Stewart McKinlay, Skills Director at National Manufacturing Institute Scotland’s Manufacturing Skills Academy, looks at whether micro-apprenticeships could be another answer to the UK manufacturing sector’s skills gap.
The UK’s skills gap has been a perennial challenge. Across all industries, an average of around one-quarter (24%) of vacancies are proving difficult to fill, because candidates do not have the relevant qualifications, experience, or skills, according to research from Make UK. The challenge in the manufacturing sector is particularly pronounced, with more than one-third of vacancies, 36%, falling into this category – up from 22% five years prior.
A range of programmes have been initiated in recent years and there has been some positive progress. During 2022/23 there were some 752,000 apprentices in England – the highest number post-pandemic, albeit down on a peak of 909,000 during 2016/17. In Scotland, there have been more than 25,000 Modern Apprenticeship starts in the last few years, an increasing number on STEM frameworks, and last year’s 1,700 registrations in engineering Modern Apprenticeships is the highest figure in decades.
The Prime Minister’s recently announced changes to apprenticeships in England should help further – particularly the introduction of ‘foundation apprenticeships’. But the size of the skills challenges facing the engineering and manufacturing sectors across the UK will likely prompt more action. The latest available figures from the UK Government’s Employer Skills Survey showed increases across its main headline findings related to skills shortages compared to 2017, and a decrease in the number of establishments funding or arranging training for their employees.
There is a clear structural challenge to address, and it doesn’t only affect the UK – the story is similar across Europe and other OECD nations. So new, universally translatable ways of stimulating investment in skills, and encouraging individuals to commit to training programmes, need to be found if we are going to address this issue.
While more existing engineering and manufacturing apprenticeships are required, a fairly new concept that has emerged which could go some way towards addressing the structural challenges, is the idea of ‘micro-apprenticeships’. These are shorter apprenticeship skills programmes, often up to one year, focussed on a particular area – for example, basic fitting or welding – that equips individuals with the experience and competence they need to perform a given task or less complicated role.
For the people completing micro-apprenticeships, it gives them a level of exposure to the workplace and the type of job they would be undertaking – whether they are in the earliest stages of their career, looking to upskill, or retrain in other areas. This lays a foundation for them to build upon if they want to progress onto a full apprenticeship and a clear articulation route to higher-level frameworks has to be a mandatory element of any micro-apprenticeship framework.
Another potential benefit is that micro-apprenticeships would also save public sector funding by reducing the number of candidates who drop out of traditional apprenticeships – even the best often see attrition levels in double-digit percentages.
At the same time, micro-apprenticeships give employers quicker and more flexible access to a pool of skilled workers, with a level of assurance over their competence in that specialism. They can help to address some of the labour market challenges that are here to stay by creating a wider talent pipeline, reducing risk, and making it easier for SMEs to take on staff and invest in skills.
We are already beginning to see the principles of micro-apprenticeships being applied by major employers in the UK – but not many people are using the word yet. Formalising and recognising this valuable learning tool could be a significant and positive contribution towards solving the longstanding challenges we have around skills in this country, while helping manufacturers to bring a new generation of talent into the industry.
About the author:
Stewart McKinlay is the Skills Director at National Manufacturing Institute Scotland’s Manufacturing Skills Academy
Before becoming Skills Director, Stewart McKinlay joined NMIS as Head of Skills Programme in 2020 for the Manufacturing Skills Academy. Prior to this, he was Associate Director with the Engineering Academy at the University of Strathclyde with a remit of industrial engagement. Here, he was one of a small team that developed the Engineering Graduate Apprenticeship programme. Stewart previously worked with the Sector Skills Council and currently sits on both the Engineering Skills Leadership Group and the Equate Scotland Steering Board.
NMIS is operated by the University of Strathclyde and part of the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult.
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