To address the skills gap we need to embrace vocational training

We’re now more than six months into Labour Britain, and Starmer, Reeves and Co have set their sights on growth. But among all the Budget chat, the whispers, and doubt, one thing is clear: this government is – at least somewhat – dedicated to fixing our skills gap.

I admire it. The creation of the Skills England initiative, the PM’s big move to bulldoze the skills crisis out of Britain, is certainly a proactive step toward helping organisations get the skills and apprentices they need. But it’s with the latter that I have an issue.

Apprentices have so much potential. This is especially true in the construction sector, where hands-on experience makes all the difference in training a roofer, bricklayer or project manager. But the apprenticeship system is in decline, slowing up as the years tick by.

In 2015/2016, there were a healthy 509,000 apprenticeship starts, but since then, the uptake has steadily decreased, crashing to 337,000 in 2022/2023. Only about half of the people who embark on these programmes complete their courses – a further drain on our already limping apprenticeship system.

In my mind, to really fix our skills gap, we need to make it easier for talent to find useful training schemes and complete their programmes. We need to attract more young people to apprenticeships and structure the application process in a convenient, seamless, and centralised way. Think UCAS, but for vocational training – ‘VCAS’.

Let’s look at the facts. Two-thirds of organisations are currently experiencing skills shortages, and even worse, many employers are sceptical that Skills England will succeed.

The issue is, frankly, critical, and while Starmer’s plan to loosen the apprenticeships levy will provide employers with more flexibility to invest in long-term employee development, the real drive to increase apprenticeships has to come from within. We need a system overhaul to encourage more young people to opt out of the ‘traditional’ school-university route and go straight into the real world of work.

But today’s apprenticeship system is fragmented. If we streamline the process so that talent can bundle all their applications through one platform and employers can roll out vacancies with ease, then we’ll see a much more stable and steady pipeline of apprentice hopefuls.

And if we build a centralised VCAS system that accompanies students and employers through the duration of the apprenticeship programme, we could up the success rates of the courses, too. We must hold all sides accountable. Employers should only be given access to apprenticeship funding if they submit their curricula, details of the course leader, and the forward-focused career support they are providing through VCAS. And for students, logging attendance and tracking their own progress should be mandatory.

But I don’t think we should stop there. Apprenticeship funding needs a revamp, too.

While UCAS does wonders for the university application process, student finance ensures that students feel supported by the government. Apprentices are currently missing this crucial piece of the puzzle – they’re often left to survive on small salaries with little financial support.

More than £1bn of the levy goes unused every year. We could provide government-backed loans which cover equipment, uniforms, and travel costs with that money, elevating the courses. Students could take some responsibility for these loans, paying back 20% once their salaries reach a certain threshold, and employers could draw from the levy to pay the rest.

And, if we use the levy to adequately fund a full year of apprenticeship training, we could encourage employers who don’t feel they have the resources or capacity to train young individuals to consider the scheme.

The CITB projects that we’ll need to find an extra 250,000 construction workers over the next five years, and it’s safe to say that talented, capable builders don’t grow on trees. Our sector, along with almost every other, needs to see bold, innovative reforms that streamline the apprenticeship application process, elevate the courses, and up success rates.

There are countless driven young people out there just waiting for their shot to get on the career ladder, but if we don’t implement the systems to facilitate thriving apprenticeship schemes, we’re wasting that talent and the potential of UK businesses who are being beaten by the skills gap.

Haman Manak is procurement director at Stanmore