February 6-12 is National Apprenticeship Week, when we celebrate the value of vocational education, and the potentially exciting opportunities for new careers across many sectors.

However – new analysis conducted on behalf of the management transformation programme STAR® Manager shows that only 1.5% of the UK’s 4.4 million* active employers are giving apprentices this chance. According to the latest government data there were 68,270** employers with an apprentice on board.

On a positive note 572,210*** people are enrolled on apprenticeships covering 170**** industries. However, it is arguable that if more enterprises engaged with these programmes this could be one of the long sought-after catalysts for growth to stimulate the UK economy, which is forecast by the IMF to contract 0.6% this year, even worse than war-torn Russia at +0.3%.

Furthermore, there is evidence that the government’s Apprenticeship Levy is not achieving its full potential, with employers returning more than £600 million to the Treasury because insufficient places are being offered and / or taken up. That’s enough to fund a further 60,000 apprenticeships.

Laura Ashley-Timms, best-selling author and co-creator of the STAR® Manager programme, which has recently partnered with apprenticeships provider Qdos Training to integrate their programme into selected Level 3 and 5 management and leadership apprenticeships – said:

“Only organisations with a payroll of more than £3 million pay the Apprenticeship Levy. But the levy is used to fund apprenticeships for all employers. So SMEs are often able to have their apprenticeships subsided by as much as 95%. And not all large employers use funds in the levy, meaning any unused funds they’ve paid into the levy are shared among smaller firms. So if you run an SME, an apprenticeship worth £7,000 may cost your business as little as £350.

“One of the biggest myths about apprentices is that they’re solely for young people and are an alternative to higher and further education. Many organisations use apprenticeships to help staff of all levels retrain and gain skills in new areas. Apprenticeships are there to support people of all ages and to improve social mobility. There’s much work to do to help organisations and employees understand that regardless of their age, an apprenticeship could be the key to unlocking untapped potential.”