apprentices, policymakers and our partners to communicate the benefits of apprenticeships to young people and employers.
Looking ahead, we can expect good things from the Government this year – a new Skills England CEO and Board, the launch of eight Youth Guarantee trailblazer pilots, and, hopefully, more information on Foundation Apprenticeships and the Growth and Skills Levy. Let’s get this show on the road!