Crisis hitting apprenticeships hard

Apprenticeships have been massively disrupted during the coronavirus outbreak, and apprentices have lost out on work experience and off-the-job training, according to research by the Sutton Trust.

Its survey of 156 employers who offered apprenticeships before the crisis reveals that three in five of them said their apprentices have lost out on work or learning during the crisis.

On average, it showed that, as of early April, just 39% of apprenticeships were continuing as normal, with 36% having been furloughed and 8% made redundant. Also 17% of apprentices had had their off-the-job learning suspended.

The UCU further and higher education union called on the government to establish a new public sector apprenticeship programme. Its head of further education, Andrew Harden, said: “The crisis has highlighted the importance of sectors like health and social care, and a new programme of apprenticeships across the public sector will help lead to our recovery.”

https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/covid-19-impacts-apprenticeships