City & Guilds and IBM champion apprenticeships as the key to tackling the UK’s productivity deficit

As part of National Apprenticeship Week, City & Guilds has partnered with IBM to draw attention to the vast and underutilised role that apprentices can play in delivering in-demand skills and improving the UK’s productivity deficit.

10 February 2025

UK productivity has grown at an annual average rate of just 0.5 per cent since the 2019 General Election, comparing poorly against annual growth rates of 2-3 per cent seen in previous decades.¹

City & Guilds has long championed skills development as a key factor in tackling the UK’s ongoing productivity challenges, and following research commissioned for its recent ‘Making Skills Work’ report, has identified significant Digital, Tech & AI skills shortages in key employment sectors including Construction and Government Services.

Our recent Impact Report showed that more than 31,000 learners have completed City & Guilds Apprenticeship End Point Assessments during the last academic year, while its Learner Outcomes survey revealed that 83% of its learners self-declared as employed in a relevant sector within three months.

Our partnership with global technology innovator IBM aims to improve awareness of apprenticeship routes in technology-related growth industries, with benefits for both learners and employers.

Kirstie Donnelly MBE, CEO of City & Guilds, said:

“Attitudes towards apprenticeships are changing, but the latest figures for UK apprenticeships show that there is no room for complacency.

Despite a modest overall increase in apprenticeship starts, there has been a significant drop in intermediate level apprenticeships, which carries implications for younger learners and employers facing skills challenges. Getting the right advice at the right time remains critically important.

This year’s National Apprenticeship Week is an opportunity for learners to discover the growing range of apprenticeship options beyond traditional industrial sectors, for instance in growth sectors including Digital and Tech. 

For employers, apprenticeships are a means of attracting talent to meet future skills challenges, as well as enriching the workforce through diversity – and can play an important role in improving UK productivity - Government data shows that 74% of employers agree that apprenticeships help them improve the quality of their product or service.

We are also calling for employers to match their investment in digital solutions with investment in digital literacy for their employees, and recognise the importance of investing in leadership and management skills to underpin this.

“We applaud IBM as an exemplar of a successfully-run apprenticeship programme, supporting learners to build successful careers and boost their lifetime earnings by gaining in-demand skills in sectors vital to UK growth.”

IBM received a Princess Royal Training Award in 2023 for its success in building a diverse, client-ready technical workforce, through its in-house technical apprenticeship programme which provides client-ready, value-adding apprentices. 

The programme has shown a return on investment evidenced through billable fees equivalent to three times the cost of the apprentice, with a retention rate of 95% of former and current apprentices. Its apprenticeship programme is also contributing to a more diverse workforce, with BAME apprentices accounting for 25% of its intake that year, compared with 6% in 2017.

Jenny Taylor MBE, IBM UK Foundation Lead, Early Professional Programmes, said:

“Apprenticeships at IBM are about embracing a long and successful career, with skills for life. The professional development of our apprentices is our top priority from the day they join us. Our programme has proved successful in providing a ladder of opportunity for apprentices to move through to levels 3, 4, 5, 6 (degree apprenticeships) and 7 (Masters). We see our programme as transformative, and with AI at the core, we empower new talent to learn, create and lead in a world shaped by technology.” 

City & Guilds has teamed up with IBM to deliver IBM Skills Build, a suite of free AI and digital short courses for jobseekers, offering a cost-free resource for employers seeking to broaden their training offering to employees.

1. Source: National Institute of Economic & Social Research