Hannah Hockley

The latest Budget has brought a few apprenticeship announcements, and while some of the headlines look encouraging, the reality for employers is more mixed.

There’s a lot of noise right now about how many apprentices we need in the UK. Targets are being set. Big numbers are being thrown around. And once again, the focus seems to be on recruitment. How do we get more young people in? How do we fill the gap? How do we make the numbers look better? But here’s the thing. Recruitment isn’t the problem. Retention is. In construction, for example, almost half of apprentices drop out before completing their programme. That’s a huge waste of time, money...

The government has recently announced a significant change to apprenticeship rules: from August 2025, the  minimum duration of an apprenticeship could reduce from 12 months to just 8 months  in certain cases. This move is part of wider reforms aimed at giving employers more flexibility and reducing red tape, with the Department for Education stating that “ up to 10,000 more apprentices could qualify each year ” as a result. It’s designed to allow individuals with significant prior experience...