Apprentices quitting in their thousands

“Staggering” numbers of people are dropping out of unsatisfactory apprenticeships in England due to the poor quality of training they receive, according to a report by education think tank EDSK.

The report, No Train, No Gain, found that many apprentices are being badly let down by the current system, with applicants offered little information and many of them working in low-skill low-level positions while being paid far less than the national minimum wage.

According to the research, almost half (47%) of all apprentices are now dropping out before completing their course, with 70% of those who do citing concerns about the quality of their apprenticeship – equivalent to around 115,000 apprentices a year.

EDSK says that, while an “employer-led” approach to apprenticeships was a valid aim, the evidence suggests that many employers are either unable or unwilling to offer apprentices a high-quality experience. Meanwhile, some training providers continue to make the most of the weak rules and the “noticeable” lack of enforcement from government.

The think tank believes that the only way to eradicate poor provision and substandard training within the apprenticeship system is for the government to set a much higher bar for what constitutes “quality”, as well as consistently enforcing the rules and procedures that were intended to protect apprentices from malpractice and exploitation. In other words, “our apprenticeship system should be reconfigured so that it puts the needs of apprentices alongside the needs of employers”.