EMPLOYER AND APPRENTICE PETITION:

Protect Choice in Management Training to Drive UK Growth and Youth Employment

Sign the petition

To: The Secretary of State for Department for Work
and Pensions The Rt Hon Pat McFadden MP

The UK cannot grow without skilled managers and leaders. As the Government’s work to transition to the Growth and Skills Levy gathers pace, we urgently ask Ministers to:

  • Protect the full suite of management apprenticeships.
  • Expand employer choice through new, flexible short courses.

We must not "streamline" away the very leadership skills that drive productivity and support the next generation of workers. According to the latest Skills England assessment, management is a critical occupation - accounting for 25% of all roles in "critical demand". To drive growth and secure the future of the UK workforce, we must protect the training that develops these leaders.

Why we must act now:

 

Driving Economic Growth:

Skills England and the OECD are clear: ‘the UK’s gap in managerial practices is linked to lower productivity levels in the UK’. By bridging the quality divide between us and our international rivals, management apprenticeships serve as a direct engine for UK economic growth.

Giving Opportunities to Young People:

Skilled managers are the essential “front line” responsible for successfully embedding, mentoring, and retaining young people in the workforce.

Enabling the AI Transition:

We need managers who possess human judgment and ethics to lead AI-enabled teams.

Unlocking Flexibility:

We welcome the addition of short Apprenticeship Units for rapid upskilling in areas like change management and finance.

Protecting Choice:

Employers need the option of both deep behavioural transformation via full apprenticeships; and targeted, agile training through short courses.

Our call to action

We call on the Government to collaborate with employers to retain all current management apprenticeship pathways alongside the new flexible offer. By co-designing these reforms, we can ensure every manager has the tools to drive UK productivity and create new opportunities for the next generation.

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