National Apprenticeship Week ran from 8-14 February this year. It saw hundreds of thousands of students engaging with apprenticeships, alongside parents and carers, teachers, employers and training providers.
The theme was Build the Future and showed how apprenticeships could help individuals to build the skills and knowledge required for a rewarding career. Gillian Keegan, Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills, said: 'The week is a great opportunity to highlight the huge range of apprenticeships on offer – from Space Engineer to Registered Nurse. There are currently around 7,000 apprenticeship opportunities available on the Find An Apprenticeship website which will benefit individuals, businesses and local communities. I encourage everyone to get involved and help make it a success.'
But while there was a strong emphasis on the diversity of opportunities available, one of the key messages to emerge was that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic young people are under-represented in this sector.
Cut off from opportunities
Children from BAME groups represent roughly a third of the student population across primary and secondary education in England. Figures for apprenticeship starts in 2019/20 show just 13.3% were BAME. Even more concerning, BAME apprentices in the 16- to 18-year-old group made up just 7.8% of new apprentice starts in 2018/19, down from 8.6% the year before
Sandra Kerr, race equality director for charity Business in the Community, says: 'Apprenticeships are meant to be a door into a new career, but all too often it’s slammed shut for BAME communities. Even well-intentioned employers can seem disconnected from what inclusion and diversity means in reality.'
Jeremy Crook, chief executive of charity the Black Training and Enterprise Group agrees: 'If you look at apprenticeship applications, people from BAME backgrounds are applying, but not getting through,' he says. 'It’s less a lack of awareness of apprenticeships than how employers recruit. Word of mouth recruitment is common, which puts BAME applicants at a disadvantage.'