Apprenticeships are vital to Scotland's economy, but they are also in need of an overhaul, writes Edinburgh College principal and CEO Audrey Cumberford.

It’s fifteen years since Scottish Apprenticeship Week first started – providing a well-needed spotlight on the importance of apprenticeships and the opportunities they provide for thousands of students up and down the country. But in addition to celebrating apprenticeships, we should also use this time to reflect upon our apprenticeship system and what we could be doing to improve it.

There are a number of features in the current system which make expanding apprenticeship numbers challenging and hinder attempts to make apprenticeships more responsive to evolving regional skills needs. For example, a large proportion of apprenticeships in the region are delivered through sub-contracting arrangements, adding complexity and posing questions about the value for money realised through this arrangement. 

The ongoing rollover contracting process, which has been in place since the pandemic, is also proving challenging in terms of diversification, growth and responding to the changing skills requirements. Whilst improvements have been made in terms of contract flexibility to move places between frameworks, adding new Modern Apprentice frameworks in response to employer demand during a contract year is much more challenging. 

Shifting demographics also mean that the challenge of meeting employer demand for apprenticeships in our region is likely to become more acute over the long term. The Edinburgh and South East Scotland region is expected to require 319,600 new workers over the next decade, but apprenticeship provision has not responded to this demographic reality. In fact, our region receives proportionally fewer apprenticeship starts than other parts of Scotland.

We know there is considerable demand for more apprenticeship starts across the country, especially in certain shortage skills areas and sectors. We owe it to the many businesses based in Scotland to do everything we can to meet their skills demands, but that would require change.

What we could be doing is taking a more regional approach to meeting this demand, forming regional consortia to lead the planning and delivery of apprenticeships within each economic area. The approach would draw on aspects of the Welsh apprenticeship model, which takes advantage of the established regional college infrastructure for all training and skills funding.

The existing web of subcontracting that underpins the delivery of apprenticeships could be significantly simplified, with the consortium acting as lead contractor and primary delivery partner for apprenticeships in the region.

This approach would take advantage of the fact that colleges are already key players in the national skills system, with a long track record of delivering excellence in technical and vocational education. On their direct contract, colleges disproportionately deliver more multi-year frameworks, are subject to more stringent reporting requirements and often have in place more established and developed quality processes. 

Colleges are already deeply integrated in regional skills planning and have a strong record of collaboration. This suggested change in approach could see the region’s colleges build on these strong foundations of collaboration, acting as a joined-up interface between regional skills planning and the delivery of apprenticeship provision in the region. This would enhance our approach to planning and ensure that provision is even more closely aligned with local skills needs and national economic priorities.

The Withers Report published in 2023 called for “recognition of the role of providers, particularly colleges, local authorities and businesses in shaping and leading this [the skills planning] process with minimal, light touch, involvement from national bodies and government.” This proposed approach would deliver on this recommendation, with colleges taking a leading role in apprenticeship delivery and ensuring apprenticeships are more deeply embedded within the wider post-16 education and skills landscape.

This approach could also help contribute towards a more sustainable funding model for colleges. Colleges would receive fairer funding for the apprenticeships they deliver than under the current model, where they often act as sub-contractors. It also offers the potential for colleges to develop subject specialisms and collectively reshape their apprenticeship provision in response to employer demand.

No one doubts the importance of modern apprenticeships in our economy today. However, if we don’t challenge ourselves to consider how we can improve the current state of affairs, then we are doing potential students up and down the country a huge disservice. Regional collaborations are just one approach I believe we could take to revolutionise how we deliver apprenticeships, and I know my college like many others stand ready to act should policy makers have the desire and resolve to act.

Audrey Cumberford is the Principal and Chief Executive of Edinburgh College

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