Join the dots: The role of apprenticeship intermediaries in England

Article

Apprenticeships have the potential to make a transformative difference to the lives of learners and to the skills and productivity of businesses, but this potential is not currently being realised.

Barriers cited by businesses include a lack of high-quality information and practical support, and challenges navigating apprenticeship funding and accessing suitable provision, as well as the caps on non-levy apprenticeships imposed by government until April 2023.

In this context, an organic network of intermediary support has grown up in England, which reflects the central role this support plays in other apprenticeship systems across the world.

In this report, we recommend that intermediaries should become an integral part of the policy solution, ensuring that all SMEs are able to access high-quality support. This will better enable apprenticeships to drive the skills improvements needed, to address regional inequalities, and to improve business productivity in the sectors which matter most for communities.

Related items

  1. West Midlands Metro Tram at Victoria Square in Birmingham city centre during 2022 Commonwealth Games

    Transport and growth: Reforming transport investment for place-based growth

    The ability to deliver transformative public transport is not constrained by a lack of ideas, public support or local ambition. It is constrained by the way decisions are taken at the national level.
  2. A view of Glasgow, Scotland, from above.

    More than a safety net: The welfare state as springboard to economic success and a better country

    A perceived conflict between social spending and economic dynamism is deeply embedded in both Scottish and UK political discourse.
  3. The Home Office building in London

    Far from settled: The government’s ‘earned settlement’ consultation

    How long should people have to wait until they can permanently settle in the UK? This is the core question underpinning the Home Office’s ‘earned settlement’ policy, currently out for consultation.