The number of apprenticeship starts during the first two months of lockdown was only around half that of the same period last year, new data from the Department of Education reveals. 

According to the data, there were 26,090 starts between 23 March and 31 May 2020 - the first two months of the UK’s coronavirus lockdown - compared with 50,050 during the same period in 2019. That represents a drop of 47.9 per cent.  

The number of apprenticeship commitments also fell in March, April and May. While there were 43,300 commitments to apprenticeship start dates in those months in 2019, in 2020, across these three months there were only 27,200 - a decrease of 37 per cent. 

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The number of apprenticeships advertised on Find an Apprenticeship (FAA), the government’s site for vacancies, also plummeted: from 36,080 across the three months in 2018-19 to 11,760 this year, a decrease of 67 per cent.

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The figures echo similar statistics published by the Department for Education last month, which showed that there were 13,020 apprenticeship starts reported between 23 March and 30 April 2020 - almost exactly half the 26,330 reported for this period at this point last year.

In May, the Federation for Industry Sector Skills and Standards warned there could be around 120,000 fewer apprenticeship starts in the year from March 2020, as a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Yesterday, Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive Mark Dawe told a parliamentary committee that the covonavirus pandemic and the lack of support for providers offering apprenticeship training funded by the levy were likely to result in “mass redundancies” among apprenticeship providers. 

Today’s statistics

Mr Dawe said: “With youth unemployment having doubled, we need an urgent policy response that protects both existing apprentices coming off furlough and stimulates new apprenticeship opportunities for other young people, while also providing an option for unemployed adults. The Department for Education should finally recognise, too, that both levy and non-levy apprenticeships need to be protected by its provider relief scheme.

“Apprenticeships are jobs and most observers agree that a significant wage subsidy is required to encourage employers, especially SMEs, to offer new opportunities. AELP’s recommended injection of £5.1 billion into apprenticeships, including the cost of the subsidy, is a relatively modest investment for the Treasury when the benefits are considered against the current £30 billion cost of the government’s coronavirus job support schemes.”   

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We acknowledge this is a challenging time for employers, apprentices and people thinking about their next steps, but we absolutely remain committed to investing in apprenticeships.

“They are an excellent way to get ahead in a wide range of rewarding careers and will continue to play an important role in delivering the high-quality skills that employers need and will support our economic recovery post Covid-19.

“We are looking at how we can support employers, especially small and medium-sized businesses, to take on new apprentices this year and will provide further detail in due course.”