The Department for Education has completed the handover of the task of promoting apprenticeships and T levels to schools, colleges and parents to a private firm, The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC), which will now work with apprenticeship providers and others to expand the take-up of vocational training.

CEC will now run the £3.2 million Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) programme, with the government stating that CEC is the most suitable partner to do this as it has a widespread network of careers hubs, with more than nine out of ten schools being members of them.

The ASK scheme started nine years ago and has had contacts or interaction with over four million students to advise them on the options apprenticeships can offer. This includes being in contact with more than 625,000 students in the last year.

Chief executive of CEC Oli de Botton said: “We know how important it is to ensure young people receive meaningful, relevant and inspiring information about apprenticeships and other technical pathways.”

He added: “These routes can be life-changing – and it is our job to help young people access them.” 

While the Department for Education is farming out this particular programme to bolster the take-up of apprenticeships, this does not mean that the new government is set to take a hands-off approach when it comes to the overall question of apprenticeships, having promised several reforms.

The Labour Party manifesto said it would change the “confusing” system in place for further and higher education, accusing the Conservatives of “policy churn” that has led to “plummeting” apprenticeship take-up rates.

It pledged to offer education, training or an apprenticeship to all 18-21-year-olds, as well as replacing the “broken” Apprenticeship Skills Levy with a new flexible Growth and Skills Levy. In addition, a new organisation called Skills England will be established to ensure the workforce has the skills needed for the future.