Recommendation 9

In written evidence, the Federation of Small Businesses told us that making the apprenticeships system work better for small employers was fundamental to increasing participation among young people and disadvantaged groups. It noted that, since the apprenticeships reforms in 2017, there had been an increase in the number of adults participating in high-level apprenticeships at large firms. However, it explained that smaller employers, who tended to hire apprentices at lower levels, had not been taking on apprentices at the same rate.10 The Association of Employment and Learning Providers made a similar point in its written evidence, noting that giving employers more autonomy in the apprenticeships programme had helped to edge out smaller employers, young people and lower-level provision, and had increased the extent to which the programme involved upskilling existing employees at higher levels.11 Measuring the success of government skills programmes