The latest national apprenticeship achievement rates (NARTs) show that overall achievement has reached 65.4%, representing a 4.9 percentage point increase on the previous year and a significant recovery from 51.4% just a few years ago. While this falls just short of the government’s ambition of 67%, and with calls from Pat McFadden to exceed 70% in the coming years, the direction of travel is clearly positive.

However, the more important question is not whether achievement rates are improving but whether this improvement is sustainable. Insights from the Department of Education’s Apprenticeship Workforce Development (AWD) programme, delivered through a consortium of partners and facilitated by University Vocational Awards Council (UVAC), alongside wider sector discussions, suggest that while progress is evident, consistency remains a challenge. The programme supported by the Education Training Foundation was designed to strengthen quality and improve achievement rates (QAR), providing an opportunity to explore factors that underpin successful apprenticeship delivery across the sector.

This is further reinforced by wider sector discussions, where practitioners continue to highlight challenges in embedding apprenticeships effectively within workplace practice, particularly in relation to employer engagement and the integration of learning.

Achievement is Designed, Not Delivered

A key theme emerging from AWD programme and workforce development activity is the role of curriculum design in shaping learner outcomes. Practitioners consistently identified the relationship between curriculum sequencing, assessment mapping and retention, with growing recognition that poorly designed programmes contribute directly to withdrawal and delayed achievement.

Where providers have embedded structured sequencing and aligned knowledge, skills, and behaviours (KSBs) from the outset, and integrated assessment throughout delivery, improvements in engagement and progression are evident. However, implementation remains uneven across the sector.

This suggests that further gains in achievement will depend on strengthening capability in curriculum design, not simply sharing good practice but embedding it consistently.

Employer Engagement: A Persistent Constraint

Employer engagement continues to be one of the most significant factors influencing apprenticeship outcomes. Feedback from workforce development activity highlights that a substantial proportion of withdrawals are linked to limited employer support.

Despite this, employer engagement is still often concentrated at onboarding, rather than embedded throughout the apprenticeship journey. Where employers are actively involved in curriculum design, progress reviews, and off-the-job learning, learner outcomes improve. Where they are not, the risk of disengagement increases.

If achievement rates are to improve further, the sector must move from viewing employers as stakeholders to recognising them as active partners in delivery. This reflects a broader sector challenge, where apprenticeships are still not always fully embedded within organisational systems. In many cases, apprentices sit on the periphery of workforce development activity, rather than being fully integrated into how organisations support learning and progression.

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