What National Apprenticeship Week 2026 should prompt us to ask

As National Apprenticeship Week 2026 approaches, attention once again turns to the role of technical and vocational education in supporting opportunity, productivity and growth. However, the conversation takes place against a shifting policy backdrop. The Government’s Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper signals not simply a continuation of reform, but a recalibration of how Higher Technical Education (including higher technical qualifications (HTQs) and apprenticeships) is expected to operate within a more devolved, employer-responsive skills system.

For universities delivering apprenticeships and other higher technical provision, the implications are significant.

From national frameworks to regional systems

One of the clearest themes emerging from recent policy is the expectation that skills systems will be shaped and stewarded at a regional level. There has been a material policy shift in how higher education (HE) is positioned within Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs). Originally, LSIPs were designed primarily around FE and employer-led technical skills, with HE not formally embedded in the system. HE engagement was optional, inconsistent and often peripheral.

More recently, Skills England’s direction of travel is emerging in several regions, with HE now being more explicitly recognised as part of LSIP delivery and influence, particularly where higher technical (L4-5), higher apprenticeships (L4-7), degree apprenticeships (L6-7 and progression pathways are critical to regional growth sectors. Skills policy is no longer primarily shaped through national HE mechanisms alone (e.g. Office for Students (OfS), national funding levers). Instead, influence increasingly sits at regional level via: LSIPs, employer representative bodies (ERBs) and Mayoral/Strategic Authorities.

Universities can no longer rely solely on national reputation, regulatory alignment or employer partnerships that operate at scale. There is now a clear expectation that higher education providers (HEPs) engage locally, build relationships with regional partners and demonstrate how their provision supports place-based economic priorities.This is particularly significant where LSIPs shape employer demand signals, regional funding priorities and political narratives about “what counts” as skills.

UVAC’s recent research and mapping of regional authority sector priorities against the location and provision of its members highlights both opportunity and complexity. In many regions, universities are already delivering high-quality apprenticeships and HTQs aligned to local growth sectors such as digital, health, advanced manufacturing, construction and the green economy. What is changing is the expectation of visibility, responsiveness and partnership.

HEPs that operate across multiple locations, multiple combined authorities and/or offer national provision are now facing a distinct and growing set of challenges as devolution, LSIPs and sector-led funding matures. Many of these challenges are not yet fully articulated in policy debate, but they are becoming increasingly evident through our conversations with members who are engaged in multi-regional activities. Those that operate across several regions may find that recent policy will change how institutions work, such as:

• Some programmes are actively encouraged in one area and deprioritised in another;
• Responding to funding and support mechanisms that can vary sharply by geography;
• Having to manage reduced resources due to restructuring;
• Addressing regional narratives that do not align with national labour market demand.

National and international employers often recruit on a functional or occupational basis, not a regional one. Universities delivering publicly funded provision can be caught between regional priority sectors and employer demand that is cross-regional or national in scope. This creates tension between place-based policy and occupation/professional based education.

Employers as co-architects, not just customers

Employer engagement has long been a defining feature of apprenticeships. What is now emerging more clearly is a move beyond apprenticeships towards co-ownership of skills systems. This includes the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) with the move towards more stackable skills based on learning opportunities which requires continuous and direct employer engagement from providers. Employers are increasingly expected to shape occupational demand, influence curriculum relevance and work with providers to address productivity and workforce challenges.

For higher education, this places renewed emphasis on:

• Strategic employer partnerships rather than isolated programme-level engagement;
• Clarity about how apprenticeships, HTQs and stackable skills short courses support regional economic priorities;
• The ability to evidence impact, progression and return on investment for employers.

National Apprenticeship Week 2026 offers an important moment to reflect not only on participation and success stories, but on whether current models of engagement are sufficient for what is now being asked of providers.

Higher technical progression and routes into the professions

The White Paper reinforces the importance of progression pathways that do not force learners into binary choices between academic and technical routes. Degree and higher apprenticeships, higher technical qualifications and modular short course provision are all positioned as mechanisms to widen access, support lifelong learning and respond to labour market change.

For universities and other HEPs, this reinforces a dual role: safeguarding academic standards and progression, while acting as anchor institutions for place-based growth and the development of core, transferable skills that cut across sectors and regions. Alongside their response to local economic priorities, HEPs play a critical role in building capabilities such as problem solving, communication, leadership and digital skills, reflected in the recently refreshed UK Standard Skills Classification under Skills England. The updates to this framework highlights the enduring value of these skills across the labour market and authentic work based learning.

Many HEPs have embedded wider engagement with professional bodies for both local, regional and national delivery across all levels. UVAC’s work with its members continues to show how HEPs are uniquely placed to bridge this space, offering credible progression from Levels 4 and 5 through to degree and post graduate-study, while maintaining strong employer relevance.

Reflecting on the White Paper, Dr Mandy Crawford-Lee, Chief Executive of UVAC, has highlighted that sustaining a focus on higher-level technical and vocational provision will be critical, not only for individuals at the start of their careers, but for upskilling the existing workforce in areas of strategic importance.

National Apprenticeship Week 2026: Strategic questions for the sector

As the sector marks National Apprenticeship Week, there is an opportunity to move the conversation beyond advocacy towards strategic reflection. Key questions include:

• How well are higher technical qualifications aligned to regional growth strategies and LSIPs?
• Are universities/HEPs sufficiently connected into regional decision-making structures?
• How effectively are employers being supported to engage at a system level, not just as levy spenders?
• What evidence do we have of progression, productivity and impact?

These are not abstract policy questions. They go to the heart of how apprenticeships, HTQs and other short skills based courses will be sustained and strengthened in a more devolved post-16 landscape.

The role of UVAC

UVAC is well placed to support its members through this period of transition. We bring together policy insight, regional intelligence and employer perspectives to inform debate and practice. As the system evolves, there are clear opportunities for universities and HEPs to assert their role as strategic partners in regional skills ecosystems and drivers of policy change.

In response to emerging opportunities and challenges, UVAC will be running a series of employer-focused sessions throughout 2026, providing a structured forum for employers and UVAC members to explore shared challenges, identify opportunities and shape more coherent approaches to higher-level technical skills across regions. We will also do this in conjunction with UVAC’S well established Knowledge Networks that bring members and employers together to deep dive into sector topics and learn from each other.

National Apprenticeship Week 2026 should be seen not only as a celebration of success, but as a moment to take stock of where higher technical education sits within a changing national and regional picture and how universities can continue to lead.

Sharon Walpole

UVAC Associate – Regional & National Policy

UVAC Higher Education Tripartite Professionals Network

UVAC convenes a dedicated Higher Education Tripartite Professionals Network, bringing together those working at the interface between universities, employers and apprentices. The network provides a space for practitioners and leaders involved with progress reviews, coaching and mentoring, learner support and compliance to share practice, build capability and strengthen professional connections.

If you are interested in exploring these issues in more depth, the network offers a practical opportunity to learn from peers and contribute to a growing community of practice across the sector.

Register to join the next meeting 2-4pm Tuesday, 20th January 2026.