Welcome to FE Soundbite Edition 804: 5th July 2025 | Apprenticeship Lessons from Ireland. This week in Gavin's Reflective he deep dives into International apprenticeship systems. When nearly 40% of English apprentices don't complete their courses and 75,000 received zero off-the-job training in 2023, it's time to learn from countries getting it right. So what are Ireland, Denmark, and Germany doing differently and why we should be paying attention?

This is the weekly e-newsletter and e-journal by FE News: ISSN 2732-4095. We know life is busy, so here's a snapshot of the latest announcements and epic thought leadership articles from sector influencers and thought leaders across FE and Skills this week on FE News.

Gavin’s Reflective Perspective

So I hope you enjoy FE Soundbite this week.

International Lessons on Apprenticeships

My fav article this week was from  Dr Rebecca Montacute, Head of Research and Policy at the Sutton Trust and her article: England’s Apprenticeship Provision Needs Urgent Reform To Drive Economic Growth and Deliver On Social Mobility So I am going to mix up my Gavin's Reflective this week and have a bt of a deep dive on this article and report, as I think it is very interesting to learn lessons from our peer nations, see what they are doing well and how to improve things like Apprenticeship drop our rate in England and also improve the 'off the job' (OTJ) training, we want Excellence in our Apprentices, not just competence.

Striving for Excellence, not just competent Apprentices

Rebecca was unpacking the recent 'A World of Difference' Report. I loved it so much, I am going to deep dive it a bit more and share some of my thoughts and questions on this.

Apprenticeship Drop Out Rate and Off The Job Lessons

Rebecca highlighted that in England, nearly 40% of apprentices fail to complete their course! Rebecca highlighted, that although English Apprenticeship quality is on the whole high... that off-the-job training for Apprentices in England, the requirements are loose, complex and widely ignored. In principle, apprentices in England should receive around 6 hours of OTJ training per week. According to the Sutton Trust, in 2023, around 300,000 apprentices received less than their training entitlement, and nearly 75,000 received no training at all.

In 2023 75,000 Apprentices Received No Off The Job Training At All.

In England, there is a heavy reliance on online training for apprenticeships. In comparison, internationally OTJ training usually involves release on a daily or longer basis to attend college, allowing apprentices to take part in valuable face-to-face training.

In Denmark, school time is about 20% of the programme; in Germany at least 12 hours a week are spent in the vocational school; and in Ireland there are 40 weeks of off-the-job education and training in four-year trade apprenticeships.

This is really interesting, the big elephant in the room is often that Apprentices in England (I have chatted with many an Apprentice, and had quite a few myself) and if you ever speak to them, you will often find that Apprentices feedback that their 'off the job' time isn't as stretching or interesting as their day to day role in their day job. When in reality, it should be the opposite, off the job should be about learning new ways of working, new skills, new theories and working with different Apprentices to see their different working practices.

OTJ Employer Incentives and What Happens Internationally

I also found Rebecca's research on international policy on 'off the job' training to be really interesting and are there lessons here for the upcoming Growth and Skills Levy (we are still waiting for confirmation of what this is after a year of Labour being in power)!

In France, the Netherlands and Austria employers receive financial incentives as well as being free from any requirement to contribute to off-the-job training costs. Even in Northern Ireland and Wales the Government pays 100% of off-the-job training costs for apprentices. Definitely food for thought, especially when the Growth and Skills Levy is still being worked out!

I'd highly recommend checking out Rebecca's article!

Lessons from Ireland on Pre-Apprenticeship Programmes and Foundation Apprenticeships

England doesn’t offer large pre-apprenticeship systems or modified apprenticeship programmes designed to support those who have not performed 'academically well' at school. However, Ireland runs a 15-week Access to Apprenticeships programme, providing disadvantaged young people with the chance to sample apprenticeships in a range of sectors. Ireland also provides access to wider support including bursaries. Which is very interesting, especially as we now have Apprenticeship funding 16-21 in England. Getting the options and routes right are key.

... and this is where I segway from one Rebecca to another (Rebecca Hayes from MH&A) who has wrote a cracking article on Foundation Apprenticeships: The Ghost Of Provisions Past: Why Foundation Apprenticeships Need More Than Good Intentions.

Employment Rights Bill Road Map launched - more on Maternity, Bereavement, Paternity, Trade Union legislation

Another big announcement this week was the Employment Rights Bill, the road map to roll out of legislation was shared by the Government this week. So this is massively important to check out to see more on paternity, maternity, trade unions, and people taking industrial action, to menopause to sexual harassment responsibilities for employers etc. It is a massive roadmap and essential for anyone in leadership to have an idea of the different role out stages.

...and Who Are The Top Apprenticeship Employers in England?

The Department for Education has partnered with RateMyApprenticeship to deliver the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2025 rankings. Check out who are the top 10 Large employers and the Top 5 SMEs.

Epic Exclusives Thought Leadership Articles

Our Top 3 Thought Leadership Articles This Week

Firstly, Preparing for Change: What Ofqual regulated EPAOs Need to Know About Assessment Strategies By Jacqui Molkenthin from JEML Consulting, Sarah Sutcliffe and Jackie Stark from ProAssess

Secondly, The Ghost Of Provisions Past: Why Foundation Apprenticeships Need More Than Good Intentions By Rebecca Hayes, Senior Consultant at MH&A

Finally, Strategic Teaching, Learning and Cultural Roadmap: From Compliance to Culture in Further Education By Gavin Lumsden, Consultant, Teacher-Educator & Author

This week, we also had some other Epic Exclusives!

Ministers Unite to Launch Northern Ireland’s Careers Action Plan 2025 -2028 By Associate Professor Dr. Deirdre Hughes OBE, Director dmh associates and CareerChat (UK)

Skills England: An Opportunity to Fix the UK’s Skills Puzzle By Lizzie Crowley, Senior Skills Adviser at the CIPD

England’s Apprenticeship Provision Needs Urgent Reform To Drive Economic Growth and Deliver On Social Mobility By Dr Rebecca Montacute, Head of Research and Policy at the Sutton Trust

What’s New in the World of FE?

Announcements

Employment Rights Bill Legislation Roadmap Published – Sector Reaction By Department for Business and Trade

Top Apprenticeship Employers Celebrated for 2025 By DfE and RateMyApprenticeship

Reports

Skills Shortages Threaten 1.5m New Homes Target As 76% Of Construction Businesses Struggle To Hire By City & Guilds

EPI: Significant Disparities In GCSE Resit Success Require Targeted Reforms To Post-16 System By Education Policy Institute (EPI)

New Jisc Report Identifies Digital Challenges In Delivering Transnational Education By Jisc

NCFE's Aspiration Awards

70 –year-old college administrator wins national education award

Aspiring midwife with over 100 placement hours claims national education award

Leeds City College’s Public Service Department named ‘Centre of the Year’ at national education awards

Healthcare educator honoured with national award for outstanding achievement

Voices

AI or Die? Steven George-Hilley of Centropy PR Discusses Artificial Intelligence’s Impact On The Graduate Jobs Market By Steven George-Hilley is co-founder of Centropy PR, a global tech communications firm with offices in San Diego and London

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Are you going to join us on the 30th October in Manchester, for the Green Skills, Green Mindset Micro Collective. This is in partnership with our friends at Education and Training Foundation. We've announced the chairs, Toby Perkins MP is coming to speak, he's Chair of the Environmental Audit Select Committee, and as some of you can remember, he used to be Shadow Skills Minister. We also have a cool venue. Check it out and join us on the 30th to help shape the Green Mindset in the sector and help create the report.

We hope you enjoy FE Soundbite this week. Stay curious, keep innovating, and let's shake up the world of FE together – catch you next week!

By Danny O’Meara, Digital Project Manager, FE News

By Gavin O’Meara, CEO and Founder, FE News and FE Careers