
A level of uncertainty
Think tank: Social Market Foundation
Author(s): Tom Richmond
January 9, 2025
This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation puts forward a set of recommendations that prioritise the best interests of apprentices and taxpayers.
Through the new ‘Growth and Skills Levy’, the government has signalled its desire to rebalance funding towards young people and entry-level training opportunities. While critics are keen to present the Government’s proposed shift away from funding Level 7 apprenticeships (equivalent to a Master’s degree) as worsening social mobility and employer flexibility, former government adviser Tom Richmond presents novel analysis that challenges these concerns – and puts forward a set of recommendations that prioritise the best interests of apprentices and taxpayers.
In this paper, through new data obtained from the Department for Education for the 2023/24 academic year, the hypothesis that Level 7 apprenticeships boost social mobility is empirically tested for the first time.
The main findings include: 1 in 6 apprenticeships are now taken by university graduates. An estimated £431 million of apprenticeship funding was used up last year by university graduates, including £182 million for graduates starting Level 7 apprenticeships. Management courses for existing staff that have been rebadged as ‘apprenticeships’ used an estimated £150 million of funding last year.