Commitment, diversity, passion and impact: My trip to the Westminster ‘Meet the Apprentice Fair’

As National Apprenticeship Week in England drew to a close last week, the Twitter hashtag #NAW2020 was trending aplenty, with hundreds of employers, apprentices and providers sharing their inspirational stories. The aim was to change perceptions about apprenticeships, and help would-be apprentices, parents and employers to ‘Look Beyond’ and recognise the transformational impact of apprenticeships to the individual, business and the wider economy.

Those messages were well and truly front and centre during the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Apprenticeships ‘Meet the Apprentice Fair’. The Open University (OU) was invited to take part and two fantastic degree apprentices talked to MPs and Peers in the packed (and quite sweaty!) Attlee Suite. Both had taken the opportunity to enrol on OU apprenticeships through their employer and are studying alongside their day-to-day roles. It was clear through spending the day with them that their apprenticeships had changed their lives and opened up new opportunities for them professionally and academically.

What I loved about the Fair is that we met so many new MPs from across the political spectrum and their energy and passion for apprenticeships created a real buzz. In this crucial Parliament for skills, lifelong learning and apprenticeship policy, I felt there were four themes which really came across from all the attendees present: passion, diversity, commitment and impact.

Let me start with commitment. Every event I attended talked of the UK Government’s commitment to apprenticeships in England. Commitment to the levy, commitment to all Levels, commitment to it working better for employers. I appreciate that there is an expansive debate at the moment about the funding and the purpose of the levy in England (and the changes that need to be made to make it work better for SMEs, for example), but I think everyone’s wholesale commitment to the transformational impact of apprenticeships is undisputed. I was heartened to hear Keith Smith from the ESFA reaffirm in his speech that the apprenticeship levy helps businesses be competitive through upskilling and reskilling their workforce, and that they want to work to help give employers more confidence in the system. It was also heartening to hear other MPs from across the House echo similar sentiments in their speeches, including Education Select Committee Chair Rob Halfon MP who told attendees that his two favourite words in the English language were ‘degree apprenticeships’. 

Looking around the room during those speeches, what struck me about the event was the diversity of apprentices of different ages, different backgrounds and different ethnicities. The two incredible apprentices who showcased on behalf of the OU were Anthony and Georgia. Both have very different stories. Georgia is in her third year of her Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship, working for an SME in Brighton. She was able to share with MPs how her apprenticeship has transformed her confidence, and that she wouldn’t have got a degree through a traditional University route. She recounted to one MP about how she was able to apply her learning from day one and she’s able to make a tangible impact on the small business she works for.

Equally, Anthony’s story offers a different perspective. Anthony has worked as a healthcare assistant for 11 years at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Colleagues at the Trust noticed Anthony’s potential and talent and encouraged him to apply for the Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship – giving him the opportunity to gain a degree and develop his career. He came to the Degree Apprenticeship with a Level 2 qualification and Anthony told MPs that the OU supported him in gaining his Functional Skills. I was also able to share with MPs that 13% of OU apprentices hold their highest qualification at Level 2 or below, just like Anthony.

There was also a lot of passion about the positive impact on the learners and the businesses. But what I am most heartened by is the passion I heard and felt for apprenticeships from the MPs and Peers. Many of the new MPs stayed to talk to Anthony and Georgia for a significant period of time, some having been apprentices themselves. One MP employs 10 apprentices in his small business. We talked of opportunity, progression, and unleashing opportunity and how MPs can do more in their constituencies to better promote apprenticeships through using the APPG on Apprenticeships new toolkit. We know that talent is everywhere, opportunity is not, and so apprenticeships are a key part of the FE-HE-Skills eco-system to help unlock those opportunities, wherever you live in England.

By the end of the day, those who attended could clearly see one final theme – impact. Apprenticeships are having tangible impacts on individual apprentices such as Georgia and Anthony and on the organisations that employ them. These impacts are deep and widespread. Apprenticeships help diversify the workforce. Apprenticeships bring in new talent. Apprenticeships also help organisations fill crucial skills gaps by helping them better utilise the concept of lifelong learning to upskill and reskill staff.

The impact of apprenticeships was explored further in the OU’s National Apprenticeship Week webinar, which is now available on demand. Apprenticeships align with the OU’s mission of opening up education to all and in England, we now offer programmes in nursing, policing, social work, digital, management and leadership. Digital programmes are also available in Scotland and Wales. The webinar provided a great opportunity to share how apprenticeships deliver impact – to the learner, the business and to the wider UK economy.

So, all in all, it wasn’t a bad day in the office and spirits were high afterwards! Special thanks goes to Georgia and Anthony’s employers for accommodating a day out of the Clinic/out of the office and for being so supportive. Thanks also to Lord Young of Norwood Green (a Government Apprenticeship Ambassador) who made it even more worth our while by providing a wonderful tour of the Houses of Parliament for the apprentices and getting us tickets to sit into a Commons Debate beforehand.