UK – Making apprenticeships work for young women

This new report looks at how young women continue to miss out on the many bene ts apprenticeships have to offer. It is based on original research through focus groups with young women and polling of 1,269 young people to understand their experiences of apprenticeships. Young women from Young Women’s Trust’s apprenticeship working group were then brought together with employers, government of cials, think tanks and charities to discuss the challenges and prioritise actions forming the basis for the recommendations.

Much has changed since apprenticeships mainly acted as a route into trades for men with few opportunities for women. Last year 264,750 women and 235,140 men began apprenticeships. This would seem to represent one of the huge successes of the apprenticeship programme. However, the reality is not so clear-cut.

At their best apprenticeships can offer young people new skills and excellent routes into employment, help employers ll skills gaps and make a huge contribution to a productive economy. Sadly not all apprenticeships are created equal and it is young women who are losing out at every level.

Young women have told us they are presented with a limited choice of apprenticeships. They get paid less than male apprentices, are less likely to receive training and are more likely to be out of a job at the end of their apprenticeship.

As the Government strives to meet its target of creating 3 million apprentices by the end of this parliament in 2020, it is important to prevent these trends becoming further entrenched. When apprenticeships work for young women they will better serve our businesses and our economy. Urgent action is needed to make this happen.