Apprenticeships: Great providers change lives, poor providers must not define them

Robert Richardson | 1st October 2026 | Trade Associations
Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images
Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

'Almost seven years ago, I had one of the worst days of my career as a Hotel General Manager,' writes the CEO of the Institute of Hospitality, as he discusses his rollercoaster experience with an apprenticeship provider

Prime Minister Andy Burnham recently said: “Either we invest in our young people, or we pay for failure through the benefits system. Truthfully, we can’t afford to do both. My choice is to invest in them.” He is right about the importance of investment. But investment in young people must also recognise that there is no single route to success. For many, an academic pathway is absolutely the right one. For many others, it is not. Education and opportunity cannot be approached as though one size fits all, and this is where apprenticeships have such an important role to play. At their best, apprenticeships offer something enormously powerful, the opportunity to learn, earn and develop at the same time; to build practical skills alongside knowledge; and to provide a pathway into a career that might otherwise have seemed out of reach. But that opportunity comes with a responsibility. If we are going to encourage more young people to choose apprenticeships, then we must also be confident th...

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