In February, 2,626 mentions of "further education" and "apprenticeship(s)" were recorded in the UK media, an 47 per cent increase on recorded mentions in January 2025 and the highest in the last 12 months.
Increased coverage was driven by the flurry of announcements released through National Apprenticeship Week, which we'll explore in more detail below.
The figures for last month also represent a 47 per cent increase on those of the same month in 2024.
The chart below plots the mentions of "further education" and "apprenticeship(s)" in the media over the last twelve months.
Policy & Parliament
Policy
February saw a wave of major apprenticeship announcements as the government started putting its long-promised skills reform agenda into action. Most of these were unleashed during National Apprenticeship Week.
On the 11th, the government announced that compulsory English and maths functional skills (FS) requirements for apprentices would be removed, leaving them optional - up to employer discretion - for apprentices aged 19 and over.
The government’s press release said that “cutting red tape” in this way could mean as many as 10,000 more apprentices per year will be able to complete their apprenticeship, boosting the number of learners in “high demand sectors” and “breaking the link between background and success”.
There was mixed reaction in the sector to the news, however. AELP’s Ben Rowland “welcomed” the change - arguing that FS requirements had been one of the “biggest barriers” providers, employers and apprentices face within the apprenticeship system. The Edge Foundation were in favour of reviewing the functional skills requirements, but warned that removing the exit requirement entirely risks “throwing the baby out with the bathwater” given the value of numeracy and literacy skills in career progression.
The Learning and Work Institute’s Stephen Evans called the decision a “mistake”, suggesting that “lowering standards” in English and maths requirements would increase the disparity between England and other countries’ skills standards. It gives the “false illusion of increasing opportunity”, he argued.
Alongside the functional skills news, the government also finally put the gears in motion for shorter apprenticeships - a key pledge under the Growth and Skills Levy proposals - confirming that minimum duration would be changed from 12 to eight months. Bridget Phillipson said that the changes “strike the right balance between speed and quality, helping achieve our number one mission to grow the economy”.
Further reforms followed on February 13th; the government pledging to make changes to the apprenticeship training provider payment system and End Point Assessments. These would, they said, “cut bureaucracy and enable focus on high quality training”.
Valentine’s Day was accompanied with another press release sharing new research that claimed apprentices in England would drive £25 billion of economic growth over their lifetime - up from £14 billion in 2018.
Though the month started with a flurry of positive announcements, the month ended on a more sobering note. On the 27th, the ONS released research estimating that the number of 16-24 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEETs) between October and December 2024 had reached almost one million - almost 300,000 higher than the same period in 2021 when the UK was emerging from the pandemic.
Laura-Jane Rawlings, chief executive of Youth Employment UK, warned that without "drastic change", the figures were likely to exceed one million, worsening the "significant" wider cost to the economy.
Parliament
Mentions of “further education” and “apprenticeship(s)” in Parliament (Commons, Lords debates, written answers, and ministerial statements) totaled 203 in February, 20 more than in January.
Highlights
There were some interesting nuggets of data released in response written questions to the Department for Education through February.
One written question prompted the publication of data related to apprenticeship starts by constituency. Leading the pack with 2,660 and 2,330 were Gosport and Richmond & Northallerton - the latter the constituency of former PM Rishi Runak. At the bottom were Richmond Park and Kensington and Bayswater, both of whom recorded just 290 starts in 2023/24.
Shadow Education minister Neil O’Brien’s enquiry also led to the publication of data into apprenticeship starts in the public sector, revealing more than 56,000 starts in 2023/24.The NHS dominated these, with 19,800 starts, followed by local government, with 12,800. The Armed Forces hired 7,700 new apprentices, the Civil Service 6,500, and the police 2,700.
Elsewhere, there were several questions about how well-prepared the skills system was to support the government’s ambitious mission to build 1.5 million new houses by the end of this Parliament. Labour’s Alison Taylor asked whether housing minister Matthew Pennycook’s department had made an assessment of the “potential impact of removing levy funding for Level 7 apprenticeships on the Government’s commitment to delivering 1.5 million new homes by 2030.”
Conservative MP Bradley Thomas also asked the DfE what steps they were taking “to promote apprenticeships in the vocational skills required to deliver the Government's target of 1.5m homes during this Parliament.”
There was also a very interesting Westminster Hall debate early in the month focusing on the broad challenges facing apprenticeships during National Apprenticeship Week. Led by Andrew Pakes, the debate featured measured contributions from a variety of cross-party figures.
In the Media
There was much media coverage through February. Naturally, the most significant government announcements drew coverage in national papers.
The Financial Times and the BBC, for example, both reported on the news that functional skills requirements would no longer be mandatory for adult apprentices. Both The Guardian and The Times - among others - covered the news that almost one million young people were now classed as NEETs.
It was in the sector press, though, that most of the debate raged.
This was particularly true of the Opinion section in FE Week. On one end of the spectrum, AELP’s Ben Rowland wrote a piece entitled “Functional skills have never been essential”.
On the other, L&W Institute’s Stephen Evans wrote a piece arguing that “Functional skills for adults are too vital to give up on”, and Heather Atkins, Chief Executive of Open Awards, contributed an article attempting to “make the case for functional skills in apprenticeships”.
Elsewhere in FE Week, Skills Minister Jacqui Smith wrote an article entitled: “How we’ll drive apprenticeship growth”, breaking down the latest announcements and arguing that they would, collectively, “drive the economic growth that this country needs”.
As we continue to follow how the media are digesting the Government's latest policy announcements, here are our top five stories of the month:
FE Week - Jacqui Smith: How we'll drive apprenticeship growth
"National Apprenticeship Week is upon us – an important moment to celebrate apprentices and their positive impact on communities, businesses and the wider economy. But behind the spotlight shone on apprentices this week, the government is driving reforms to make apprenticeships work better for everyone."
The Guardian - UK faces youth jobs crisis as number of ‘neets’ rises to almost 1m
"Experts say the UK faces a youth jobs crisis after a rise in the number of young people not in education, employment or training (neets) to almost a million, the highest level in more than a decade."
FE Week- Functional Skills have never been essential
"Good riddance to functional skills qualifications in adult apprenticeships – it’s been putting off learners and employers in their droves."
Gov.UK - 10,000 more apprentices as government slashes red tape to boost growth
"Shorter and flexible apprenticeships and new English and maths requirements to boost skills and support employers ."
FE Week - Functional skills for adults are too vital to give up on
"Adult literacy and numeracy rates are already woeful, let's not make them even worse by scrapping functional skills for adult apprentices."
