The CIPD wants a government-backed Apprenticeship Guarantee for 16- to 17-year-olds that adds 20,000 places by 2029/30, funded training and a wage grant, and asks ministers to design zero-hours reforms that preserve flexible work for students and young people.
CIPD proposes an Apprenticeship Guarantee to create 20,000 extra apprenticeship places for 16–17 year olds by 2029/30, restoring pre-2017 provision levels.
Support package to deliver the guarantee: a £5,200 apprenticeship wage grant, full training funding, local employer support, and a statutory local-authority duty.
CIPD research finds 90% of employers back the guarantee and 60% say it would encourage them to recruit more apprentices.
Development (CIPD) has written ahead of the Milburn Review's final report on youth unemployment and inactivity, calling on government to introduce an Apprenticeship Guarantee for 16- to 17-year-olds and to ensure proposed reforms to zero-hours contracts do not remove flexible entry-level work.
What the Apprenticeship Guarantee would do
The CIPD's proposal aims to create 20,000 additional apprenticeship places for 16- to 17-year-olds by 2029/30. The body frames this as restoring apprenticeship provision for the age group to levels seen before the Apprenticeship Levy was introduced in 2017.
According to CIPD research cited in the release, 90% of employers support introducing the guarantee. Around six in ten employers say it would encourage them to take on more apprentices above their current provision.
Apprenticeship starts relative to government targets, and that apprenticeship starts among under-19s fell 41% between 2015/16 and 2022/23.
To make the guarantee workable the CIPD sets out four concrete measures:
The CIPD says the wage grant would offset early employment costs for employers and that local support would help small firms invest in apprenticeships and develop young workers.
Flexible first jobs and zero-hours contracts
Alongside the apprenticeship proposal, the CIPD warns that poorly designed statutory changes to zero-hours contracts risk reducing flexible, entry-level jobs used by students and young people to earn and gain experience. The CIPD urges the government to restart talks with employer organisations and trade unions to design reforms that work in practice.
Ben Willmott, head of public policy at the CIPD, is quoted: "Young people need more opportunities to access both good-quality apprenticeships and flexible job opportunities. Policy should expand these opportunities, not inadvertently reduce them." He notes around a quarter of a million students work on zero-hours contracts, using them to combine work with study and skills development.
The call comes as the Milburn Review prepares its final report into youth worklessness. The CIPD frames the guarantee as a practical way to expand opportunities, strengthen employer talent pipelines and support social mobility while public finances remain constrained.
Immediate implications for employers and policymakers
Employers: the CIPD's numbers suggest strong employer appetite for more apprenticeships if upfront costs and administration are mitigated.
Policymakers: the CIPD's package sets specific funding and local delivery mechanisms to reach the 16–17 cohort and flags potential trade-offs in zero-hours reform that could reduce flexible roles used by students.
Policymakers should consider the CIPD's wage grant and local delivery proposals when designing any Apprenticeship Guarantee. They should also restart cross-sector discussions on zero-hours reforms to preserve flexible entry-level work for young people.
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