High quality traineeship and pre-apprenticeship programmes can help young people to develop the skills, experience and confidence they need to move into work, and to build successful and rewarding careers.
Our research shows that targeted and inclusive programmes can help young people to overcome complex barriers to learning and employment. Programmes that are tailored to local labour market needs benefit employers by providing a diverse pool of talent.
However, participation in traineeships and other pre-apprenticeship programmes has fallen in recent years. This includes government-funded Traineeships, which aim to provide work experience, work preparation training and English and maths support for out-of-work 16-24 year olds in England who are not qualified to at least level 3. Similar schemes operate elsewhere in the UK, including Wales.
Our research focuses on understanding the characteristics of high quality traineeship and pre-apprenticeship provision, how best to ensure people can access this provision, and how to support progression into further learning and employment.