Fuller, A; (2016) The Growth of Apprenticeship in England: Doubts Beneath the Numbers. Challenge , 59 (5) pp. 422-433. 10.1080/05775132.2016.1226109.

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Abstract

England is investing aggressively in its apprenticeship system. Indeed, it has been expanded significantly. But while some of these programs are effective, the author is concerned that they don’t emphasize learning skills adequately. This becomes epically relevant now that there is a new levy on business to support an expanded apprenticeship system. Eyebrows were raised when George Osborne, the UK’s Conservative former Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced the introduction of a statutory apprenticeship levy last year. Why was a Conservative administration bringing in an interventionist labor market measure, and direct cost on employers? On the face of it, implementing a levy would have been much less surprising coming from a Labour government. However, the use of apprenticeship as an instrument of public policy in England is not new; it has been a feature of successive governments whatever their political color. In this article, I will provide an overview of this history, highlighting the ongoing tension between quality and quantity within the government-supported apprenticeship program and the policy reforms that help explain its expansion. I will argue that successive governments’ decisions to extend the parameters of what “counts” as apprenticeship is an important part of the explanation.

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