Skills England backs Level 7 apprenticeship defunding despite sector pushback

Skills England has concluded there is no strong enough economic rationale to exempt any Level 7 apprenticeships from defunding, in evidence published this week that was produced more than a year ago.

The assessment, commissioned by the Department for Education following the September 2024 announcement of the new Growth and Skills Levy, draws on engagement with 743 stakeholders across 17 sector specific events and nine cross sector webinars and roundtables. It was produced in March 2025 but only published on 30 April 2026.

While acknowledging that sectors using Level 7 apprenticeships are “very supportive of the product”, Skills England found that the case for exempting any group of apprenticeships was insufficient given the need to prioritise funding for younger learners. The report does recognise that defunding will cause “disruption, at least in the short term, to some occupations” that will need careful management.

Demographic findings on social mobility

On the social mobility question, the data presents mixed findings. Level 7 apprenticeships have a higher proportion of learners from ethnic minority backgrounds, at 24% compared to 16% across all apprenticeships, but a lower proportion of learners from the most deprived parts of the country compared to Level 7 higher education.

Only 12% of Level 7 apprentices come from the most deprived quintile of the Index of Multiple Deprivation, against 17% of Level 7 higher education learners. Skills England notes the methodology based on home postcodes has limitations, since older apprentices in work tend to have moved away from areas where they grew up, but the comparison is now part of the official record.

Some 65% of Level 7 learners are aged 25 or over, against 47% across all apprenticeships. The age skew is most pronounced on the Senior Leader apprenticeship, where 99% of starts are aged 25 plus. Senior Leader and Accountancy or Taxation Professional alone account for nearly 70% of all Level 7 starts, with 7,140 and 9,200 starts respectively in 2023/24.

There are exceptions. The Solicitor apprenticeship has 55% of learners under 25, and Accountancy or Taxation Professional has 71% under 25, suggesting these routes function more as alternatives to traditional graduate entry than as senior career development.

Sector concerns flagged but not acted on

Stakeholders raised specific concerns about solicitors, accountancy, life sciences, healthcare, and taxation. The Specialist Community Public Health Nurse apprenticeship was singled out by health employers, alongside warnings that defunding would weaken the NHS “career escalator” used to compete with the private sector for talent.

In the legal profession, employers told Skills England the apprenticeship route is the best solution for widening the talent pool to include those from a diversity of backgrounds, despite being small relative to the traditional university route. Accountancy firms reported using the apprenticeship as a retraining route for graduates from humanities and other subject areas.

Defence sector employers took a different position, arguing not against defunding outright but for a modular approach with core and optional elements. They warned that removing funding would reduce the protected learning time employers currently provide for apprentices, and could be a detriment to the development of future leaders.

In the creative sector, stakeholders flagged the importance of Level 7 apprenticeships for SMEs, which make up 99% of the sector. Architecture, game programming and journalism were named as fields where defunding could widen skills gaps.

Mitigation options on the table

Skills England suggests several alternatives that fall short of retention. These include bursaries for particular routes or learner groups such as those from deprived communities or younger learners, inclusion in the Lifelong Learning Entitlement alongside employer contribution arrangements that already operate in industries such as insurance, and the development of shorter or more flexible provision under the Growth and Skills Offer.

The report also flags risks to employer investment. Finance employers reported they may look offshore for skills, particularly small businesses in rural areas already struggling to recruit accountants. Stakeholders also warned that public sector employers, regional employers and SMEs could be disproportionately affected. Some providers have indicated they will not offer Level 7 apprenticeships at all until the funding position is confirmed, raising concerns about regional availability.

Salary data cited in the report shows that one year after completion, the median salary for Level 7 accountancy and taxation apprentices is £42,000 and for Senior Leader apprentices £67,000, against a UK median of £31,000.

The full Skills England report and Annex 1 detailing the engagement breakdown are available on gov.uk.