Apprenticeships and social mobility: fulfilling potential?

The Social Mobility Commission is inviting proposals for research to understand whether apprenticeships are serving to enhance individual apprentices' social mobility opportunities. Apprentices have great potential and promise to be a tool for social mobility.

However, the reality may not be as clear cut. The Commission's analysis in its State of the Nation 2018 points to unforeseen consequences on social mobility after recent policy and funding reforms.

These include: reduced offerings at Levels 2 and 3, which offer a 'foot on the ladder' for disadvantaged students; reduced entry-level routes for young people into employment; reduced support for SMEs who provide entry-level routes, and; poor retention and progression for disadvantaged students. The Commission is interested in apprenticeship selection, attrition, progression, quality of training, and outcomes by socioeconomic background. This research must include policy recommendations that could improve social mobility outcomes for apprentices.