Former cabinet minister Alan Milburn is proposing a national pre-apprenticeship route in England for young people who need further preparation before entering an apprenticeship or other skilled employment.
The recommendation, reported on 10 October, would combine English, maths, technical learning and practical experience with employers. Further education colleges would deliver much of the proposed programme, creating a transition between school and conventional apprenticeships.
Milburn is leading the government’s independent Young People and Work Review, which has been examining why so many young adults are outside education, employment or training. The pre-apprenticeship idea belongs to its recommendations; ministers have not announced that they are adopting the scheme or financing a national rollout.
The review’s final solutions report had been expected in October but its publication was delayed until after the 28 October Budget, according to the original reporting. The programme’s cost, eligibility criteria, duration and delivery responsibilities therefore remain unconfirmed.
Milburn argues that the gap is not simply a shortage of interest in apprenticeships. Some school leavers lack the qualifications, confidence, workplace experience or established routines that employers expect from applicants committing to structured training and employment.
The proposed route would address those needs before a full apprenticeship begins. Colleges could provide teaching and supervised technical activities while employers supply placements that introduce attendance requirements, workplace behaviour and practical job tasks.
The idea draws on a one-year pre-vocational pathway in Austria. The comparison illustrates an approach to preparation, rather than proving that an identical model could be implemented in England with the same employment results.
The Department for Education‘s latest provisional apprenticeship statistics show why access for younger applicants is a distinct policy question. Total apprenticeship starts in England rose by 8.7% to 308,770 between August 2025 and April 2026, compared with the equivalent period a year earlier.
Starts among people under 19 nevertheless fell by 5.4% to 63,530. That age group accounted for 20.6% of starts, while those aged 25 and over accounted for 52.4%. The figures concern an in-year period, not final results for the completed academic year.
Growth in apprenticeships taken by older learners and existing employees can be valuable to employers, but it does not necessarily increase entry routes for teenagers. The provisional figures show how an expanding overall programme can coincide with reduced participation among younger applicants.
Milburn has also highlighted the sharp longer-term fall in starts among under-19s. The current proposal aims to address preparedness and progression rather than simply instructing companies to recruit younger candidates without additional support.
The interim Young People and Work Review, published in May, estimated that 957,000 people aged 16 to 24 were not in education, employment or training at the end of 2025. That category includes people with differing circumstances, including health conditions, caring responsibilities and those temporarily between activities.
It would be misleading to assume that one preparatory training programme could meet all those needs. Milburn’s proposal is directed at people for whom additional basic skills, technical education and work experience could establish a more credible route into an apprenticeship.
Employers would be central to its practical value. A short placement may familiarise a participant with the workplace, but businesses would need clear expectations about supervision, meaningful tasks, safety and any progression opportunities at the end of training.
Colleges would likewise need sufficient teaching capacity, relationships with employers and arrangements for assessing whether participants are ready to progress. Programme success would depend on completed apprenticeships and sustained employment, rather than enrolments alone.
Existing employment and skills policies provide a broader context. The government has announced £100m over two years to expand local apprenticeship services, delivered through mayoral areas to connect young people and employers. That is a separate existing commitment, not funding awarded to Milburn’s proposed course.
The professional body CIPD has also urged an apprenticeship guarantee for 16- and 17-year-olds, reflecting wider concern about the availability of suitable entry opportunities. Its recommendation is separate from Milburn’s proposal and has not been enacted as part of it.
Even if a preparatory route improves applicants’ readiness, employers would still need sufficient vacancies and the capacity to train new entrants. Colleges and local businesses would need to agree how places are allocated, how participants receive support and what happens when a full apprenticeship is unavailable.
The next policy decision rests with ministers after the final review is published. Until then, a national pre-apprenticeship route remains a recommendation for consideration, not an operating scheme with an agreed timetable or results.
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