Social value isn’t a ‘nice to have’ it’s what apprenticeships and adult learning do best

The Education and Training Foundation’s recent Achieving Social Value in Further Education and Skills report puts into words something many of us working in apprenticeships and adult learning have been saying for a long time: further education delivers impact that goes far beyond qualifications, but we are still not very good at measuring or valuing it properly.

The report makes a compelling case that FE creates social value at individual, community and societal levels, improving confidence, wellbeing, inclusion and economic participation. For practitioners, this feels obvious. For policy and funding systems, far less so.

The functional skills question

This matters acutely in the current apprenticeship landscape, particularly following the removal of the mandatory functional skills exit requirement. While this change has been welcomed by some as a way of reducing barriers to completion, it also risks sending an unintended message: that English and maths, and the wider confidence, capability and independence they support, are somehow optional.

In practice, functional skills have never just been about passing an exam. In apprenticeships, and especially degree apprenticeships, they underpin everything else. Apprentices are expected to write reports, analyse data, communicate professionally, manage time and make evidence-based decisions in complex workplaces. When learners struggle silently with literacy or numeracy, it is rarely the exam that holds them back, it is confidence, self-belief and the ability to fully participate.

Where social value shows up in practice

This is where the ETF’s focus on social value feels particularly timely. In my work with adult and degree apprentices, I see social value emerge not in headline outcomes, but in quieter moments: an apprentice who finally feels confident contributing in meetings; someone who no longer avoids written tasks at work; a learner who realises that difficulty with maths or writing is not a personal failing, but something that can be understood and supported.

The neurodivergent experience

For neurodivergent apprentices, this is even more pronounced. Many arrive on programme with strong vocational skills but a long history of masking difficulties with working memory, processing speed, literacy or numeracy. The social value of functional skills support, even where it is no longer mandatory, lies in helping these learners develop strategies, self-advocacy and confidence that enable them to succeed at higher levels of study and responsibility.

Degree apprenticeships and the scaffolding gap

Degree apprenticeships, in particular, sit at an interesting intersection. They are often held up as a flagship model of widening participation and social mobility, yet they increasingly assume a level of academic and professional confidence that not all adult learners have had the opportunity to develop. When we remove functional skills from the conversation entirely, we risk overlooking the scaffolding many apprentices still need to thrive, especially those from non-traditional or neurodiverse backgrounds.

The case for better measurement

The ETF report’s call for a shared framework to measure social value feels like a crucial next step. At the moment, much of the impact of apprenticeships is measured through completion rates, destinations and productivity gains. These are important, but they tell only part of the story. They don’t capture how apprentices grow in confidence, how barriers are reduced, or how inclusive support enables sustained progression rather than short-term success.

Without better ways of evidencing this social value, there is a danger that support for adult learners, including functional skills development and neurodiversity-informed practice, becomes increasingly invisible. And what becomes invisible is often the first thing to be cut.

What this means for leaders and policymakers

For leaders and policymakers, the challenge set out by the ETF is not simply about measurement, but about alignment. If we say apprenticeships are about opportunity, inclusion and long-term workforce development, then our frameworks need to reflect that. Social value should not sit alongside apprenticeships as an optional extra; it should be embedded in how programmes are designed, delivered and evaluated.

Making the invisible visible

For those of us working directly with apprentices, the report feels like both validation and a prompt. Validation that the relational, confidence-building work at the heart of adult learning really does matter. And a prompt to ensure we are capturing that impact in ways that are credible, comparable and hard to ignore.

If FE, and apprenticeships in particular, are to deliver on their promise of social mobility, then social value cannot remain anecdotal. The ETF has opened an important conversation. The next step is making sure that what we see every day in practice is recognised, measured and protected in policy.

By Lindsey Poole, PGCE MEd