A government overhaul of apprenticeships and youth employment support should create tens of thousands of training and work experience opportunities, with major implications for skills pipelines in UK measurement, testing and engineering.
Ministers have announced that an expansion of the apprenticeship scheme is expected to benefit 50,000 young people, as part of a wider push to reduce youth unemployment and reposition technical routes into high‑skilled work. The programme is intended to reverse a near 40% decline in the number of young people starting apprenticeships over the past decade, a trend that has contributed to persistent skills gaps in advanced manufacturing, metrology and test engineering.
Skills Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith said the government was removing the 5% employer co‑investment on apprenticeships for under‑25s, effectively fully funding training costs for young people in small and medium‑sized businesses. That change is likely to be particularly significant for independent test laboratories, calibration providers and smaller engineering firms, where levy rules and tight margins have often limited appetite to take on apprentices.
New apprenticeship routes are being created in areas including AI and engineering, with some programmes developed in partnership with the defence sector. For the measurement and testing community, the emphasis on engineering and defence could support demand for skills in dimensional metrology, calibration, materials testing, non‑destructive testing and quality assurance, as well as data‑driven measurement and AI‑assisted inspection.
Baroness Smith said the reforms were a “determined shift” of apprenticeship training back towards young people, with a particular focus on routes that lead to high‑skilled, better paid technical roles. She also confirmed that the system will be reshaped to offer more flexible short courses for adults, which could provide existing technicians and lab staff with structured upskilling in areas such as advanced instrumentation, uncertainty analysis or digital test management.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has earmarked £725 million over three years to support the apprenticeship expansion and associated training reforms. From spring next year, short courses will be offered alongside full apprenticeship standards, potentially giving employers more options to align training with rapidly evolving technologies in measurement, automation and AI‑enabled testing.
We hope these reforms will translate into high‑quality technical programmes, stable funding and practical support for employers in the measurement and testing industry.
