Employer engagement, Recently Launched
Employer partnerships
Increasing Apprenticeship Supply
Working with strategic partners to empower employers to prioritise high-quality apprenticeships for young people
What are we doing?
We are working with membership and network organisations as Employer Engagement Partners.
We have two Employer Engagement Partners in this programme – Amazing Apprenticeships, who are focused on engaging large employers, and Workwhile, who are focused on engaging SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises).
With our support, over 18 months the partners will:
- Explore the challenges large employers and SMEs face with talent mapping and workforce planning in relation to opportunities for marginalised young people, and investigate why Level 2 and 3 apprenticeship opportunities are decreasing across sectors
- Design and deliver sustainable and free assets, programmes, events or campaigns across 2025 and 2026 for to help employers increase apprenticeship starts
- Co-create a Collective Action Campaign for the wider sector, to drive widespread learning and change across the youth employment landscape, driving an increase in the supply of Level 2 and 3 apprenticeships for marginalised young people
- Report and share learnings transparently
- Develop policy recommendations on apprenticeships
Each partner will receive up to £150,000 of funding.
What are apprenticeships?
Read more about What are apprenticeships?Apprenticeships combine paid on-the-job training with off-the-job training, in programmes that usually last for at least a year of full-time engagement.
Apprenticeships range from level 2 up to level 7.
Level 2 is often referred to as an intermediate apprenticeship and is the equivalent of five GCSE passes.
Level 3 is known as an advanced apprenticeship, equivalent to two passes at A-Level.
Meet the partners
We want to understand why many employers are struggling to create apprenticeship opportunities to match interest from young people, and what will help in enabling business to prioritise apprenticeships for their future workforce.
Barry Fletcher, CEO, Youth Futures Foundation
Between 2015/16 and 2022/23, the number of apprenticeship starts for under-19s dropped by 41%.
Our Future Voices Ambassador, Chelsea, and Director of Policy and External Affairs, Sarah Yong, spoke to The Big Issue about the challenge and the opportunity.
