The announcement comes after figures showed that only 160 foundation apprenticeships started between August 2025 and April 2026. The scheme forms part of the government’s effort to reduce youth worklessness and expand technical training routes in England.
Foundation Apprenticeships Record Only 160 Starts in Eight Months
Foundation apprenticeships were announced in May 2025 as part of what the government described as a “radical” programme of skills reform. The posts are paid jobs for young adults, with training attached for a minimum of eight months.
According to The Guardian, figures show just 160 foundation apprenticeship starts between August 2025 and April 2026, against a government ambition of 30,000 starts by the end of this parliament. The same data recorded about 308,000 apprenticeship starts of all kinds in England during the academic year so far, up 9% on the same period a year earlier.
More than half of all apprenticeship starts were taken up by people aged over 25, while under-19s accounted for around one fifth. Analysis by the Fabian Society found that apprenticeship starts among under-25s remain about 40% below the level recorded a decade ago.
The thinktank argued that the route into technical education and apprenticeships has become difficult for young people and employers to navigate. Its polling of more than 2,000 employers found that 24% had good knowledge of T-levels and 16% had good knowledge of planned V-levels, compared with 83% for A-levels and 85% for GCSEs.
Joe Dromey, general secretary of the Fabian Society, said the government was right to prioritise skilled work for young people but added that “setting the ambition is not enough if the route into an apprenticeship does not work”.
Government Adds Employer Incentive as Youth Employment Plans Continue
The DWP said it is now changing the system to focus more on younger workers. According to the department, this includes creating 50,000 additional apprenticeships for young people and offering SMEs an incentive of up to £2,000 when they take on a 16- to 24-year-old apprentice.
The department pointed to its £2.5bn investment in youth employment, which it says will create nearly 1m jobs and training opportunities, including early work experience. Further changes are expected after the Milburn review, which is due to report this autumn.
The Fabian Society has proposed further reforms. According to The Guardian, the organisation recommended a £311m-a-year regional apprenticeship fund by the end of the decade, financed by devolving 5% of revenue from an expanded growth and skills levy.
It also proposed allowing employers to use growth and skills levy funds to cover half the wage cost of foundation apprenticeships, which the report said would save £4,700 for every young person taken on and could support 26,000 new apprenticeship starts a year.
A DWP spokesperson said the department was “determined to increase apprenticeship starts among young people and give them the skills they need to succeed”, adding that further reform would follow the Milburn review.
