Insights from our recent Business Outlook Tracker show that apprenticeships are now a core element of workforce planning for a majority of mid-size organisations. Three‑quarters of mid‑sized businesses say apprenticeships are important to their workforce strategy, with a third consider them critical for closing skills gaps. At the same time, employers are facing barriers that make it harder to expand provision: limited training capacity, funding constraints, administrative complexity and uncertainty around government policy. These challenges are real, but so is the opportunity.
Increasingly, employers themselves are becoming the ambassadors for apprenticeships. Citing their value as a practical way to build capability in areas they know are essential for the future: digital and AI skills, sustainability, technical expertise, soft skills and the leadership needed to support a future-ready workforce.
But if we are serious about building the skills the UK will need in five years’ time, we cannot rely solely on training new entrants. Employers will need to ensure that people already in the workforce – at every age and stage – are also upskilled and can access structured, meaningful development that helps them adapt to the changes already shaping our economy. Apprenticeships play a crucial part in this. They create space not only to learn, but to practice, reflect and grow within a healthy working environment.
This is why demand for higher‑level apprenticeships continues to rise. Employers recognise the need for advanced technical, digital, AI and leadership skills, and they want pathways that support both progression and retention. These programmes are not just about capability; they are about confidence, helping people step into new challenges with the knowledge and skills they need to support their business.
Apprenticeships are also a powerful driver of social mobility. They offer a route into careers that may otherwise feel out of reach, enabling people to earn while they learn and to build networks and experience that create long‑term opportunity. And, importantly, this applies equally to early‑career learners and those changing direction later in life. The pace of change, particularly when we consider areas like digitalisation or AI, makes this more timely than ever.
For more than a decade, our Future Skills team has been working with organisations, trailblazer groups and government partners to help shape and strengthen the national skills agenda. Apprenticeships are a core part of that work. We have seen first-hand how powerful they can be for building capability, improving social mobility and helping businesses plan and develop the skills they need for the future.
Ranked 11th in the 2025 Social Mobility Employer Index and recognised by the Department for Education as a Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer in England, Grant Thornton understands the transformative impact that accessible, high‑quality skills pathways have on people, organisations and wider society. Our role is not simply to advocate for apprenticeships, but to help design, implement and embed them in ways that genuinely drive progress.
Through our People Advisory practice, we support a spectrum of businesses to develop strategic workforce plans, identify future skills requirements and build development pathways that enable people to grow. Apprenticeships form a crucial element of this ecosystem by driving deep technical capability, strengthening leadership and building the adaptability that modern workplaces demand.
The video below provides first-hand accounts from individuals whose professional journeys have been strengthened through apprenticeship and coaching support. Together, these stories tell a consistent story: apprenticeships work. And that, ultimately, is why we remain so committed to them.
Despite recent reforms, The Apprenticeship Levy remains one of the most effective ways for organisations to build the skills they need for long‑term success – whether that’s upskilling existing teams or developing new talent.
Our Talent Solutions and Future Skills team works with organisations to understand their ambitions and then design programmes that deliver real, practical development. Crucially, many of these programmes can be funded through the Levy, often fully or largely covered, which makes them an efficient and sustainable way to build capability.
To date, we have supported thousands of organisations in doing exactly that: helping people gain recognised qualifications and develop skills that make a real difference.
