Quality mark to highlight top apprenticeship employers

A new leader board and quality mark for apprenticeship employers will be created to recognise and promote outstanding apprentice employers.

The new rankings will be independently judged and published annually and are expected to rate the top 100 large apprentice employers as well as the top 50 SMEs.

The new quality mark for apprenticeships will be developed in partnership with Community Interest Company ‘Investors in People’ to shine a light on high-quality apprentice employers.

The new leader board will recognise and promote outstanding apprentice employers, encourage employers to improve the quality of their apprentice offer, and help potential apprentices and parents to easily identify opportunities with high performing employers. The quality mark will be a symbol for accredited employers to display and will serve as an assurance of excellence.

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said: "We’ve transformed apprenticeships in this country. But that wouldn’t have been possible without the employers who have been at the forefront of developing new high- quality apprenticeship opportunities that provide great training, and the employers who have embraced the huge benefits apprenticeships are bringing to their workplaces.

"This National Apprenticeship Week, I want to celebrate their contribution - giving thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to learn new skills and secure an exciting career."

Almost 164,000 people started on one of the new higher quality apprenticeship standards in 2017/18, a more than six-fold increase on the previous year.