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Degree apprenticeships have failed to live up to widening participation promises and have ¡°displaced¡± funding for other forms of training, according to new research.?

In a report examining international apprenticeship policies and how they can best be applied in England, the Sutton Trust finds degree apprenticeships may give employers a reason not to pay for staff training.?

The report comes after the government confirmed last month that nearly all level 7 apprenticeships ¨C equivalent to a master¡¯s degree ¨C will cease to be funded by the apprenticeship levy?as policymakers attempt to retarget funding towards lower-level qualifications.

From January 2026, only those aged between 16 and 21 years will be eligible for levy funding for level 7 apprenticeships, after concerns by policymakers that companies were using the apprenticeship budget to fund executive education for senior leaders over training younger workers without degrees.

While the move has sparked backlash, the Sutton Trust argues level 7 apprenticeships may have ¡°displaced¡± other forms of training opportunities, rather than adding to skills and opportunities, and that such apprenticeships may have damaged widening participation aims.

Higher-level apprenticeships have been on the rise in recent years, with apprenticeships at levels 4 to 7 growing from 7 per cent of all starts in 2016-17 to 36 per cent in 2023-24. In particular, about 20 per cent of the apprenticeship budget ¨C roughly half a billion pounds ¨C went to level 6 and 7 apprenticeships in 2021-22.?

Meanwhile, employer-funded training has ¡°been in steady decline¡±, it said, falling by 19 per cent in real terms between 2011 and 2022. Roughly half of all starting apprentices are now incumbent workers, rising to four out of five for those over 24.

The report says while degree apprenticeships can be ¡°effective learning programmes¡±, they ¡°often displace other forms of training and they have narrowed rather than widened participation¡±. They also demand an increasing share of the limited apprenticeship budget, competing with apprenticeships at levels 2 and 3.?

¡°Unequal access¡± to degree apprenticeships ¡°appears to be worsening¡±, the report continues, with just 13 per cent going to those from the most deprived fifth of neighbourhoods ¨C only half the?participation rate of the most affluent fifth.?

But the report suggests that the defunding of most level 7 apprenticeships has ¡°changed the picture somewhat¡±.

"Reform will need to target funding with an emphasis on support for younger apprentices,¡± it continues, suggesting this should ideally be targeted at those below the age of 25.

It added that this ¡°reprioritisation¡± will help to create ¡°a greater focus on youth apprenticeship, and make available more resources to support those with the greatest needs¡±.?

¡°The framework previously established for the apprenticeship levy, in which levy-paying employers were encouraged to see their payments as ¡®their¡¯ levy pot, to be allocated as they wish, has become an unhelpful illusion that has not served either the economy or the neediest individuals,¡± it says.

Nick Harrison, CEO of the Sutton Trust, said, ¡°Apprenticeships can be positive drivers of social mobility, but right now the system isn¡¯t delivering enough quality opportunities for young people, especially from low-income backgrounds.

¡°We need a thriving, high-quality apprenticeship system that provides a genuine alternative career route from academic study. Failure to improve the quality and consistency of training will limit the prospects of many young people at a crucial time as they enter the workforce. And a lack of reform will undermine efforts to widen the pool of domestic talent in key sectors, while hampering economic growth in the long term.¡±

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com