AELP: Only 1 in 4 apprenticeship vacancies now open to applicants without GCSE Maths and English

New report by AELP (AELP Mini Commission 1, Functional Skills Qualifications FSQS) shows that only 1 in 4 apprenticeship vacancies are now open to those without prior English and maths qualifications.

• Well intentioned, but flawed, apprenticeship rules are resulting in potential learners missing out on vital English and maths support.
• Research findings add weight to arguments functional skills should be removed as an exit requirement for apprenticeships.

AELP has today published evidence which shows entry requirements for apprenticeships are being tightened to block applicants without prior English and maths qualifications. Over three quarters of apprenticeship adverts include level 4 English and maths (or equivalent). Against a backdrop of nearly one million young people not in education, employment or training, AELP argues now is the time to remove the exit requirement to pass functional skills qualifications (FSQs) as part of an apprenticeship.

FSQs are currently an exit requirement for apprenticeships – with apprentices who have already achieved a GCSE level 4 (or higher) in English and maths or FSQ (at the appropriate level to their apprenticeship) being exempt. Currently a third of people leave school without English and maths GCSE level 4. Many learners, despite making significant progress along their apprenticeship do not pass FSQs – and therefore do not pass their apprenticeship.

By surveying 168 providers, hosting in depth interviews with a smaller number of providers, hosting employer roundtables and incorporating data from Aptem, covering 160,000 learners, AELP’s mini commission report has found that:

• Functional Skills Qualifications as an exit requirement for apprenticeships is raising a barrier to opportunity, shutting out learners who do not currently have English and maths qualifications from apprenticeships. On one day, 76% of all apprenticeship vacancies were closed to learners without GCSE level 4 English and maths.
• Functional Skills Qualifications are damaging to the mental health of learners and teachers.
• Functional Skills Qualifications as an exit requirement is impacting the value for money of the apprenticeship system, with around 7% of learners made to fail their apprenticeship because of them.

This leads to a looming presence of the exit tests means that, regardless of progress in the apprenticeship occupation and job, any progress that has come before count for nothing. The fear of failure often injects anxiety into the whole apprenticeship experience and threatens all other aspects of progress. This is resulting in employers and providers, very logically, blocking potential applicants without prior English and maths qualifications from applying for an apprenticeship – at a time when nearly one million young people are not in any form of employment, education or training.

The full report ‘AELP Mini Commission #1 – assessing the impact and damaging unintended consequences of current Functional Skills policy within apprenticeships’, written by Cheryl Swales.

Ben Rowland, Chief Executive of AELP, said:

“At a time where nearly a million young people are not in employment, education or training, it is astonishing that only one in four apprenticeships are open to those without a prior qualification in English and maths. Well intentioned rules designed to encourage further learning of English and maths are now having the opposite impact – those in most need of support are being blocked from the apprenticeship route because of requirements. We believe it is now time for the government to remove the need for Functional Skills Qualifications (FSQs) as an exit requirement to complete an apprenticeship.”

Cheryl Swales, Head of Strategic Projects at AELP and the report’s author, said:

“The findings from this mini commission highlight a significant problem with the apprenticeship system that needs to be addressed now. Not only are good, competent apprentices being stopped from progressing to the next stages in their careers, the pressure on providers and employers has resulted in higher instances of entry criteria for prior attainment of maths and English qualifications and this is unfair. The system needs to be reviewed and brought into line with other post-16 education routes that do not stipulate FSQs as an entry or exit requirement.”