Skills shortages? London continues to see fewest apprenticeship starts per 1,000
London has continued to see the fewest apprenticeship starts by population of any region in the UK, amid warnings of a “recruitment crisis” facing the city.
Just 5.9 Londoners started apprenticeships in 2022/23 per every 1,000 working-age residents of the capital, according to figures from City Hall.
It comes after the mayor warned London was facing a “full-blown recruitment crisis” following the government’s announcements of stricter rules around skilled workers coming to the UK.
People must now earn above £38,700 to sponsor family members to come to Britain with them, in a tightening of the rules amid Tory infighting over legal and illegal migration figures.
Furthermore, this also follows warnings that apprenticeships in shortage occupations have fallen by up to 80 per cent since 2015, according to research from the Liberal Democrats.
Lib Dem business spokesperson Sarah Olney said the figure was “incredibly damning” and warned firms faced a “double whammy” as new migration rules cut off the labour supply from abroad, while “ministers fail to come up with a plan to tackle skills shortages at home”.
She added: “It shows that the Conservatives have given up on being the party of business.”
London’s figure for apprenticeship starts has consistently been lower than other regions since 2010/11, which is partly due to there being fewer health and social care workers living in the capital, according to the Greater London Authority (GLA).
In 2022/23, the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber jointly saw the most apprenticeship starts per 1,000 working-age people, with 11.1, while the East of England came second to last with 8.6.
It also marks a lower level than during the pandemic, with 6.1 and 6.2 during 2020/21 and 2021/22 respectively.
Muniya Barua, deputy chief executive at BusinessLDN, called for more information about training and for the apprenticeship levy to be reformed to give firms more flexibility.
“Skills shortages are holding back businesses across London and acting as a handbrake on the capital’s economy,” she said.
“Apprenticeships provide an important pathway to develop the skills our firms need but take-up in the city has dropped sharply in recent years.
“The apprenticeship levy should be urgently reformed to reverse this decline by giving businesses greater flexibility on how they use funds.”
A City Hall spokesperson said: “The mayor is transforming skills training in London and now offering anyone unemployed or in a low-paid job the chance to access training for free.
“Government needs to make changes to the apprenticeship levy to enable more organisations to benefit, and ministers should devolve more power to London so we can build a local apprenticeship service that works for our city.”
Additionally, a Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said: “There were almost 340,000 new apprenticeships started in England in 2022-23, and the number of people achieving their apprenticeship has increased.
“We are increasing funding for apprenticeships to £2.7bn in 2024-25, and over the next two years are investing an additional £50m to boost apprenticeships in growth sectors such as engineering and advanced manufacturing.”