A national pre-apprenticeship route should be created in England to bridge the gap between leaving school and starting work, a landmark government review into Britain's youth jobs crisis is set to recommend. Alan Milburn, the former minister leading the review, will call for the new scheme to offer young people further education, training and work experience as part of a package of dramatic action to address a steep decline in youth apprenticeship starts.
The proposal is aimed at young people who leave school without a clear path into employment or training, a group that has grown as apprenticeship opportunities for under-25s have fallen sharply. The review is expected to warn that existing routes into work are failing a significant number of young people and that without a structured preparatory stage, many will remain outside both education and the labour market.
Under the plan, the national pre-apprenticeship route would sit between school and a full apprenticeship, giving participants the basic skills, workplace experience and confidence needed to take up training places. It is intended to widen the pipeline of young people who are ready to start an apprenticeship, particularly in areas where youth unemployment and economic inactivity are highest.
Milburn, who has previously led reviews on social mobility and child poverty, is expected to present the findings as a challenge to ministers to act at scale rather than through isolated pilot projects. The review's central argument is that the fall in youth apprenticeship starts is not a marginal problem but a structural one that requires a national response.
The recommendation comes amid wider concern about the number of young people not in education, employment or training, often referred to as Neets. The review is expected to argue that the transition from school to work has become too fragmented, with too few options for those who do not go straight into academic study or a job.
A pre-apprenticeship scheme would be designed to prepare young people for the demands of an apprenticeship, including basic literacy and numeracy, work discipline and sector-specific introductory training. Supporters of the approach argue that it can reduce dropout rates from apprenticeships by ensuring entrants are ready for the demands of both training and the workplace.
The review is also likely to emphasise the role of employers, colleges and local authorities in delivering the route, suggesting that a national framework would need to be matched by local partnerships. That reflects a broader debate about how to join up skills policy, welfare and economic development in regions that have lost traditional entry-level jobs.
Ministers are under pressure to respond to the review's findings, which are expected to feed into wider government thinking on skills, employment and young people's prospects. The proposal for a national pre-apprenticeship route would represent one of the most significant changes to the post-16 landscape in England in recent years if adopted.
The review's warning that dramatic action is needed reflects concern that current measures have not reversed the decline in youth apprenticeship starts. For young people, the stakes are immediate: without a clear route into training, many face long spells of unemployment or low-paid, insecure work that can shape their long-term earnings and career prospects.
Milburn's recommendations are expected to be closely watched by education providers, business groups and youth charities, all of whom have called for a more coherent offer for school leavers. Whether the government adopts the pre-apprenticeship route in full, or adapts it, will determine how far the review's central proposal moves from recommendation to national policy.