Scottish Employer Perspectives Survey 2019: research report

6. Apprenticeships

Chapter Summary

Around one in seven employers (16%) were offering apprenticeships at the time of the survey, unchanged from the proportion of employers offering apprenticeships in 2016. 

Large employers were more likely than smaller ones to offer apprenticeships, ranging from 8% of employers with 2-4 staff offering apprenticeships to 56% among those with 100+ staff. By sector, the offering of apprenticeships was most common in the Education and Construction sectors (32% and 28% respectively).

Across all employers with apprentices, the average number of apprentices employed was between two and three apprentices.

Compared to when they first started offering apprenticeships, a quarter of employers with current apprentices (25%) reported that the number of apprentices they employ has increased. Only 5% reported that the number of apprentices they employ has decreased.

The main reasons behind employers starting to offer apprenticeships was because they view them as a good way to get skilled staff (a reason cited by 30% of employers that had started offering apprenticeships in the last three years), followed by viewing them as a good way to bring in young people to the company (28%). Common reasons for employers not offering apprenticeships included a perception that apprenticeships are not suitable for the size of employer (mentioned by 20% of all employers not offering apprenticeships) and that apprenticeships are not offered for their industry (13%). These reasons may point to a lack of awareness / knowledge among some employers as to the breadth of apprenticeship frameworks available and the ability to tailor apprenticeships to their needs. Employers not looking for staff (17%) or feeling that there was no need because their existing staff were fully skilled (14%) were other key reasons cited for not offering apprenticeships.

Awareness of two new types of apprenticeships – Graduate Apprenticeships and Foundation Apprenticeships – was reasonably high. Just over half of all employers (52%) were aware of Graduate Apprenticeships, including a small proportion (1%) that had a current Graduate Apprentice at the time of the survey. Just over two-fifths (43%) were aware of Foundation Apprenticeships, including a small proportion (1%) who in the past year have had a secondary school pupil in their senior phase undertake an FA with them.

In terms of future plans, the vast majority (90%) of employers already offering apprenticeships plan to continue offering them in future. Among those not currently offering apprenticeships 14% plan to start offering them in future. Together this means that 26% of all employer’s plan to offer apprenticeships in future.

Introduction

Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) in Scotland allow individuals to work whilst gaining an industry-recognised qualification, and allow employers to develop their workforce through training new staff and upskilling existing employees. Skills Development Scotland (SDS) administers Scotland’s Apprensticehip family on behalf of the Scottish Government. There are over 80 MA frameworks in Scotland, covering a wide range of industries from healthcare and financial services to construction and IT. These frameworks have been developed by Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) in consultation with their industry. 

Various Apprenticeship related policy developments and initiatives have been introduced in recent years, including the Scottish Government’s commitment to provide 30,000 new Apprenticeship starts by 2020/21. Two new types of Apprenticeship have also recently been introduced to Scotland’s Apprenticeship family: Foundation Apprenticeships (FAs) in 2014; and Graduate Apprenticeships (GAs) in 2017.^[23]

FAs provide work-based learning opportunities for secondary school pupils making their senior phase subject choices. FAs have been designed and developed with industry and the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and are aligned to key sectors of the economy with current skills shortages and projected future growth. FAs provide qualifications which are at the same level of learning as a Higher (SCQF level 6). The FA is delivered through partnerships between schools, a local college or learning provider and local employers. Foundation Apprenticeships (FAs) are also being expanded to equip more young people at school with industry-recognised qualifications, skills and industry relevant practical experience. 5,000 FA opportunities are now available for 2019.

GAs are industry recognised, degree level work-based qualifications offered in key sectors where there is a need for skilled employees. The GA programme is delivered through partnerships between universities and employers, where the apprentice is in employment for the duration of their studies. GAs combine academic knowledge with skills development to enable participants to become more effective and productive in the workplace.

Whilst other apprenticeships research undertaken with employers tends to focus on employers that are known to be engaged with apprenticeships, the Employer Perspectives Survey (EPS) series contributes to current understanding by exploring levels of engagement with and awareness of apprenticeships within the general employer population.

This chapter will cover:

• Engagement with apprenticeships: the proportion of employers that offer apprenticeships; the average number of apprentices employed by those with current apprentices; and whether the number of apprentices employed has increased, decreased or stayed the same relative to when they first started offering apprenticeships;
• Reasons for offering (and not offering) apprenticeships: the reasons why employers had started offering apprenticeships (among those that had started offering in the last three years); whether the decision to start offering apprenticeships was influenced by contact from external agencies; and the reasons why employers were not offering apprenticeships;
• Characteristics of current offering: the ages of people that employers offer apprenticeships to; whether employers offer apprenticeships to new recruits or existing employees; whether employers have used work placements and to assess the suitability of prospective apprentices; and the types of training provided for apprentices; and
• Market potential for apprenticeships: the level of future demand for apprenticeships among employers; the timescales in which employers plan to start offering apprenticeships; the reasons why employers plan to start offering apprenticeships; and the expected change in apprentice numbers over the next two years among employers with current apprentices.

Offering apprenticeships

Around one in seven employers (16%) were offering apprenticeships at the time of the survey. This breaks down as 11% of employers that employed at least one apprentice at the time of the survey, with a further 5% that were offering apprenticeships but did not have any current apprentices. These proportions are in line with results from 2016.

As shown in Figure 6.1, the proportion of employers offering apprenticeships varied by size and sector. Offering apprenticeships was much more common among larger employers compared with smaller ones: ranging from 8% of employers with 2-4 employees offering apprenticeships to 56% of employers with 100+ employees.

There is also considerable variation by sector in the proportion of employers offering apprenticeships: ranging from 7% of Primary Sector and Utilities and Financial Services employers to 32% of employers in the Education sector. In Chapter 3, it was reported that general recruitment levels in the Construction sector were low relative to other sectors. It is notable, however, that employers in this sector were the second most likely to be offering apprenticeships (28%).

Whilst the overall proportion of employers offering apprenticeships is unchanged from 2016, Figure 6.1 illustrates that there has been changes within employers of certain sizes and in certain sectors:

• Most notably the proportion of employers offering apprenticeships has increased among those in the 10-24 size band (from 19% to 25%); and
• The proportion of employers offering apprenticeships has increased among employers in the Business Services sector (from 9% to 14%). In contrast, the proportion offering apprenticeships has decreased in the Construction sector (from 38% to 28%), broadly returning to the levels reported in 2014.
  

Figure 6.1: Proportion of employers offering apprenticeships, by size and sector

Base: All establishments: 2,652 (2019); 4,009 (2016)
For base by size and sector see Table A.1.1

By Regional Outcome Agreement (ROA) region, the proportion of employers offering apprenticeships was highest in West Lothian (27%), followed by West (22%), Tayside (19%), Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire (17%) and Glasgow (17%). At 12% each, the regions with the lowest proportion of employers offering apprenticeships were Fife and Edinburgh and Lothians.

Table A.6.1 in Appendix A provides a full breakdown of the proportion of employers offering apprenticeships by region (including ROA regions and other regional groupings).

Number of apprentices

As well as the proportion of establishments offering apprenticeships, the survey collected data on the number of current apprentices that employers had at the time of the survey.

Over half of employers with current apprentices (56%) had one apprentice, with a further third (32%) employing two to four apprentices, and 12% employed five or more apprentices.

Looking at the average number of apprentices employed, employers with current apprentices employed a mean of between two and three apprentices (median: one apprentice).

As would be expected, the average number of apprentices employed was higher among larger employers: ranging from a mean of one apprentice among employers with 2-4 employees to eight apprentices among those with 100 or more employees (see Table 6.1). 

Table 6.1: Average number of apprentices

	2016	2019
Scotland	2.5	2.6
Size
2-4	1.0	1.1
5-9	1.4	1.3
10-24	1.8	1.9
25-49	2.8	2.7
50-99	3.7	4.0
100+	8.7	8.2

Base: all employers with current apprentices and knew how many they employed

Change in apprentice numbers since first offering apprenticeships

Employers with current apprentices were also asked whether the number of apprentices they employ had increased, decreased or remained about the same since they first started offering apprenticeships.

Most employers (67%) reported that the number of apprentices they employ has remained about the same since they first started offering them. A further quarter (25%) reported that their apprentice numbers has increased since they first started offering them, and 5% reported a decrease, which is a decrease from 9% in 2016.^[24]

Low base sizes do not permit meaningful analysis by size, sector and region.

Reasons for offering apprenticeships

Alongside establishing current levels of employer engagement with apprenticeships, the survey collected information on the motivations behind employers starting to offer apprenticeships, as well as reasons for not offering apprenticeships. This section will first explore the profile of employers that were relatively new to offering apprenticeships (i.e. those that started offering them in the last three years), before detailing the reasons why these employers started offering apprenticeships and the extent to which their involvement in offering apprenticeships was influenced by approaches from external organisations.

Among employers offering apprenticeships, a fifth (22%) had started offering them within the last three years. This was broadly consistent across employers of difference sizes. By sector, however, the proportion of employers offering apprenticeships within the last three years was higher than average among those in Hotels and Restaurants (60%) and Health and Social Work (38%). In contrast, very few employers in the Construction sector were relatively new to offering apprenticeships (only 8% had started offering them in the last three years).

Establishments that were relatively new to offering apprenticeships (i.e. those that started offering them in the last three years) were asked for the reasons why they started offering them. As shown in Figure 6.2, the most common reasons for starting to offer apprenticeships related to ‘acquiring talent’, including viewing apprenticeships as a good way to get skilled staff (30%) and to help bring in young people to the company or industry (28%).

Figure 6.2: Reasons for starting to offer apprenticeships (unprompted)

Base: all who have started offering apprenticeships in the last 3 years: (142)

Just under a third (30%) of employers new to offering apprenticeships cited reasons related to ‘nurturing talent’, including wanting to upskill current staff (13%), using apprenticeships as a way to train people from scratch and to the employer’s needs (9%), and being able to shape their own apprenticeship framework (6%).

Around a fifth (19%) cited reasons of a more altruistic nature, such as viewing apprenticeships as a good way to give young people a chance (15%) and offering them as part of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy (4%).

The overall reasons (e.g. acquiring and nurturing talent, altruistic and financial) for starting to offer apprenticeships have not changed significantly since 2016. 

External influences in deciding to start offering apprenticeships

Among employers that were relatively new to offering apprenticeships − i.e. started offering them in the last three years − most (72%) reported that the decision to start offering apprenticeships was initiated by themselves, without direct external influence. Under a fifth (18%) reported that their decision to offer apprenticeships was influenced by being approached by an external individual or organisation and a further 6% reported that the decision to offer apprenticeships came from a ‘bit of both’ internal and external influence. Although these proportions have changed since 2016, with more employers initiating the decision to start offering apprenticeships themselves (72%, compared with 65% in 2016), due to low base sizes these changes were not found to be statistically significant.  Similarly, low base sizes mean there is limited scope for analysis by size and sector; this applies throughout the chapter.

When employers were approached by an external organisation or individual, the contact most commonly came from: a commercial provider of apprenticeships (27%); a direct approach from a prospective apprentice (17%); a local authority or government organisation (14%); or a school or college (11%).^[25] 

Reasons for not offering apprenticeships

Given recent policy drives to increase the uptake of apprenticeships the EPS provides useful insight on the perceived barriers that employers face in offering apprenticeships.

Employers not offering apprenticeships at the time of the survey were asked for their reasons for not doing so. The (unprompted) reasons given largely relate to three main themes that have been reported in previous EPS reports, namely:

• Structural barriers that employers perceived to be preventing them from offering apprenticeships, including a perception that apprenticeships are not available for certain sectors or are not suitable due to the size of employer;
• Active reasons that indicated the employer had actively chosen not to offer apprenticeships for reasons such as preferring other forms of training or preferring to recruit experienced staff; and / or
• A lack of awareness of apprenticeships in terms of knowing what offering apprenticeships involves or having never considered it.

As shown in Figure 6.3, around three-fifths (62%) of employers not offering apprenticeships cited at least one perceived structural barrier as a reason for why they were not currently offering apprenticeships. These structural barriers included a perception that apprenticeships are not suitable for their size (20%) − a reason that was primarily cited by smaller employers with fewer than 10 staff – and a perception that apprenticeships are not offered for their industry. This latter reason was most common among those in the Education sector (33%), followed by Arts and Other Services (19%) and Health and Social Care (18%). These two reasons are of note as they may point to a lack of knowledge among employers as to the breadth of apprenticeship frameworks that may be applicable to them, as well as the potential for employers to tailor apprenticeships to their needs.

Figure 6.3: Main reasons for not offering apprenticeships (unprompted)

Base: all who do not offer apprenticeships (2,028)

Characteristics of current apprenticeships offering

This section of the chapter first focuses on the characteristics of employers’ current apprenticeship offerings. This includes: (a) the ages of apprentices that employers offer apprenticeships to; (b) whether their apprenticeship programmes are available to new recruits (c) whether employers have used work placements to assess the suitability of prospective apprentices; (d) how long their apprenticeship programmes typically last; and (e) the types of training provided.

Age of apprentices

Among employers offering apprenticeships:

• 90% offered them to ‘young people’ aged under 25 years (44% offered apprenticeships only to young people); and
• 47% offered them to people aged 25 years or older (1% offered them only to this age group).

Offering apprenticeships to young people was fairly uniform across size, sector and region and is in line with 2016. Among those employers who have engaged with their local Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Lead or Regional Group, this increases to 98% of those offering an apprenticeship offered these to young people.  Since 2016, however, overall the proportion of employers offering apprenticeships only to young people has decreased (from 52% to 44%). This decrease was particularly pronounced in the Manufacturing (63% to 32%) and Public Administration (48% to 22%) sectors. This decrease was also seen amongst employers who expected their business to grow over the next 12 months (49% to 39%). 

Apprenticeships for new recruits and/or existing employees

Apprenticeships can be offered to new employees or can be offered to existing employees in order for an employer to upskill current staff.

Among employers offering apprenticeships:

• 43% only offered them to new employees recruited specifically as apprentices;
• 7% only offered them to existing employees; and
• 46% offered them to a combination of both new recruits and existing employees.

Offering apprenticeships to only existing employees was more common than average among employers in the Hotels and Restaurants (25%) and Health and Social Care (22%) sectors. In contrast two sectors where it was more common than average to offer apprenticeships only to new recruits were Construction (65%) and Arts and Other Services (58%).

The proportions of employers offering apprenticeships to new recruits and/or existing staff have not changed significantly since the last EPS in 2016.

It is worth noting that among those who offered apprenticeships to existing employees, some of the employees could have been new recruits who were taken on with the intention of starting an apprenticeship, but for whom there had been difficulties or delays in finding suitable apprenticeship providers. Thus, by the time they started their apprenticeship they were considered to be an existing employee. It could also be the case that some were new recruits who were deliberately recruited on a trial basis pending entry to an apprenticeship and, therefore, by the time they started their apprenticeship they were considered to be an existing employee. The next section touches on this by looking at the use of work placements as a way for employers to assess the suitability of potential apprentices before employing them as an apprentice.

Use of work placements to check suitability of prospective apprentices

Among all employers offering apprenticeships, half (50%) had used some form of work placement to help determine whether an individual is suitable for an apprenticeship prior to recruiting them as an apprentice. This was in line with the proportion that had done so in 2016 (47%).

Using work placements prior to taking on an apprentice was more common among smaller establishments. Half (53%) of the smallest employers with 2-4 staff and two-thirds (67%) of those with 5-9 staff had used work placements to assess the suitability of prospective apprentices, compared with 41% among larger employers with 10+ staff.

Length of apprenticeships

The length of an apprenticeship will vary depending on the type and level of apprenticeship, the industry and how much experience the apprentice has in the role before commencing their apprenticeship.

In the EPS survey, employers offering apprenticeships were asked how long their typical (or most common) apprenticeship offering lasts for. As shown in Table 6.2, employers most commonly offered apprenticeships lasting between 3-5 years (44%), in line with previous iterations of the EPS series. The proportion of employers offering apprenticeships lasting less than 12 months has decreased from 11% (reported in both 2014 and 2016) to 7% in 2019.

Table 6.2: Length of a typical apprenticeship offered

Length of apprenticeship	2014	2016	2019
Unweighted base:	715	817	624
	%	%	%
Less than 12 months	11	11	7
At least 12 months but less than 18	17	14	15
At least 18 months but less than 24	9	8	9
At least 2 years but less than 3	14	15	17
At least 3 years but less than 5	45	44	44
At least 5 years	2	2	2
Don't know	2	6	5

Base: all employers offering apprenticeships

Offering apprenticeships lasting less than 12 months was more common in the Health and Social Work (19%), Transport, Storage and Communications (19%) and Hotels and Restaurants (16%) sectors. As reported earlier, in the case of Health and Social Work and Hotels and Restaurants, these two sectors were more likely than others to only offer apprenticeships to existing employees which, if the existing employees had relevant experience, may contribute to the higher incidence of shorter apprenticeships lasting less than 12 months in these sectors.

Delivery of apprenticeship training

This section first discusses the delivery of training as part of employers’ apprenticeship offerings, including the types of training that apprentices receive (whether delivered by an external provider, in-house by the employer, or both) and the types of training providers used.

Among employers offering apprenticeships, 82% had used an external provider to deliver at least some of the training for their apprentices and 77% provided formal training sessions in-house for at least some of the training that their apprentices receive (67% provided both types of training). This was in line with the types of training reported in 2016.

Of the employers that used external providers to deliver at least some of the training for their apprentices, the most common types of training providers used were:

• Colleges (57%);
• Commercial training providers (42%);
• Professional or regulatory bodies (28%);
• Non-profit making organisations, such as employer associations or voluntary sector organisations (10%).
• Universities of other higher education institutions (8%); and

Compared to 2016 the proportion of employers using colleges to deliver at least some of their apprenticeship training has increased (from 49% to 57%), whereas the use of universities and other higher education institutions has decreased (from 12% to 8%). 

There were few notable differences by size or sector. The use of colleges for apprenticeship training was near universal among apprenticeship employers in the Construction sector (93% compared with the average of 57% across all sectors) and Education employers were more likely than average to use commercial training providers (67% compared with the average of 42% across all sectors). 

Preparedness for work of apprentice completers

New for the 2019 survey, employers offering apprenticeships were asked about the perceived work preparedness of individuals who have completed their apprenticeship. As shown in Figure 6.4, three-quarters (76%) of employers offering apprenticeships − excluding those who reported not having any apprentice completers – assessed that they were prepared for work. A small proportion (15%) felt that their apprentice completers have been poorly or very poorly prepared for work.^[26]These high levels of perceived work preparedness of apprentice completers were broadly consistent across employer size, sector and region.

Figure 6.4: Work preparedness of apprentice completers

Base: all who have/offer apprenticeships, excluding those who reported not having any apprentice completers (595)

Earlier in Chapter 4, it was reported that 58% of employers who had recruited a school leaver perceived them to be well prepared, 74% of employers who had recruited a college leaver considered them to be well prepared, and 78% of employers who had recruited a university leaver considered them to be well prepared. Though there are limitations to comparing the perceived work preparedness of apprentice completers to the education leavers (mainly because it is probable that employers may have been including their apprentices when assessing the work preparedness of education leavers), it is nevertheless notable that the perceived preparedness of apprentice completers was at a similar level to the university leavers.

Awareness of apprenticeships

Alongside levels of engagement with apprenticeships, the EPS series collects information on the general awareness and knowledge of apprenticeships. This section discusses employer awareness of apprenticeships among those not currently offering them, as well as (among all employers) awareness and use of Graduate Apprenticeships and Foundation Apprenticeships.

Awareness of apprenticeships

Across all employers that were not offering apprenticeships at the time of the survey, only a very small proportion (2%) had not heard of apprenticeships at all, with a further 21% having heard of apprenticeships but possessing a (self-reported) lack of knowledge as to what apprenticeships involve. The remaining 77% – the majority of employers not offering apprenticeships – were aware of apprenticeships and had at least some (self-reported) knowledge of what is involved. Though similar to the level of awareness/knowledge reported in 2016 (80%), this does represent a small but statistically significant decrease in the proportion of employers that were aware and had some knowledge of apprenticeships.

Levels of employer awareness of apprenticeships by size, sector and region are included in Table A.6.2 in Appendix A.

Awareness and use of Graduate and Foundation Apprenticeships

Graduate Apprenticeships are a new type of apprenticeship introduced in 2017 designed to provide work-based learning opportunities up to Master’s degree level. Graduate Apprenticeships are available to current or new employees.

Across all employers, just over half (52%) were aware of Graduate Apprenticeships, including a small proportion (1%) who had a current Graduate Apprentice at the time of the survey.

As shown in Table 6.3, awareness of Graduate Apprenticeships was higher among larger employers, ranging from 48% of employers with 2-4 employees aware of them to 75% of employers with 100+ employees aware of them.

Foundation Apprenticeships are also a new type of apprenticeship introduced in 2014. They are different to the other types of apprenticeships available in Scotland in that they are targeted at senior-phase secondary school pupils and provide qualifications at SCQF Level 6. Typically lasting two years, pupils can begin their Foundation Apprenticeship in S5. The apprenticeship involves students spending time out of school at college or with a training provider to build on their knowledge and skills. Pupils also spend time with a local employer to provide them with real-world work experience and access to work based learning whilst at school.

Across all employers, just over two-fifths (43%) were aware of Foundation Apprenticeships, including a small proportion (1%) who in the past year have had a Foundation Apprentice undertake a work placement with them.

As shown in Table 6.3, awareness of Foundation Apprenticeships was higher among larger employers, ranging from 41% among those with 2-4 employees to 58% among those with 100+ employees.

Table 6.3: Awareness and use of Graduate and Foundation Apprenticeships

	Unwtd. base	Graduate Apprenticeships		Foundation Apprenticeships
		% aware	% with a current graduate apprentice	% aware	% with a Foundation Apprentice over past 12 months
Scotland	2,652	52	1	43	1
Size
2 to 4	643	48	*	41	*
5 to 9	608	51	*	46	1
10 to 24	619	57	2	42	2
25 to 99	364	63	3	48	4
50 to 99	161	68	3	55	3
100+	257	75	8	58	7
Sector
Primary Sector & Utilities	137	52	*	42	*
Manufacturing	160	57	1	45	1
Construction	162	39	1	56	3
Wholesale & Retail	525	43	1	39	1
Hotels & Restaurants	293	53	*	37	1
Transport, Storage & Comms	170	62	*	50	1
Financial Services	91	60	-	51	-
Business Services	422	54	2	40	1
Public Admin.	76	57	-	46	2
Education	134	72	2	57	5
Health & Social Work	274	58	1	46	1
Arts & Other Services	208	56	*	43	*

Base: all employers. (‘*’ denotes a figure greater than zero but less than 0.5. ‘-‘ denotes a figure of zero).

Market potential for apprenticeships

This final section of the chapter describes employers’ stated intentions for offering apprenticeships in the future. This includes the proportion of employers currently offering apprenticeships but expecting to stop, as well as the proportion of employers that do not currently offer apprenticeships but who expect to start doing so, as well as their reasons for planning to start or stop offering apprenticeships. Alongside this, the section provides insight on how employers expect the numbers of apprentices they employ to increase or decrease over the next two years.

Future demand for apprenticeships

Among employers already offering apprenticeships, the vast majority (90%) were expecting to continue offering them in future with the remainder either expecting to stop offering them (4%) or unsure as to their future intentions (6%). Among the employers not currently offering apprenticeships at the time of the survey, around one-in-seven (14%) were expecting to start offering them in future. 

As shown in Figure 6.5, this means that a quarter (26%) of all employers in Scotland plan to offer apprenticeships in future. This unchanged from the future plans for offering apprenticeships reported in 2016.

Figure 6.5: Future plans for offering apprenticeships across all employers

The 14% of employers that were not currently offering apprenticeships but were planning to start offering them in future tended to:

• Be larger employers (35% of employers with 100+ employees had plans to start offering apprenticeships compared with 10% among those with 2-4 employees);
• Be in Construction (26%), Manufacturing (22%), or Education (20%), compared with a range between 9% and 17% among other sectors;
• Be in Tayside (20%), compared with a range between 10% and 17% among other regions;
• Be aware of (22% vs. 13% of those with no awareness) or have had engagement with their local DYW Lead or Regional Group (36% vs. 19% of those who had not had engagement); and
• Have had recent experience of offering apprenticeships in the last three years (53%) compared with those who have either never offered apprenticeships, offered them more than three years ago, or were unsure (12%).

Of these employers planning to start offering apprenticeships, over a third (35%) were planning to start offering apprenticeships in the next 12 months, a similar proportion (38%) were expecting to start offering them in the next 2-3 years, whereas a further 6% were planning to start offering them in some other timescale (either more than three years or on an unspecified timescale, such as ‘when the need arises’) and 20% were unsure of the timescale.

Key characteristics of the 71% of employers that were not currently offering apprenticeships nor were planning to start offering them in future tended to be:^[27]

• Smaller employers (78% of employers with 2-4 employees had no plans to start offering apprenticeships in future compared with 39% among those with 100+ employees);
• In Transport, Storage and Communications, Financial Services and Primary Sector and Utilities (each 77%), compared with a range between 59% and 74% among other sectors;
• In Lanarkshire (78%), Glasgow (76%), Ayrshire (75%), Borders (75%) and Edinburgh and Lothians (75%), compared with a range between 65% and 71% among other regions; and / or
• Unaware of (72% vs. 65% of those who were aware) and not engaged with (69% vs. 45% who were engaged) their local DYW Lead or Regional Group.

It is known from previous editions of the EPS series that employers’ stated intentions for offering apprenticeships in the future do not necessarily materialise, at least not to their fullest extent. For instance, the proportion of all employers reporting that they plan to offer apprenticeships in future has consistently been higher than the proportion of employers actually offering apprenticeships, which has consistently been much lower. Nevertheless, the EPS data on employer intentions to offer apprenticeships in future provides an indication of the market potential for employer engagement with apprenticeships. 

Reasons for planning to start offering apprenticeships

Employers that were not currently offering apprenticeships but planned to start offering them in future were asked for the reasons behind their intentions to start offering apprenticeships. The unprompted reasons mentioned are shown in Figure 6.6.

By far the most common type of reasons related to the theme of ‘acquiring talent’. Specifically, 30% of employers were planning to start offering apprenticeships to help ensure young people continue to enter the company, 29% because they consider them a good way to get skilled staff, and 22% intended to start offering apprenticeships in order to help expand the business.

Reasons of a more altruistic nature – such as wanting to give young people a chance in employment (17%) and as part of a corporate social responsibility (4%) − were the next most common theme of reasons given, followed by reasons related to ‘nurturing talent’, such as wanting to upskill current staff (7%).

Figure 6.6: Main reasons for planning to start apprenticeships in the future (unprompted)

Base: all who plan to start offering apprenticeships in future (350)

The reasons for employers planning to start offering apprenticeships are broadly similar to the reasons why employers had started offering apprenticeships in the last three years (as presented earlier in this chapter in Figure 6.2). One notable difference, however, is the decreased emphasis placed on ‘nurturing talent’ among those that intend to start offering apprenticeships in future (15%) compared to those that started offering apprenticeships in the last three years (30%). 

There were some differences in the reasons for intending to start offering apprenticeships in future depending on the size of employer. The smallest employers were more likely than the largest ones to be intending to start offering apprenticeships in order to expand their business (28% of those with 2-4 employees cited this reason compared with just 2% among those with 100+ employees). Larger employers were instead more likely than smaller ones to be planning to start offering apprenticeships in order to upskill current staff (17% among those with 100+ employees compared with 4% among those with 2-4 employees).

Expected change in apprentice numbers

As well as their intentions to either continue or stop offering apprenticeships, employers with current apprentices were asked whether they expected the number of apprentices they currently have to increase, decrease or stay about the same over the next two years.

Overall, 22% of employers with current apprentices (and with plans to continue offering apprenticeships) were expecting to increase the number of apprentices they employ over the next two years, only 5% expected a decrease in apprentice numbers, whereas most (71%) expected the number of apprentices they employ to stay about the same. These proportions are in line with those reported in 2016.

The proportion of employers that planned to increase their apprentice numbers over the next two years was higher among larger employers, increasing from 7% among those with five to nine employees to 41% among those with 100+ employees.

Reasons for expected change (or lack of change) in apprentice numbers

The unprompted reasons why employers were expecting the number of apprentices they employ to increase, or remain the same, over the next two years (among those who have current apprentices and plan to continue offering apprenticeships) are shown in Figure 6.7.^[28]

By far the main reason for employers expecting their apprentice numbers to increase was because of business growth (52%). What is unclear from the survey is whether these employers plan to increase their apprentice numbers in order to drive business growth, or whether more apprentices are needed to fill capacity created by business growth. The next most common reason was an increased demand for apprenticeship positions among either current or prospective staff (18%), and to increase staff numbers or replace existing staff with apprentices (12%).

Among the employers that were expecting the number of apprentices they employ to stay about the same over the next two years, the most common reason for this was being content with the numbers they currently employ (47%). Somewhat related to this, 14% mentioned that they were not looking to recruit new staff in general and 10% mentioned that they cannot afford to offer more apprenticeships.

Figure 6.7: Reasons for expected change (or lack of change) in apprenticeship numbers over the last three years