Apprenticeships need a pay rise and better mental health support, MPs have said today.

In the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Apprentices (APPG) annual report, MPs call on the Treasury to raise apprentices’ minimum wage to be in line with the national minimum wage, and say the government should mandate statutory training for employers and providers to safeguard apprentices’ mental health.

In the foreword, co-chairs Emma Hardy and Jack Lopresti say: “Over the past 12 months, we have explored the potential apprenticeships have to support the economic recovery from Covid-19 and support those back into meaningful employment and training. Apprenticeships are a fantastic way to upskill, diversify and reskill the workforce, ensuring businesses continue to grow as they give essential capabilities to employees.

“This is particularly important in a post-Covid world. Apprenticeships are essential in supporting people in fulfilling their potential, something which is so important following the disruption faced over the past 18 months.”

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Apprenticeships: Over 1m learners search for vacancies

The report also called on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to extend the Kickstart scheme into 2022 and for the Department for Education to provide bespoke guidance to providers and employers on how T levels, Kickstart and apprenticeships can provide benefits and complement one another.

In an event hosted by the Learning and Work Institute in July, Mims Davies, parliamentary under-secretary of state for employment, refused to confirm whether or not the scheme would be extended. 

At the time, she said: “I’m really proud of how agile we are at DWP about focusing on outcomes…but policy is only as good as what lands.

“So, for me, it’s really important that we get those over 100,000 jobs that are being advertised across the DWP network filled. We are looking at other ways of making sure that those jobs do get filled in, with competing vacancies. As well, we need to be balancing jobs that are out there versus Kickstart roles and what they could lead to. So there’s a lot in this and we’re looking at it non-stop.”

The skills bill: why it needs joined-up working on apprenticeships

The report also called on Ucas to expand its existing portal to service further education, apprenticeships and T levels, and for the skills and post-16 education bill to be used as an opportunity to improve overall apprenticeship provision and support the delivery of quality apprenticeships.

The report says: “The Post-16 Education and Skills Bill does make provisions for local authorities and providers to work with employers on skills and apprenticeships. However, there is little detail about the need for joined-up working across a range of agencies and no mention of ensuring that apprenticeships align and complement various other schemes, such as kickstart and traineeships. 

“If the government wants to ‘level up’, it needs to ensure there are skills and opportunities for growth in young people’s hometowns through active and joined-up networks of skills providers, made up of employers, local authorities, training providers and schools.

“It is also essential that the government’s renewed enthusiasm for apprenticeships does not simply increase the quantity of available apprenticeships and disregard the quality of these courses.”

Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) chief executive Jane Hickie said: “The group’s report provides a really valuable snapshot of where we are as we emerge from lockdown, with apprenticeship start numbers way down for young people and at entry levels. 

“The government should take note of the observations on levels 2 and 3 apprenticeships, and the ability of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) to make opportunities available under the current challenging circumstances. AELP strongly supports the recommendations on continuing with the IfATE (Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education) flexibilities and the outcome of the funding band review. We also welcome the call for more join-up between Kickstart and apprenticeships.”

Apprenticeships: recommendations in full

• The Post-16 Education and Skills Bill should be used as an opportunity to improve overall apprenticeship provision and support the delivery of quality apprenticeships.
• Ucas should continue its expansion of its existing portal to service further education, apprenticeships and T levels.
• The Department for Education should continue to promote the work of the apprenticeship ambassador scheme and support the delivery of a mentoring scheme which could be undertaken with each regional network.
• The APPG reiterates its recommendations for IfATE to ensure continued flexibility at all stages of the apprenticeship process, most notably including end-point assessments and using online provision, to provide a nuanced approach so that schemes can be tailored to different workplace sectors while apprenticeship quality is maintained.
• The government should mandate statutory training for employers and providers to safeguard apprentices’ mental health as it brings forward an employment bill. This should include a mental health toolkit to be provided to new apprentices as part of their induction process, which includes signposts for support.
• The Department for Education should establish a government-run advice and one-stop-shop for small businesses, providing support to take on an apprentice and assisting them with the process.
• The government should increase the flexibility of what the apprenticeship levy can be used for and when. The levy should sufficiently allow businesses to transfer or pool their resources to improve provision of apprenticeships.
• Businesses and providers must invest in a suitable virtual learning environment, suitable office workspaces and staff training to ensure apprenticeship provision is of the highest quality, online and offline.
• The Department for Work and Pensions should extend Kickstart schemes into 2022 and the Department for Education should provide bespoke guidance to providers and employers on how T levels, Kickstart and apprenticeships can provide benefits and complement one another.
• To ensure parity of esteem, HM Treasury should raise apprentices’ minimum wage to be in line with the national minimum wage.
• IfATE’s funding band review must ensure sustainable and long-term funding for apprenticeships to ensure that employers have the confidence to invest in their workforces and support the UK’s recovery from Covid-19.

The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.