So this week sees more negative headlines regarding the apprenticeship reform programme.

Bridging the skills gap I was fortunate enough to join David Willett of the Open University (OU) on a radio day recently where we discussed the skills gap that exists in the UK economy and what this means for employers and workers alike.

The Apprenticeship Levy a Year On.

Apprenticeships provide many opportunities for people to work, however there is one group that, despite their skillset and knowledge, struggle to find a viable route to employment. The older generation – those over the age of 50 – are often tasked with a much trickier job of securing full-time work, with their age and social circumstances often hindering their efforts.

One of the biggest challenges currently facing the apprenticeship system is how to widen access and use them to provide pathways to skills and employment for all parts of society. Despite the rise in numbers of apprenticeship starts over the past decade, there are still certain groups seeing high levels of unemployment who could benefit from improved access to apprenticeships. For example, almost 50 per cent of young people in the UK with a disability are unemployed and we should see this as a cause for concern.