The Employability Gap: What Apprenticeships Make Visible
Published by
David Harkin
on
National Apprenticeship Week highlights a growing shift in how workplace preparedness is understood. Evidence increasingly suggests that academic attainment alone is not enough to prepare young people for modern employment.
Employer research and international education studies consistently point to the same gap. Alongside subject knowledge, employers prioritise decision-making, communication, adaptability, and the ability to apply learning in unfamiliar contexts. The World Economic Forum’s Top 10 Skills for 2025 has shifted over the decades, yet Problem Solving and Creativity remain core skills that we support students in developing through its portfolio section, helping them adapt as career pathways continue to evolve.
Apprenticeships bring this reality into focus. Positioned at the intersection of learning and work, they require young people to translate knowledge into action from the outset.
We know that success in apprenticeships is shaped well before students apply. It reflects prior experience of working with accountability, navigating ambiguity, responding to feedback and applying learning in unfamiliar contexts. Academic attainment matters, but without these experiences, it does not fully equip students for the demands of apprenticeship pathways.
Our Learning Architecture reinforces this view. When learning experiences are sequenced to include real world problem solving, decision making, reflection and increasing levels of autonomy, students are more likely to retain knowledge and apply it confidently in new settings. These principles help explain why learners who have practised applied learning transition more successfully into work based pathways.
National Apprenticeship Week is therefore not only a celebration of alternative routes into employment. Over the years, the value of apprenticeships has become increasingly clear. By providing students with holistic learning experiences that combine knowledge, applied skills, and decision-making, we equip them to move beyond school ready to meet the demands of the future with confidence.
