CMI response to Government announcement on youth employment

Petra Wilton, CMI Director of Policy and External Affairs, said:

Ministers’ decision to defund all core management and leadership apprenticeships will be a critical setback to efforts to revive the UK’s lagging productivity. Management apprenticeships are not a luxury for those seeking progression; they have been a lifeline for businesses and public sector organisations looking to use their Levy to drive up performance.  For so many managers, they have also improved social mobility and allowed frontline managers to progress in the workplace through in-depth training that drives deep behavioural changes in the workplace culture.

Over 5,000 employers and apprentices signed a petition calling for the safeguarding of these vital routes to upskilling managers. Yet their voices appear to have been ignored in this decision amid a lack of transparency about what, if any,  impact assessments were carried out to justify this policy change.

This decision is set against a backdrop of 82% of UK managers being promoted into the role without any management training; the prevalence of ‘accidental managers’ is damaging growth and international competitiveness.  The new emphasis on training young people is clearly important, but they also need effective line managers to ensure they are successful in the workplace.

The evidence to support structured, funded management apprenticeships is clear.

• Social mobility - 71% of management apprentices are first-generation higher education students, and 39% come from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
• Lynchpins in getting young people into work - and keeping them there. A cohort of NEETS will not ease into work - and will definitely not thrive - without the support of trained line managers.
• Public service efficiency and delivery: nearly half of management apprentices (49%) work in the public sector including in health, education and public administration.
• They deliver proven economic gain: management apprenticeships added £120m to UK GDP in a single year (2023–24).

Employers who face rising employment costs and tough economic conditions now look to the Government for early reassurance that they can use their Levy to fund alternative routes such as high quality, short courses and apprenticeships units to meet their critical management and leadership skills needs.

Key to any new, shorter courses, will be active input from employers, training providers and professional bodies to co-design a model capable of delivering meaningful upskilling for the UK workforce at this time of rapid transformation.