EngineeringUK has released a new report on how the Scottish and English apprenticeship systems interact and the challenges faced by employers, against the backdrop of rising demand for engineering and technology skills across the UK.

The report, which draws on interviews with employers and a workshop with training providers and cross-government officials, highlights practical opportunities such as better mapping of pathways and flexibility of funding, as well as flagging ongoing challenges.

Employers delivering apprenticeships across Scotland and England report 'consistent challenges arising from differences in system design, funding rules and delivery structures,' EngineeringUK said.

'Participants highlighted that the cumulative effect of multiple points of divergence can create operational complexity and make coherent UK-wide apprenticeship pathways difficult to sustain,' the report states.

Key challenges identified by employers include:

  • navigating two systems with distinct qualification and funding models
  • limited availability of equivalent pathways across nations
  • cross-border funding rules and funding constraints
  • provider-market and delivery constraints
  • data and tracking difficulties
  • ongoing policy churn creating uncertainty.

Employers described a range of 'workarounds' such as fully funding the provision themselves or consolidating delivery in one nation. However, these approaches were widely seen as 'ineffective as system-level solutions'.

 Opportunities for improvement were also highlighted, however. These include:

  • clearer mapping of how occupations, skills, pathways and funding routes relate across the systems
  • employer-focused navigation tools to support engagement with both systems
  • funding flexibility within existing landscape
  • pragmatic solutions for small cohort pathways
  • shared skills language or UK ‘layer'
  • provider-market approaches to support cross-border demand

The report comes against a background of skills reform in both nations.

In Scotland, the Government is consolidating the post-school skills system, including transferring responsibility for apprenticeship delivery from Skills Development Scotland (SDS) to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). Work is also underway to review public funding for contributions for apprenticeships and to redesign elements of skills planning and governance.

In England, apprenticeship policy has shifted from the Department for Education (DfE) to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), alongside Skills England. Further changes include reform through the Growth & Skills Levy, the introduction of apprenticeship units and wider work on system simplification and end-point assessment.

EngineeringUK is a not-for-profit body. It is the working name of The Engineering and Technology Board.