SME apprenticeships under threat due to cost-of-living burdens

Apprenticeships have been the lifeblood of businesses for decades giving young people the chance to thrive and survive with life skills in the workplace.
By Nigel Booth
Published 12th Feb 2023, 16:45 BST
Are apprenticeships in danger?Are apprenticeships in danger?
Are apprenticeships in danger?

But more than half (51 per cent) of UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have axed plans to take on apprentices because of the cost-of-living crisis, according to new research unveiled today by Vodafone Business.

Vodafone Business polled more than 1,000 SME business leaders across the UK and found of the 60 per cent of firms who have taken on apprentices in the past, a worrying 51 per cent had axed their schemes because of soaring business costs including energy and transport.

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The findings have been announced as Vodafone Business today launches a partnership with Multiverse, using funds from Vodafone’s Apprenticeship Levy, to upskill UK SME employees.

More than half (51 per cent) of UK SMEs have cancelled plans to take on an apprentice due to cost-of-living burdensMore than half (51 per cent) of UK SMEs have cancelled plans to take on an apprentice due to cost-of-living burdens
More than half (51 per cent) of UK SMEs have cancelled plans to take on an apprentice due to cost-of-living burdens

Vodafone Business will provide small businesses with £18,000 each to upskill existing employees via a pilot partnership with Multiverse. The scheme will see Vodafone offering SMEs the opportunity to apply for and secure a fully funded place on Multiverse’s Business Transformation Fellowship where UK employees will receive training and accreditation alongside their current roles.

The UK government introduced the apprenticeship levy in 2017. Organisations with a salary bill in excess of £3 million must put 0.5% of their total wage costs into the apprenticeship levy which is uses to fund apprentices or equivalent work-based learning programmes across critical disciplines such as cloud, Cyber, data DevOps, digital marketing, software development, and more.

More work is required to educate SMEs on the options available to them regarding apprenticeships opportunities; as 44% of SMEs were unaware of the various financial support packages available to them via third-party schemes, with the Government and larger businesses helping to pick up the tab to enable small businesses to bring on new staff or provide training opportunities to upskill their workforce, which could help to fill other roles within the business and better trained and more motivated staff.

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Better awareness of these schemes could help address some of the challenges Vodafone Business research has unveiled as 21% of SMEs said this level of support would help sway them into taking on an apprentice for their business.