Apprenticeships: An attractive proposition?

EWS Skills Research | 2017
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Apprenticeships:
An attractive proposition?
Insights from research by Ipsos MORI
Contacts: Trinh.Tu@ipsos.com
Krishna.Chhatralia@ipsos.com
020 7347 3000

EWS Skills Research | 2017 2
Academic versus
vocational routes
Young people continue to express
preference for going to university, but
views are starting to change…gradually

Apprenticeships will be an
attractive offer that young
people and adults aspire to
go into, as a high quality
and prestigious path to a
successful career
English Apprenticeships: Our vision for 2020

4EWS Skills Research | 2017
9 in 10 secondary school pupils have heard about
Source: Ipsos MORI Young People Omnibus
apprenticeships, but their understanding is limited
5%
23%
40%
21%
4%
7%
Base: Pupils aged 11-16 (2,475)
And only slightly
more, 30%,
of pupils in years 9 to
11 know a great deal
or fair amount
How much, if anything, do you know about apprenticeships?
27%
of all pupils
know a great
deal or fair
amount

Pupils have sizeable gaps in their knowledge about
apprenticeships
16%
50%
34%
“You can only do an
Apprenticeship in jobs like
building construction, plumbing
or engineering”
54%
40%
6%
“Apprenticeships are suitable
for kids of all abilities”
53%
46%
1%
“You can study towards a
degree as part of an
apprenticeship”
Base: Pupils aged 11-16 who have heard of Apprenticeships (2,167)
1%
Agree Neither agree nor disagree, or don’t know Disagree

Are you / would you consider doing an Apprenticeship at 16+ rather than studying A levels,
BTECs or other qualifications at school or sixth form college?
15%
30%
32%
23%
Yes
No
Maybe
Don't know / refused
Just 1 in 7 would consider doing an apprenticeship -
higher among year 10 pupils
20%
of pupils in
Year 10
would
consider it
15%
of all pupils
would
consider it

Higher education remains a more appealing route for
77%
are likely
to go
into HE
How likely or unlikely are you to go into higher education when you are old enough?
36%
41%
10%
8% 3%
Very likely
Fairly likely
Not sure either way
Fairly unlikely
Very unlikely
77%79%78%81%81%78%80%
73%73%71%71%69%69%71%
11%10%10%9%8%10%8%10%
9%
12%9%12%12%13%
20162015201420132012201120102009200820072006200520042003
Likely Unlikely
3 in 4 secondary school pupils

Because they believe that people with a degree
have the best jobs
Which two or three of the following do you think the people with the best jobs have?
68%
59%
49%
43%
12% 12% 12%
A university
degree
A levels A higher degree
(e.g. Masters or
PhD)
High
intelligence
Rich parents or
friends
Good contacts Good careers
advice

Base: Pupils aged 11-16 2013 (2,595) 2015 (2,475) 2017 (2,612)
How important, if at all, is each of the following things in helping people to do well and get
on in life? - Passing exams / getting qualifications
85% 81% 77%
10% 16% 19%
3% 2% 3%
2013 2015 2017
Very important Fairly important Not very important Not at all important Don’t know / not stated
But views are changing, gradually – fewer believe
qualifications are very important to life chances

The role of
schools
Schools are influential in shaping
pupils’ choice of qualification after year
11, but apprenticeships are less
endorsed compared to academic routes

Only 1 in 7 secondary school pupils say their school
has encouraged them to do an apprenticeship
Which of the following qualifications would you be interested in after you complete year 11?
And which, if any, does your school recommend you do?
54%
39%
27%
20%
10%
5% 5%
2%
20%
35%
20%
14%
8% 7%
4% 2% 2%
52%
A Level or AS
Level
Access to
Higher
Education
Apprenticeship Diploma NVQ City and Guilds Another
qualification
None of these Don't know /
not stated
Interested in School recommends

What do
apprentices think?
The majority of young apprentices are satisfied
with their training, but satisfaction levels are
well below older apprentices

The majority of young apprentices are satisfied with
Source: FE Choices Learner Satisfaction Survey
Satisfaction levels
Base: SFA or EFA funded apprentices aged 16-18 (35,416)
80%
79%
77%
75%
Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your
learning provider?
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the support you
get on this course/programme?
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the teaching on
your course/programme?
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you that the
course/programme is meeting your expectations?
Percentage giving a score of 8-10 out of 10
their apprenticeship training

% of learners giving a rating of 8-10 out of 10
Base: Apprentices aged 19+(60,738) and apprentices aged 16-18 (34,416)
88%
87%
80%
84%
82%
80%
69%
77%
How likely is it that you would recommend the
learning provider to friends or family?
learning provider?
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the advice
you have been given about what you can do after this
course/programme?
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the teaching
on your course/programme?
Apprentices aged 16-18 Apprentices aged 19+
% learners answering ‘extremely likely’ or ‘likely’
But satisfaction levels are below those for
older apprentices

% of learners giving a rating of 8-10 out of 10
Base: FE learners aged 16-18 (157,740) and apprentices aged 16-18 (34,416)
76%
64%
61%
67%
82%
80%
69%
77%
How likely is it that you would recommend the learning
provider to friends or family?
learning provider?
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the advice
you have been given about what you can do after this
course/programme?
Q: How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the
teaching on your course/programme?
Apprentices aged 16-18 FE learners aged 16-18
% learners answering ‘extremely likely’ or ‘likely’
Overall, young apprentices are more satisfied with
their training than their peers in further education

What do
employers think?
Employers are highly satisfied with
apprenticeships, but want to have more
of a say on them

Employers will feel full
ownership of
apprenticeships, designing
and owning the content of
all apprenticeship standards
and assessments
English Apprenticeships: Our vision for 2020

Source: FE Choices Employer Satisfaction Survey
Please rate each of the following...(0=low score, 10=high score)
5%
5%
9%
6%
4%
4%
6%
3%
13%
13%
16%
10%
78%
78%
70%
80%
0-4 5 6-7 8-10
How satisfied or dissatisfied were you with
the training provider overall
the overall quality of the
training/assessment
your ability to influence the structure,
content, delivery and duration of the training
How likely would you be to recommend this
training provider to another employer
seeking similar training
Base: Employers delivering public-funded apprenticeships (58,186; 57,519; 52,698; and 58,166)
Employers are highly satisfied, though less so when it
comes to their ability to exert influence over training

This is especially true among employers delivering
apprenticeships in STEM, construction and arts/media
How satisfied or dissatisfied were you with your ability to influence the structure, content, delivery
and duration of the training? - % giving a score of 8-10 out of 10
Base: Employers delivering public-funded apprenticeships (52,698)
48%
55%
59%62%63%
69%71%
76%76%78%
Arts, Media &
Publishing
Science &
Mathematics
Construction,
Planning &
Built
Environment
Engineering &
Manufacturing
Technologies
Agriculture,
Horticulture &
Animal Care
Education &
Training
Business,
Admin & Law
Health, Public
Services &
Care
Leisure, Travel
& Tourism
Retail &
Commercial
Enterprise

6%
5%
6%
4%
4%
3%
13%
13%
10%
78%
78%
80%
0-4 5 6-7 8-10
Age of apprentices
(% score 8-10 out of 10)
Aged 16-18 Aged 19+
74% 79%
74% 80%
76% 81%
How satisfied or dissatisfied
were you with the training
provider overall
How satisfied or dissatisfied
were you with the overall
quality of the
training/assessment
How likely would you be to
recommend this training
provider to another employer
seeking similar training
Base: Employers delivering public-funded apprenticeships to 16-18 year olds (20,273) or 19+ year olds (28,802)
Employers with young apprentices are less satisfied -
a pattern also observed among apprentices

Conclusions
The majority of secondary school pupils do not have a good understanding about
apprenticeships.
Schools need to do more to educate pupils about apprenticeships so they can make
informed choices especially with the introduction of technical level qualifications.
Apprenticeships continue to be less favoured by teachers compared to academic
routes.
Satisfaction with apprenticeship is high among both employers and apprentices, but
both are less satisfied with apprenticeships for 16-18 year olds. This has implications
for take-up among 16-18 year olds as well as successful progression among those
already doing an apprenticeship.
Employers would like more opportunities to influence apprenticeships – especially in
key subjects such as STEM, construction and arts/media.
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Employment, Welfare and Skills
research at Ipsos MORI
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For more
information:
Trinh.Tu@ipsos.com
Krishna.Chhatralia@ipsos.com
020 7347 3000

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