The Covid-19 crisis has seen apprenticeship starts in the UK fall by almost 46 percentl in 2020, compared with 2019, with the worst affected sectors being health and social care, business management and hospitality.
A survey carried out by Small Business Prices, published to mark Apprenticeship Week (8-14 February, 2021), also revealed that despite the impact of Covid, health and social care was still the most popular choice for apprentices with more than 43,000 starts in 2019-20. This was double the number of starts in the fourth most popular sector: engineering.
The top earning apprentice role proved to be direct learning support and teaching (£28k and £24k respectively). However, it was considered by the report’s authors that some of the worst paid apprenticeships, such as animal and veterinary science (£8k) and media and communications (£11k) had far higher earnings potential once apprentices were fully qualified.
Overall, the number of apprenticeship starts during the initial lockdown, from 23 March to 31 July 2020 fell by 45.5 percentage points set against the same period last year. Health and social care was the worst-hit industry, with 11,063 (46%) fewer starts. Other sectors badly affected by the pandemic included administration (9,873 fewer), business management (7,031), hospitality and catering (5,411) and child development & wellbeing (5,261).
With various initiatives launched by the Government as part of their 'Plan for Jobs' to encourage the creation of employment opportunities, particularly for young people, these figures will make for depressing (but perhaps predictable) reading. It is far too early to conclude what the current and future data will reveal and an optimistic view may be that the second and third lockdowns would not have had such a striking impact on apprentices as the first lockdown. That said, one of the predicted downsides of a more permanent move to home working in certain sectors was the risk that it creates less opportunities for training and apprentice opportunities, who tend to be more likely to require on-site supervision - this data would support such a prediction.
However, in happier apprentice news: the UK’s oldest apprentice has been revealed. Bob Bryce, a 76-year-old who lives in Bedfordshire, works as a ticket inspector on Govia Thameslink Railway and is undertaking a level 3 supervisor apprenticeship – equivalent to an A-level. Although he left school more than 60 years ago he said he wanted to boost his leadership skills, adding: “It’s the best job I’ve ever had, which is why I want to keep working as long as possible. I’m on the home straight now with just one exam left to go. I think I must be the oldest apprentice in the UK. I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn new things at my age.”
Thank you Bob. We needed that.
