CYP Now - Apprenticeship system 'failing disadvantaged young people'

Disadvantaged young people are being failed by the apprenticeship system, the Social Mobility Commission has warned.

Disadvantaged males are less likely to complete apprenticeships than more advantaged peers, research shows. Picture: Adobe Stock

The commission adds that the coronavirus crisis is likely to worsen youth unemployment in the UK.

A new report by the commission, Apprenticeships and social mobility: Fulfilling potential, warns that the introduction of an apprenticeship levy in 2017 led to a "collapse in overall apprenticeship starts that hit disadvantaged learners hardest".

The levy sees 0.5 per cent of the salary bill of major employers with an annual pay bill of more than £3m to provide training.

The report states that since the introduction of the levy the number of disadvantaged young people taking up apprenticeships has declined by 36 per cent compared with figures from 2015/16.

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