Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) may face greater barriers to hiring apprentices than larger businesses. These include not understanding where to begin in the hiring process, struggling with the perceived complexities of the apprenticeship landscape, and a lack of capacity to hire and train apprentices.

The Department for Education’s (DfE’s) Apprenticeship SME Brokerage Pathfinder aims to overcome these barriers by commissioning independent brokers to support SMEs in hiring apprentices. The brokers provide SMEs with information on apprenticeships and their benefits, help with setting up Apprenticeship Service accounts, assist in choosing an appropriate Apprenticeship Standard and training provider, and recruit candidates for the role.

The Pathfinder operates in four areas: Greater Manchester and East Lancashire, Merseyside and Northwest Lancashire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire, and the North East. Within the Pathfinder, four sectors are of interest, deemed a priority due to recent declines in apprenticeship starts: construction, manufacturing, adult social care, and digital.

Alma Economics was commissioned to conduct an early evaluation of the Apprenticeship SME Brokerage Pathfinder, providing insights into the delivery of the Pathfinder and enabling an understanding of why participation by SMEs has been lower than anticipated.

As part of the early evaluation, we conducted:

• A desk-based review of policy documents and Pathfinder monitoring data,

• Interviews with key stakeholders (brokers, training providers, and SMEs), covering regional and sectoral challenges and barriers, as well as their experience with engagement, onboarding, and apprenticeship starts, and

• A survey of SMEs in relevant geographic areas to explore their interest in the type of support offered within the Pathfinder.

➥ You can find all our findings and recommendations in the research report, here.