PolicyLens

Conservative - Skills

Fund 100,000 young apprenticeships

Add 100,000 apprenticeship opportunities for 18 to 21-year-olds, with up to GBP 5,000 support per apprentice.

Last updated: May 2026.

Read the policy-specific methodology note

Training scale

DfE recorded 353,500 apprenticeship starts in 2024-25. Adding 100,000 young apprenticeships would be a large expansion, especially if focused on 18 to 21-year-olds.

  • Subsidy could be up to GBP 5,000 each.
  • Employer demand is the binding constraint.
  • Quality matters more than starts alone.

Core trade-offs

Young people and employers gain training support. Taxpayers bear upfront costs, and value depends on whether places are additional, high quality and linked to real vacancies.

  • Young workers gain training routes.
  • Employers receive hiring support.
  • Deadweight and quality risks are material.

Fiscal impact by 2028-29

-GBP 0.2bn to +GBP 1.5bn. Central estimate: +GBP 0.5bn.

  • Positive numbers mean net fiscal cost; negative numbers mean Exchequer savings.
  • Main cost is direct apprenticeship support.
  • Tax and benefit offsets depend on additional employment.
  • Quality and additionality drive value.
  • This is not an official costing.

Economic impact by 2028-29

  • Jobs: Could raise youth employment if places are additional and employer-led.
  • Wages: Long-run wages may rise with high-quality training; low-quality starts add little.
  • Prices: Little direct price effect expected.
  • GDP / productivity: Potentially positive, but only if training quality and completion rates are high.

Assessment

Apprenticeships can be a good skills policy, but the fiscal case depends on additionality and quality. A start target alone can create low-value placements unless employers offer real training and progression.

Confidence: Medium-low. Apprenticeship baselines are strong; additionality and completion quality are weaker assumptions.

Main risks

  • Deadweight: Subsidies may pay for apprenticeships employers would have offered anyway.
  • Low quality: Starts without completion or progression deliver little productivity benefit.
  • Displacement: Subsidised young workers can displace other young or low-paid workers.

Safeguards

  • Pay more on completion than start.
  • Target shortage sectors and NEET groups.
  • Publish earnings and progression outcomes.

Academic evidence

Wolter and Ryan, Handbook of the Economics of Education, 2011

Apprenticeship economics

Apprenticeships can raise skills when employer incentives and training quality align.

Relevant to subsidies for young apprenticeships.

Apprenticeship (2011)

Dearden, Reed and Van Reenen, Journal of Political Economy, 2006

Training and productivity

Training is associated with productivity gains that can exceed wage gains.

Relevant to apprenticeship productivity assumptions.

The Impact of Training on Productivity and Wages (2006)

UK government evidence

Department for Education, 2026

Apprenticeship statistics

Apprenticeship starts reached 226,620 in August-January 2025-26, with under-19s 23.6% of starts.

Anchors the scale of a 100,000-place expansion.

Apprenticeships, academic year 2025/26 (2026)

Department for Education, 2026

Apprenticeship annual data

There were 353,500 apprenticeship starts in the 2024-25 academic year.

Cross-checks the feasibility of adding 100,000 places.

Apprenticeships, academic year 2024/25 (2026)

Office for Budget Responsibility, 2026

OBR fiscal forecast

The OBR forecast sets the macro, borrowing and receipts baseline used for broad fiscal context.

Prevents treating tax cuts or spending changes as self-financing.

Economic and fiscal outlook: March 2026 (2026)

Sources

Other Conservative policies

PolicyLens estimates are illustrative and should not be treated as official costings.