BT & Amazon | 5 firms still taking on apprentices this year

This week marks the return of the annual National Apprenticeship Week, an event that looks to “shine a light on the amazing work being done by employers and apprentices across the country,” according to the Government’s Education and Skills Funding Agency.

According to statistics published by the Learning and Work Institute, the coronavirus pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the volume of apprenticeships taking place within the UK.

The data found that between the period in which lockdown was introduced in March of 2020 and July of the same year, over 47,770 fewer apprenticeships have taken place – a 47% drop year-on-year.

The move has had a particular impact on younger apprenticeship candidates; starts among those aged 16-18-years-old plummeted from 16,390 between March and July last year, to just 5,230 this year, a decline of 68%.

However, whilst 2020 was a damaging year for apprenticeships, a recent Guardian report noted that a raft of major employers intend to continue offering opportunities in 2021, potentially going some way to rectifying this downturn.