Rethinking How Education Builds Relationships

As National Apprenticeship Week approaches on 9-15 February, much of the conversation will rightly focus on skills, opportunity and access to the right courses. But behind the statistics and success stories sits a deeper question for education providers: “How well are we really building relationships?”

Apprenticeships, more than almost any other pathway, expose the strengths and the weaknesses of how education engages with people. They rely on trust, long-term commitment and clear communication with employers and partners, making them a very useful lens through which to consider engagement across the wider education sector.

Apprenticeships are relationship-led

Unlike traditional recruitment models, apprenticeships are not transactional. They sit at the intersection of education and employment, often spanning several years and involving several stakeholders.

When they work well, it’s because relationships are nurtured between provider and learner, provider and employer, and employer and apprentice. When they break down, it’s usually due to poor communication, mismatched expectations, or a lack of timely, relevant engagement. And that should tell us something.

The danger of volume-led communication

Many education providers still rely on high-volume outreach strategies. Frequent emails, generic updates, and blanket campaigns. In an apprenticeship context, this approach will quickly show its limitations.

Employers want relevant, timely information and apprentices want to be treated like valuable potential applicants. This can be where relationship-building falters, due to the use and reliance on outdated models of communication.

Data as a relationship tool

Clean, accurate data becomes critical when managing apprenticeship relationships. Knowing where someone is in their journey (enquiry, placement, completion, progression) changes how and when you should communicate with them.

When data is poor, outdated or used in the wrong way, relationships inevitably suffer. Email messages will arrive at the wrong time; opportunities are missed and ultimately trust is eroded.

However, used properly, data allows education providers to communicate less, but better, or rather, quality over quantity as we often say.

Supporting apprentices beyond enrolment

One of the most overlooked aspects of apprenticeship engagement is what happens after they’ve signed up. Often, communication peaks at enrolment and drops off once the programme is underway. Yet this is precisely where strong relationships matter most. Apprentices juggling work and study need reassurance, guidance and timely support. Employers need confidence that their investment is being managed well, as relationship-led communication deepens over time.

Ethics, trust and the next generation

Apprenticeships also place education providers in a position of responsibility. Many of them are young, and they are navigating professional life for the first time, often alongside study. How institutions use data, manage consent and respect attention sends a vital message and ethical communication signals the values of the establishment doing the communicating and building the trust that’s needed.

What apprenticeships can teach the wider sector

As National Apprenticeship Week highlights the value of vocational pathways, it also reminds us that the strongest education models are built on relationships, less volume and better timing. Intentional and respecting stakeholder journeys. That’s a lesson the whole education sector can learn from.

By Adam Herbert, CEO and Co-Founder, Go Live Data