A little over 10 years ago, then-Prime Minister David Cameron declared his intention to make apprenticeships “the norm” for school leavers not wanting to go to university.

And just four years ago, successor Boris Johnson vowed he was going to offer a guarantee of an apprenticeship to every young person.

Since 2010, some 5.3 million people have learned the skills they need while doing the job and getting paid. As exam results are mailed out over the coming weeks, many more youngsters will be considering it as an option.

But over recent years the number of apprenticeships has plummeted.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) - an organisation representing HR professionals - recently reported the number of apprentices starting in small businesses in England has fallen by a staggering 49% since 2017.

It also highlighted a drop of some 20% in the average amount of money spent on training across the board.

All this since a move was made to ensure there was always a pool of money available for employers to dip into to fund future workers.

The Apprenticeship Levy sees big employers - who have a payroll in excess of £3 million - pay 0.5% of their total payroll into a fund they can use for training or be utilised by other companies.

But the Learning and Work Institute (L&W), an independent policy and research organisation says it is not working. It also found overall apprenticeship numbers have fallen by one-third, that only one in two apprentices completes their studies, and that many employers say they are unable to access the training they need.

Stephen Evans, its chief executive, said: “The way the Apprenticeship Levy was introduced has been counterproductive. Apprenticeship numbers are down with young people and more deprived areas hit hardest.

“We need a new Skills Levy that gives more flex for employers to invest in training that makes a difference but demands they increase apprenticeships for young people to unlock that flexibility.

“We can do that while protecting the apprenticeship budget for England in real terms. Coupled with a laser-like focus on improving quality and increasing poor apprenticeship completion rates, the new government has the chance to revitalise apprenticeships and training opportunities.”

But it’s not just accessing the funding which presents a challenge to many firms in the county. Some point to situations where schools are unresponsive to approaches to highlight non-university routes into work, colleges have out-of-date equipment and, in some cases, apprentices are having to travel hundreds of miles from Kent to attend their day-release courses.

“For us it is due to the complexity of trying to find people,” says David Woolger, managing director of Staplehurst-based specialist engineering firm Magnetic Shields, “but also, once you do find them, finding relevant courses.

“The push from government for the last 10-plus years has been on getting kids to university. As a result, they're not investing in the colleges for the on-the-job apprentice-type training.

“Our experience has been you send people out to college for a day a week, but that's not always relevant and they'd learn more from our skilled guys here.”

But while tempting to take the in-house route, it means those taking the course would emerge trained - but without the relevant qualification to prove it.

One sector which has felt the impact of a slowdown in apprenticeships is house-building. It is also a sector which is about to see another huge growth spurt after the new Labour government committed to a major nationwide house-building programme and the reintroduction of local targets.

“I've been in the industry 20 years,” says Will Walsh, Kent managing director of house-builders Barratt and David Wilson, “and I'd say it's been on a steady decline over that period - albeit as a business, we've invested a lot into schemes with universities and education establishments to improve that.

“New Labour really pushed to get everyone to go to university and the education system hasn't really ever adapted back to that broad skill base. It's still stuck in the drive to get as many to university as possible and not utilising people's talents.

“There's an element too, that the education system is not coming round to the vocational side of things - whether that's funding or mindset.

“But we're doing a lot as an industry to solve that. There's a massive skills shortage in the construction industry. We are in an OK place at the moment but that's because there's been a drop-off in production which means there's not such pressure on the labour force as there was.

“But if housebuilding increases there will be massive pressure again on skills.”

At which point two further problems arise. Firstly, with such a demand for skilled workers, there’s an increasing number of cases where apprentices will be poached by other companies. And, of course, the time delay.

Getting apprentices in the door today will not deliver fully-trained staff for several more years.

“Fixing the apprenticeship problem,” adds Will Walsh, “isn't going to solve the skills shortage now. Investing and growing that will solve the problem in five to 10 years.

“It works but it is down to the individual employers to make it work. The funding is there. You can get into a whole debate into how the education system works with vocational and practical skills, which would then lead to a greater number having transferable skills.

“But we need to get interest in the construction industry higher and that starts with getting into schools earlier.”

Nationwide, his company has affiliate programmes in place with around 1,000 schools - but not all employers find it so easy.

David Woolger of Magnetic Shields says his team have repeatedly approached schools about being able to come in and present to pupils - but find the door remains firmly closed.

He explains: “There seems to be this assumption it's good to keep the kids there until they're 18 doing subjects rather than losing them [to apprenticeships at 16] as that's how their funding works.

“Plus, there's a big push to get their kids into university. The idea that the kids don't need to go to university and do something else doesn’t seem to be one schools want to entertain.”

Colleges are acutely aware of the challenges - and have long been crying out for more funding to ensure they can provide the training employers expect and need.

Graham Razey is chief executive of the East Kent Colleges Group. He explains: “The government needs to spend time considering how to solve the challenges around apprenticeships.

“This is the perfect pathway for young people to develop their skills whilst earning money, but there needs to be a mechanism to encourage more businesses to take on apprentices. There are just too few opportunities offered for the many young people we see who’d like to take an apprenticeship pathway.”

Mark Hill is the founder of Rule 5 Solutions, a Canterbury-based consultancy established by the former senior executive at both Canterbury College and the East Kent Colleges' Partnership.

His company offers expertise and services on a range of issues, among them improving apprenticeships. He also helps organise the annual Kent and Medway Apprentice Graduation Ceremony at Rochester Cathedral which looks to celebrate the achievement of apprentices in a similar way to university graduation events and regularly attracts up to 200 freshly qualified people.

“Common issues impacting on apprenticeships include a lagged effect for many employers from Covid which disrupted apprenticeships and most placement-based training. There’s also been a reduction in Level 2 apprenticeship standards,” he said.

“When frameworks ended not all Level 2 apprenticeships gained a new standard to replace them and things like Level 2 Business were effectively switched off. That’s meant 16-19-year-olds do not access them as easily as before. This is an important factor as Level 2 routes did provide a first step into training and the workplace for young people so the course/qualification element was more a springboard to Level 3.”

Level 2 apprentices tend to be equivalent of GCSE level. Frameworks were phased out four years ago and replaced by what’s known as ‘apprenticeship standards’. Frameworks would see apprentices assessed throughout the programme with a technical-based qualification such as an NVQ or BTEC.

Apprentice standards, instead, puts more emphasis on the ‘learning’ aspect of apprenticeships, as opposed to ‘assessment’.

Adds Mark Hill: “The establishment of the new Standard model and the Levy meant that there was a substantial swing away from young people to adult apprentices often already employed.

“This has meant a huge increase in professional, leadership and management apprenticeships especially Level 4 to Level 6 [the equivalent of the first years of an undergraduate course]. Further education colleges will generally only deliver up to Level 5 and universities from Level 5 to Level 7 higher and degree apprenticeships.

“The university sector is a bigger player now than five years ago and the expansion in that space does mean things like nursing and a massive range of other routes are available but don’t always tend to be so well known.”

And not all universities will offer the right course - especially for specialised skills.

Explains David Woolger of Magnetic Shields which specialises in bespoke magnetic shielding: “We have someone who's doing an equivalent degree level apprenticeship - Level 6 - but it’s only available in limited places. So he has to go to Northampton. The Kent colleges don't do the Level 6 manufacturing and engineering course.”

Mark Hill continues with the list of issues: “The introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy which was meant to put training funds in the hands of employers has not had a totally successful uptake with most employers with a £3m payroll not utilising their full levy entitlement. So this ultimately goes back to the Treasury.

The ability to transfer levy funding to supply chain partners is too complicated for most employers

“The ability to transfer levy funding to supply chain partners is too complicated for most employers. Those with less than a £3m payroll [above which you must pay the levy] can still get apprenticeships 90% funded but again many are unaware of this.

“Generally, employers, especially during pressing economic times as we’re experiencing, do not necessarily want or have time to work out and manage using the levy system. So this is a barrier unless colleges or another provider can assist them in getting set up and going. There is not funding specifically for that.

“In addition, apprenticeships have very tight funding bands and this means some providers or apprenticeship options themselves are simply not viable or too high risk to run accepting even average levels of drop out.

“Degree apprenticeships can take three to four years which, again, at this time is a huge commitment with almost every employer I speak to re-shaping their organisations before we consider the learner commitment involved.”

The Labour manifesto - its pledges ahead of their resounding landslide victory in the general election - vowed to “turn the Tories’ failed Apprenticeships Levy into a Growth and Skills Levy so it can be used on the greater range of training”.

Whatever the future holds, the situation is unlikely to be solved overnight.

The whole system will need a shake-up - and few would argue better funding for further education colleges would go a long way to easing the situation, albeit as part of a holistic approach.

For the sake of many industries, sorting out the supply of a well-trained and qualified future workforce could be key to their future prosperity.