Modern Apprenticeship Survey of Employers 2013 (pdf) - Skills ...

Modern
Apprenticeship
Employer Survey
2012
Modern
Apprenticeship
Employer
Survey - 2012
SDS Evaluation & Research
March 2013

Modern Apprenticeship
2012 Survey of Employers
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Dr. Vicki Belt from the UKCES in providing
access to the Scottish employer information from the 2012 UKCES Employer Perspectives
Survey. This allowed us to incorporate information on Scottish employers who did not
participate in the Modern Apprenticeship programme.
This report is based upon independent research conducted by IFF Ltd. Every care has been taken to
ensure that this report provides an accurate representation of that research.
1 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

Contents
1. Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. 3
2. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 6
3. Profile of Employers Offering MAs ......................................................................................... 8
4. Involvement with MAs .......................................................................................................... 10
5. Motivations for Participation ................................................................................................ 12
6. Use and Views of the Programme ........................................................................................ 15
7. Benefits of Offering MAs ....................................................................................................... 21
8. Views on Reasons for Non‐Completion ................................................................................ 23
9. Future Plans and Intentions .................................................................................................. 25
Annex A – Profile of Survey Respondents ...................................................................................... 27
Annex B – Employer Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction ‐ Reasons .......................................................... 29
Annex C – The Modern Apprenticeship Programme in Scotland ................................................... 30
Annex D – Non‐participating Employers ........................................................................................ 31
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1. Executive Summary
This report is designed to explore employers’ use and views of Modern Apprenticeships and to
assess the benefits and impact that MAs bring to employers. It is based upon the analysis of a
telephone survey of 2,500 employers who had an employee leave a Modern Apprenticeship in
the last three years at the time of the survey.
The research was conducted by an independent market research company, IFF Ltd, for Skills
Development Scotland (SDS) in the latter part of 2012. The results presented have been
reweighted to ensure that they are representative of Modern Apprentice employers as a whole.
The research forms part of a wider SDS programme of work to inform the delivery of Modern
Apprenticeships in Scotland.
To obtain the views of employers who do not offer MAs, a separate analysis was also
commissioned, drawing on findings from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills
Employer Perspectives Survey 1 . The results from this analysis are also presented in this report
(Annex D).
A more detailed review of MAs in Scotland will be published later in 2013. This will include key
insights into the MA programme to drive action and inform the wide range of partners involved
drawing from both the Modern Apprenticeship Outcomes 2012 report 2 and from this survey.
Key Results
Overall the headline results show:
Benefits of offering MAs
96 per cent of employers reported that completers were better able to do their job as a
result of the MA, and 92 per cent reported they were better able to work with others as a
result of their MA.
68 per cent of employers reported improved productivity, 67 per cent reported improved
product or service quality, and 66 per cent reported improved staff morale as a result of
offering MAs
Skill improvements were higher across the board for completers compared to noncompleters.
1 UK Commission’s employer perspectives survey 2012 (Evidence report 79) Available at
http://www.researchonline.org.uk/sds/search/download.do?ref=B29091
2 Skills Development Scotland (2013) Modern Apprenticeship Outcomes 2012, January 2013
http://www.researchonline.org.uk/sds/search/download.do?ref=B29740
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Use and Views of the Programme
Overall 85 percent of employers were satisfied with the relevance of the training. 63 per
cent of employers reported that they were very satisfied with the relevance of the training,
with a further 22 per cent satisfied. Only 5 per cent were dissatisfied with this.
Overall 83 per cent of employers were satisfied with the quality of training delivered by the
provider. 66 per cent of employers reported that they were very satisfied with the quality of
training, with a further 17 per cent satisfied. Only 6 per cent of employers were dissatisfied
with this.
Satisfaction with the MA programme differed by the framework assigned to the employer.
Overall the percentage of employers who were very satisfied considerably exceeded the
percentage dissatisfied across all elements and frameworks.
76 per cent of employers offered on‐the‐job training and 76 per cent also offered off‐the‐job
training as part of the MA. Overall 92 per cent of all employers use a training provider to
deliver training for an MA.
Over half of employers (56 per cent) reported that they would take on no MAs at all if the
public sector contribution were cut, and a further 17 per cent would take on fewer MAs.
Profile of Employers Offering MAs
The vast majority of employers responding to the survey were small companies with fewer
than 99 employees. Most employers who responded to the survey (65 per cent) were very
small with between 1 and 24 employees. A further 24 per cent employed between 25 and 99
employees.
The sector with the largest number of responding employers was Construction (27 per cent
of employers who responded were in the construction sector)
Involvement With MAs
75 per cent of employers view MAs as important to their business – 53 per cent of
employers viewed MAs as vital to their business, with a further 22 per cent viewing them as
important.
36 per cent of employers had offered MAs for more than ten years and a further 19 per cent
had offered MAs for between 5 and 10 years. Employers who participate in the MA
programme are more likely to recruit young people than those that do not.
Motivations for Participation
The most common method by which employers first became aware of MAs was through
approach by a training provider
The most common reasons employers gave for being involved in MAs was to improve the
proficiency of staff in their job (88 per cent of employers) and to ensure that staff could be
trained in their way of doing things (88 per cent of employers).
58 per cent of employers recruited MAs specifically for the training position and a further 13
per cent recruited both specifically and from existing staff – in other words 71 per cent of
employers recruit MAs specifically either all or some of the time. Over a quarter (27 per
cent) of employers recruit MAs solely from existing staff.
Of those employers who always or sometimes recruit MAs specifically, 86 per cent started
MAs straight away or within three months of recruitment.
4 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

Non‐completion
Overall, 37 per cent of employers had experienced at least one MA not complete their
apprenticeship at some point in time. The reasons given for this were varied and included
the interest/attitude of the apprentice and the apprentice moving into a new industry or
career.
Most employers felt that there was nothing that they could have done to prevent an
apprentice dropping out early.
Future Plans and Intentions
83 per cent of employers said that they plan to continue offering MAs. A further 4 per cent
are unsure whether they will. Of those who plan to continue, 88 per cent plan to recruit the
same or increased numbers and one in ten expect their number of MAs to decrease.
Of those employers who would not continue to offer MAs (13 per cent of all employers), the
most common reason given for not continuing MAs in the future was that the costs were too
high. 26 per cent of employers who would not continue MAs gave this as a reason. Other
reasons given were bad experience of the MA (25 per cent of employers who would not
continue MAs) and lack of work available (17 per cent of employers who would not continue
MAs).
Recommendation
The vast majority of employers surveyed would recommend MAs if asked by another
employer in their industry sector. Over half of employers (54 per cent) would strongly
recommend MAs and a further 28 per cent would recommend with some reservations – in
other words over 80 per cent of employers would recommend MAs. Only 2 per cent would
recommend against and 15 per cent were neutral.
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2. Introduction
This report is designed to capture employers’ views of Modern Apprenticeships and their
impact. The results are based upon the analysis of a telephone survey of 2,500 employers who
had an employee leave a Modern Apprenticeship in the last three years at the time of the
survey.
The research was conducted by an independent market research company, IFF Ltd, for Skills
Development Scotland (SDS) in the latter part of 2012. The survey responses have been
reweighted to ensure that they are representative of Modern Apprentice employers as a whole.
The findings reported are based on these reweighted responses.
Employers who offer MAs can offer them against more than one framework and level. For the
purposes of the survey, we assigned each employer to a single framework using the following
approach:
1. A list was established of all employers offering MAs detailing the number of frameworks
and levels in which they offered them, and the number of Apprentices on each
framework and level within the time period covered by the survey (including those who
left during the period)
2. If an employer offered MAs against more than one framework and level, they were
assigned to the framework and level in which they had the most Apprentices (by
“assigning them” we mean that this is the framework and level which we referred to in
interview, and against which their survey responses have been analysed)
3. If there were even numbers of Apprentices against more than one framework or at
more than one level, we assigned them to one framework and one level at random
4. The exception to all of this was where employers offered a level 4 MA – in such cases,
we always prioritised that framework, in the sense of assigning employers to it
The overall response rate for the survey was 52 per cent.
The key question for the research was to explore employers’ use and views of Modern
Apprenticeships 3 . Information was collected on:
the profile of employers offering MAs;
involvement with MAs;
motivations for participation;
3 The UKCES 2012 Employer Perspectives Survey was sourced to provide views from Scottish employers who do not
participate in the Modern Apprenticehip programme. We are extremely grateful to Dr. Vicki Belt at the UKCES for
facilitating access to this information.
6 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

use and views of the programme;
impacts on their business;
views on reasons why some MAs do not complete; and
future plans and intentions.
A detailed breakdown of the respondents to the survey by framework and level is included in
Annex A.
Information on employer satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the Modern Apprenticeship
programme, including the most common reasons for dissatisfaction, is included in Annex B.
A short overview of the Modern Apprenticeship programme in Scotland is provided for
reference in Annex C.
Analysis of non‐participating employer feedback from the UKCES Employer Perspectives Survey
is included in Annex D.
7 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

3. Profile of Employers Offering MAs
Size
Figure 3.1 provides information on the size of each employer – based upon the number of
employees.
Most employers who responded to the survey (89 per cent) were small with fewer than 99
employees. 65 per cent of employers were very small with fewer than 25 employees. A
further 24 per cent employed between 25 and 99 employees. This is to be expected as the
majority of employers in Scotland are small. This does not necessarily reflect the distribution
of MAs employed, as larger employers will employ more MAs.
Just over half (55 per cent ) of employers were single‐site businesses and a further 28 per
cent were a branch of a multiple‐site employer. The vast majority of employers surveyed (87
per cent) were private sector, profit‐seeking businesses.
Figure 3.1 Profile of employers offering MAs based on size
65%
55% Single Site
16% head office with multiple sites
28% branch of multiple site
87% mainly seeking to make a profit
5% charity, voluntary or co-operative organisation
24%
7% public sector organisation
5% 5%
1-24 25-99 100-249 250+
Base : All employers
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Sector
Figure 3.2 provides information on responses by industrial sector.
The sector with the largest number of responding employers was Construction (27 per cent
of responding employers), followed by Wholesale and retail trade (20 per cent). This reflects
the large number of MAs in the construction and retail frameworks.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing, Information and communication and Real estate facilities
and management were the sectors with the lowest number of responding employers. To a
large extent this reflects the number of employers offering MAs in these sectors.
Figure 3.2: Profile of employers offering MAs ‐ sector
0% 10% 20% 30%
Construction
Wholesale and retail trade
Accommodation, food and tourism activities
Manufacturing
Health
Transportation and storage
Financial, insurance & other professional services
Education
Care
Energy production and utilities
Creative media and entertainment
Government
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
Information and communication
Real estate and facilities management
7%
6%
4%
4%
4%
4%
2%
2%
2%
1%
1%
1%
11%
20%
Base : All employers
27%
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4. Involvement with MAs
Importance of MAs to the Business
Overall, three quarters of employers stated that MAs were important to their business (Figure
4.1).
Over half (53 per cent) of employers viewed MAs as vital to their business, with a further 22
per cent viewing them as important – leading to 75 percent attaching a degree of
importance to MAs.
13 per cent of employers said that MAs were not important to their business.
There were differences by assigned framework. Employers assigned the Hairdressing and
Beauty MA framework were most likely to say that MAs were vital to their business (80 per
cent), followed by employers assigned the Health and Social Care framework (69 per cent).
Employers assigned the Retail framework were least likely to state that MAs were vital (33
per cent).
Figure 4.1: Importance of MAs to the business
60%
53%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
13% 12%
22%
0%
Not at all
important
Neutral Important Vital
Base : All employers
Length of Time Offering MAs
A substantial proportion of businesses have been offering MAs for several years. In total almost
three quarters of employers had offered MAs for more than three years (Figure 4.2).
Over a third (36 per cent) of employers had offered MAs for more than ten years
A further fifth (19 per cent) had offered MAs for between 5 and 10 years
A further 17 per cent had offered MAs for between 3 and 5 years.
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Figure 4.2: Length of time establishment has been offering MAs
36%
19%
17%
19%
3%
Don't Know /
Refused
6%
For a year or For more
less than a year,
up to 3 years
More than 3
years, up to
5 years
More than 5
years, up to
10 years
More than 10
Years
Base : All employers
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5. Motivations for Participation
A key aim of the survey was to investigate why employers participate in MAs and how they
become aware of the opportunities. 4
How Employers Became Aware of MAs
The most common method by which employers first became aware of MAs (Figure 5.1) was
through being approached by a training provider (as opposed to going through a training
provider that they approached proactively), with 40 per cent of employers who have offered
MAs for up to 5 years reporting this.
Figure 5.1: How organisations first became aware of MAs
Approached by training provider
Through another part of the organisation
Saw publicity / advertising
As employee enquired about it
Always had a general awareness
College / Education establishment
Through a training provider
Government / Council / Local Authority
Word of Mouth
I have done a modern apprenticeship
Actively sought / researched training online
Other
Don't know
9%
9%
5%
5%
4%
4%
3%
2%
2%
2%
7%
11%
40%
Base : All employers offering MAs for 5 years at most
Reasons for Being Involved in MAs
Employers were questioned on their motivation for involvement in the MA programme.
Figure 5.2 shows that for most employers it is to improve the proficiency of their staff or to
ensure staff can be trained in their way of doing things – both were given as a reason by 88
per cent of employers.
Other reasons included to qualify staff to meet a legislative standard (80 per cent of
employers) and to improve their ability to retain staff (73 per cent).
4 A separate analysis of non‐participating employers is provided in Annex D
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Figure 5.2: Reasons for Participation in MAs
To improve the proficiency of staff in their
job
12% 24%
64%
88%
To ensure that staff could be trained in your
way of doing things
12% 23%
65%
88%
Staff need to be qualified to a standard that
conforms to a legislative requirement
19% 20%
61%
80%
To improve your ability to retain staff
26%
30%
42%
73%
To improve your ability to attract staff
37%
31%
32%
62%
To reduce the costs of training
43%
27%
28%
55%
Not really / not at all To some extent To a large extent
Other unpromoted reasons:
24% of all employers 'to provide young people with employment opportunities'
11% 'to improve the quality of training provided'
10% 'for business expansion / succession planning.'
Base : All employers
How MAs are Recruited
Some employers recruit MAs specifically, some recruit from existing staff, and others recruit
both specifically and from existing staff. Figure 5.3 summarises the recruitment methods of the
employers surveyed.
58 per cent of employers always recruit MAs specifically for the job and 13 per cent recruit
MAs both specifically and from existing staff. In other words, 71 per cent of employers either
always or sometimes recruit MAs specifically for the job.
For employers who always or sometimes recruit MAs specifically, 61 per cent report that
MAs start straight away and 36 per cent report that there is an interval between recruitment
to the company and starting an MA. Where employers reported an interval between
starting employment and starting an MA, 72 per cent of these said that the interval was less
than 3 months.
Over a quarter (27 per cent) of employers surveyed recruit MAs solely from existing staff.
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Figure 5.3: How MAs are Recruited
13% recruit MAs
specifically & from
existing staff
58 % recruit MAs
specifically
27% recruit MAs
from existing staff
Base : All employers
61% start straight
away
36% see an interval
between joining
company and starting
MA
Length of time employed before
starting
35% less than 6 months
29% between 6 months to a year
23% for over a year
Base : All employers who recruit specifically
Reasons for interval
Less than a month
1‐3 months
4‐6 months
7‐12 months
Greater than 12
6%
1%
17%
18%
55%
47% to ensure the employee was
suitable / capable of progressing
in their industry
30% to give the employee time to
become familiarised with
organisation / role
24 months or more
Don't know
1%
4%
24% timings were dictated by
training provider / college
Base : All employers who experienced an interval between recruit
starting their job and their MA
Base: All employers who experienced an interval greater
than a month
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6. Use and Views of the Programme
Participating employers were asked how satisfied they were with specific elements of the MA
programme. They were also asked how they use the MA programme in terms of the types of
training and support they offer.
Satisfaction with the MA Programme
Figure 6.1 provides information on employers’ satisfaction with the MA Programme.
85 per cent of employers were satisfied with the relevance of training to their needs. This
breaks down as 63 per cent very satisfied with the relevance of training and 22 per cent
satisfied with the relevance of training.
83 per cent of employers were satisfied with the quality of training provided. This breaks
down as two thirds of employers (66 per cent) very satisfied with the quality of training
provided, and a further 17 per cent satisfied,
Fewer employers were satisfied with their chance to be involved in decisions made about
the MA prior to training (52 per cent) and their ability to influence delivery and content of
the training during the MA (58 per cent). There were still more employers very satisfied than
dissatisfied with these elements however.
The most common reasons for dissatisfaction centred around being a set framework, the
relevance of the training and communication with providers. A full breakdown is provided in
Annex B.
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Figure 6.1: Satisfaction with Specific Elements of the MA programme
Support and communication from provider
8% 18%
63%
Quality of training delivered by provider
6% 17%
66%
Amount of paperwork
7%
21%
50%
Relevance of the training to your organisation's
needs
5% 22%
63%
Ability to influence the delivery and content of the
training during MA
15%
21%
37%
Involvement in decisions before the training
started
19%
19%
33%
Ability to select an MA framework relevant to your
needs
9%
22%
46%
Quality of applicants
11%
27%
40%
Dissatisfied/Very Dissatisfied Satisfied Very Satisfied
Base : All employers
Satisfaction by Framework
Satisfaction with the MA programme differed by the framework assigned to the employer
(Figures 6.2a and 6.2b) 5 . Overall the percentage of employers who were very satisfied
exceeded the percentage dissatisfied across all elements and frameworks.
Relevance of training . The highest levels of satisfaction were found among employers
offering: Health and Social Care (79 per cent very satisfied); and Hairdressing and Barbering
and Food Manufacturing (both 75 per cent very satisfied). The highest dissatisfaction was
among employers offering Engineering and Construction (both 8 per cent dissatisfied) and
Plumbing (7 per cent dissatisfied).
Support and Communication. The highest levels of satisfaction were found among
employers offering: Food Manufacture and Children’s Care (both 76 per cent very satisfied);
and Electrical Installation (73 per cent very satisfied).
Involvement in decisions before the MA started. The highest levels of dissatisfaction were
found among employers offering: Plumbing (28 per cent dissatisfied); Construction (25 per
cent dissatisfied); and Automotive (24 per cent dissatisfied).
5 Quality of training was not included as the base size is too low to enable reliable analysis by framework
16 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

Figure 6.2a: Satisfaction by Framework
% Very satisfied
(8-10)
Health and Social
Care 79%
Hairdressing
& Barbering 75%
Food Manufacture
75%
Food Manufacture
60%
Management 57%
Hairdressing
& Barbering 52%
Hairdressing
& Barbering 60%
Food Manufacture
56%
Management 46%
Food Manufacture
51%
Hairdressing
& Barbering 45%
Management 45%
The relevance of the
training to your
organisation’s needs
Ability to select a
relevant framework
Involvement in
content, structure
and delivery during
training
Involvement in
decisions made about
the MA before the
training started
Engineering 8%
Construction 8%
Plumbing 7%
Construction 14%
Children’s Care,
Learning and
Development 14%
Automotive 13%
Plumbing 22%
Automotive 21%
Construction 21%
Plumbing 28%
Construction 25%
Automotive 24%
% Dissatisfied (0-4)
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Figure 6.2b: Satisfaction by Framework
% Very satisfied
(8-10)
NB Quality of training not included as the base size is too low to enable reliable
analysis by framework
Food Manufacture
76%
Children’s Care,
Learning and
Development 76%
Electrical
Installation 73%
Children’s Care,
Learning and
Development 61%
Hospitality 58%
Hairdressing &
Barbering 57%
Management 63%
Health and Social
Care 54%
Customer Service
50%
Support and
communication
Amount of paperwork
Quality of applicants
Retail 10%
Plumbing 9%
Hairdressing &
Barbering 9%
Construction 12%
Other service
industries 9%
Plumbing 9%
Automotive 18%
Construction 13%
Plumbing 13%
% Dissatisfied (0-4)
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Satisfaction with Duration
Overall the majority of employers were happy with the duration of the apprenticeship, with
84 per cent reporting that it was neither too long nor too short. Of the remainder, 11 per
cent said that MA was too short and 5 per cent that it was too long (Figure 6.3).
Employers’ views of duration varied substantially by framework. Among those assigned the
Children’s Care framework 26 per cent said that the MA was too short, and only 2 per cent
said it was too long.
In contrast, among employers assigned to the Customer Service framework, only 1 per cent
said that the MA was too short and 4 per cent said that it was too long.
Figure 6.3: Satisfaction with duration (%)
Employer Framework Too short Too long
Children's Care, Learning and Development 26% 2%
Hairdressing & Barbering 20% 2%
Automotive 17% 4%
Electrical installation 15% 1%
Construction 13% 3%
Plumbing 13% 3%
Engineering 11% 2%
Other construction / manufacturing / engineering 8% 3%
Food Manufacture 7% 3%
Other service industries 7% 7%
Business & Administration 6% 5%
Hospitality 5% 9%
Retail 5% 8%
Management 4% 3%
Health and Social Care 3% 6%
Customer Service 1% 4%
All 11% 5%
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Provision of Training
76 per cent of employers offered on‐the‐job training and 76 per cent also offered off‐the‐job
training as part of the MA. Of those who use off‐the‐job training 61 per cent use a college,
49 per cent use a training provider and 37 per cent use an in‐house trainer. (Figure 6.4)
Only 7 per cent of employers said they provided no training at all
Overall 92 per cent of all employers use a training provider to deliver training for an MA.
Figure 6.4: Provision of Training
76% on-the-job as part
of the MA
76% off-the-job as
part of the MA
7% provide no
training
Base: All employers
61% through
college
49% through
training
provider
37% through
in-house
trainer
Base: All employers offering off the job training
92% of all employers use a training provider
6% use their own staff to assess their apprentices
20 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

7. Benefits of Offering MAs
A key aim of this research was to explore the benefits that offering MAs bring to employers.
Employers were asked to what extent they and the trainees benefitted from the MA
process.
Employers gave their views on the benefits their organisation has experienced as a result of
training and offering MAs (Figure 7.1). Some key benefits were specified by around two
thirds of employers. The most common benefits given were improved productivity (68 per
cent), followed by improved product or service quality (67 per cent) and improved staff
morale (66 per cent)
Figure 7.1 Benefits of Offering and Training MAs
Improved productivity
Improved our product or service quality
Improved staff morale
Improved staff retention
Improved image in the sector
68%
67%
66%
63%
62%
Improved ability to attract good staff
Brought new ideas to the organisation
53%
51%
Helped win business
38%
Lower overall wage bill
Increased profits
32%
31%
Base: All employers
Employers gave detailed feedback around the specific skills that their MAs had improved as
a result of their training. Overall more employers reported skill improvements for trainees
who had completed their MA than for those who had not completed (Figure 7.2).
Ability to do their job. Of particular note is that almost all employers said that completing an
apprenticeship had improved an MAs ability to do their job. 65 per cent of employers said
that completion improved an MAs ability to do their job to a large extent, and a further 31
per cent reported improvement to some extent – leading to 96 per cent of employers
reporting an improvement due to completing an MA.
Ability to work with others. Similarly, 60 per cent of employers said that completion
improved an MAs ability to work with others to a large extent, and a further 32 per cent
reported increased ability to some extent – leading to 92 per cent of employers reporting an
improvement due to completing an MA.
21 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

IT Skills. 57 per cent of employers reported an improvement due to completing an MA – 20
per cent of employers said that completion improved an MAs IT skills to a large extent, and a
further 37 per cent reported increased IT skills to some extent.
Figure 7.2: Different Skills that MAs Have Improved
Improved their ability to do their job
Completers
3%
31%
65%
Non-completers
23%
49%
23%
Ability to work with others
Completers
5%
32%
60%
Non-completers
19%
40%
34%
Communication skills
Completers
8%
43%
45%
Non-completers
21%
45%
29%
Problem solving skills
Completers
8%
50%
38%
Non-completers
28%
52%
15%
Numeracy skills
Completers
19%
50%
23%
Non-completers
37%
42%
13%
IT skills
Completers
31%
37%
20%
Non-completers
53%
31%
8%
Not at all To some extent To a large extent
Base : All employers who have had MAs complete an apprenticeship, all employers who have had all MAs not complete an apprenticeship
22 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

8. Views on Reasons for Non‐Completion
The survey sought employers’ views on the reasons why some MAs do not complete their
apprenticeship (Figure 8.1). This was also a question that we asked of MAs in a separate study 6 .
Overall, 37 per cent of employers had experienced at least one MA not complete their
apprenticeship on their assigned framework and level at some point in time.
The most frequent reason given by employers (29 per cent) was that MAs who did not
complete had a poor attitude or were not interested.
A further 16 per cent of employers said that MAs had left to move into a new industry or
take up a different career.
Employers also stated that some MAs left for reasons not connected to MA training:
personal or health reasons (10 per cent); or to take up a better job elsewhere (9 per cent).
Figure 8.1: Reasons for Non‐Completion
Poor attitude / were not interested
29%
Left to move into a new industry / take up a
different career path
16%
Personal / Health issues
Left to take up a better paid job elsewhere
The coursework was too difficult for the trainee
Dismissed
Moved / Left the company / area
The coursework was more time-consuming
than expected
Financial / Economic issues
Were not suitable
Decided it wasn't for them
10%
9%
8%
7%
5%
3%
3%
3%
3%
NB Only responses 3% or above are shown
Base : All employers that have had an MA not complete their Apprenticeship
6 Skills Development Scotland (2012) Modern Apprenticeships Outcomes 2012
http://www.researchonline.org.uk/sds/search/download.do?ref=B29740
23 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

Preventing MA Non‐completion
Employers were asked what actions they felt they could have taken to prevent apprentices
from failing to complete their MA (Figure 8.2).
Most employers (70 per cent) felt that there was nothing that they could have done
5 per cent said that they could have provided better or more support to the apprentice, and
3 per cent said that they should have had a higher quality screening or interview process.
Figure 8.2: Preventing Non‐Completion
Nothing
70%
Provided more / better support to their
apprentice
Should have had a higher quality screening
/ interview process
Offered a more competitve salary
5%
3%
2%
Made the job more attractive to them
Made the requirements of the programme
clearer
2%
2%
Don't know
12%
NB Only responses 2% or above are shown
Base : All employers that have had an MA not complete their Apprenticeship
24 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

9. Future Plans and Intentions
The vast majority of employers surveyed would recommend MAs if asked by another employer
in their industry sector.
A total of 82 per cent of employers would recommend MAs. 54 per cent said that they would
strongly recommend MAs, and a further 28 per cent said that they would recommend MAs
with some reservations.
15 per cent of employers said they would be neutral about MAs, and a further 2 per cent
would advise against them.
Future Plans
A sizeable majority of employers stated that they plan to continue offering MAs. 83 per cent
of employers said that they would continue to offer MAs, 13 per cent plan to stop offering
MAs and 4 per cent were not sure.
Of those employers who plan to continue offering MAs, 69 per cent expect the number to
remain the same, 19 per cent expect the number to increase and 9 per cent expect the
number to decrease (Figure 9.1).
In addition a further 32 per cent of employers who plan to continue offering MAs plan to
extend their use throughout the company.
Figure 9.1: Future Plans and Propensity to Recommend
4% are not sure
83% plan to
continue offering
MAs
13% plan to stop
offering MAs
Base: All employers
9% expect to
decrease number
of MAs
69% expect
number of MAs to
remain the same
19% expect
number of MAs to
increase
32% plan to
extend use
throughout the
company
Base: All employers who plan to continue offering MAs or are unsure whether they will
Those employers who said they planned to stop offering MAs were asked their reasons for not
wanting to continue. Although these were a relatively small number of employers, the
breakdown is useful.
25 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

The most common reason given by these employers for not continuing MAs in the future
(Figure 9.2) was that the costs were too high. 26 per cent of employers who plan to stop
offering MAs gave this as a reason.
The next most common reason given was that the employer had a bad experience or felt
that the MA had not gone well. 25 per cent of employers who plan to stop offering MAs gave
this as a reason.
17 per cent of employers who plan to stop offering MAs also gave a lack of available work as
a reason.
Figure 9.2: Reasons for not continuing with MA programme
The costs are too high
Bad experience / Modern Apprenticeship training
has not gone well
26%
25%
Minimal work available
17%
All our staff fully skilled, no need
Retiring / Selling or closing business
The course is not beneficial / relevant to the
company
Apprentices tend to leave soon after their training
10%
9%
8%
7%
It takes up too much time / It is a hassle
5%
Likely / prefer to recruit experienced staff
Apprentices lack ability / skills
3%
3%
NB Only responses 3% or above are shown
Base : All employers who would not continue to offer MAs
26 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

Annex A – Profile of Survey Respondents
Group Number (n) Max. confidence
interval (+/‐ %)
All 2,500 1.8
All completers 1,583 2.3
Any non‐completers 474 4.2
All non‐completers 443 4.3
Level 2 514 4.0
Level 3 1,868 2.1
Level 4 118 8.3
The maximum confidence interval is based on a finding of 50 per cent at the 95 per cent
confidence level. That is, if our analysis finds that 50 per cent of all MA employers have a certain
characteristic, then the 95 per cent confidence level for that estimate is 50 +/‐ 1.8 per cent. That
is, we can be 95 per cent confident that the true value lies between 48 per cent and 52 per cent.
27 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

Framework
Number (n) Max.
confidence
interval
(+/‐ %)
Construction 358 4.9
Automotive 244 5.8
Business & Administration 224 6.0
Hospitality 220 6.2
Retail 166 7.1
Electrical Installation 156 7.2
Children’s Care, Learning & Development 145 7.3
Hairdressing & Barbering 143 7.6
Engineering 142 7.5
Plumbing 116 8.5
Management 110 8.6
Health & Social Care 88 9.9
Customer Service 70 10.8
Food Manufacture 69 10.6
Other construction/manufacturing/engineering 86 9.5
Other Service Industries 163 7.3
Total 2500 1.8
28 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

Annex B – Employer Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction ‐ Reasons
29 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

Annex C – The Modern Apprenticeship Programme in Scotland
Modern Apprenticeships are a methodology of learning which combines paid employment and
training (for those aged over 16) to achieve industry qualifications at the level required for the
job. They are geared towards helping new recruits or existing employees gain invaluable skills
and industry recognised vocational qualifications.
A variety of agencies are involved in the design, development and delivery of Modern
Apprenticeships in Scotland. Skills Development Scotland promotes and administers the public
funding contribution for MAs on behalf of the Scottish Government. Each individual follows a
Modern Apprenticeship Framework which is developed by the appropriate Sector Skills Council
(SSC) in consultation with their industry. Training Providers, Colleges and Employers train and
assess the competence of the apprentices.
30 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

Annex D – Non‐participating Employers
To complement the findings from the survey of MA employers, a separate analysis was
commissioned, drawing on the UK Commission for Employment and Skills Employer Perspectives
Survey 7 . The Employer Perspectives Survey is a UK‐wide survey gathering the views of 15,000
employers across the UK. It provides a picture of how employers are meeting their skills needs,
looking both at their engagement with skills and employment services and their broader
approaches to people development. The survey and analysis for the UK Employer Perspectives
Survey was conducted by an independent market research company, IFF.
This report draws on a sub‐sample of 2,000 employers in Scotland analysed specifically for this
report by IFF. The results presented in this section are statistically robust, in other words the
results from the sample are not significantly different from the population of employers in
Scotland as a whole.
Who Offers Apprenticeships
Of the employers sampled, 12 per cent offered MAs, 1 per cent offered informal
apprenticeships and 87 per cent did not offer any apprenticeship.
Because of the shape of the employer population, most employers who offer MAs are small,
with fewer than ten employees. However, proportionately, larger employers are much more
likely to offer MAs – 43 per cent of larger employers offer MAs compared with only 7 per
cent of the smallest employers (Figure D.1).
Figure D.1: Proportion of Employers Offering MAs by Size
100+ employees
43%
25-99 employees
24%
10-24 employees
18%
5-9 employees
11%
2-4 employees
7%
7 UK Commission’s employer perspectives survey 2012 (Evidence report 79) Available at
http://www.researchonline.org.uk/sds/search/download.do?ref=B29091
31 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

Similarly, the uptake of MAs is strongest in the Construction and Manufacturing sectors,
although Trade, accommodation and transport and Business and other services account for
the largest number of total employers offering MAs (Figure D.2).
Figure D.2: Proportion of Employers Offering MAs by Sector
Non-market services
12%
Business and other services
12%
Trade, Accommodation and Transport
9%
Construction
28%
Manufacturing
25%
Primary sector and utilities
1%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Knowledge of MAs and Related Organisations
Most employers who don’t offer MAs claim to know something about them, although how much
they know varies by sector (Figure D.3).
Overall 30 per cent of non‐participating employers claim a (very) good knowledge of MAs
and a further 45 per cent claim some knowledge of MAs – therefore 75 per cent of
employers state that they have at least some knowledge of MAs.
The construction sector has the highest proportion of non‐participating employers claiming
knowledge of MAs: 54 per cent say they have a (very) good knowledge and a further 30 per
cent say they have a good knowledge – therefore 84 per cent claim at least some
knowledge.
The primary and utilities sector has the lowest proportion of non‐participating employers
claiming knowledge of MAs: 15 per cent say they have a (very) good knowledge and a
further 52 per cent say they have a good knowledge – therefore 67 per cent claim at least
some knowledge.
32 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

Figure D.3: Level of knowledge about MAs by sector
Construction
12%
30%
54%
Manufacturing
16%
32%
45%
Business and other services
18%
45%
34%
Scotland
20%
45%
30%
Trade, Accommodation, transport
21%
45%
28%
Non-market services
23%
48%
25%
Primary and utilities
27%
52%
15%
No knowledge Some knowledge (Very) Good knowledge
Base: All establishments not offering Modern Apprenticeships
The level of knowledge about organisations and initiatives related to MAs were lower among
non‐participating employers, although not always markedly so (Figure D.4).
48 per cent of non‐participating employers were aware of SDS, as opposed to 68 per cent of
participating employers who offer apprentices.
9 per cent of both non‐participating and participating employers were aware of Group
Training Associations.
7 per cent of non‐participating employers were aware of Adopt an Apprentice, as opposed
to 14 per cent of participating employers.
33 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

Figure D.4: Levels of knowledge about organisations and initiatives related to MAs
Skills Development Scotland
48%
68%
Group Training Associations
9%
9%
Not offering Modern
Apprenticeships
Adopt an Apprentice
7%
14%
Offering Modern Apprenticeships
Bases:
All establishments offering Modern Apprenticeships
All establishments not offering Modern Apprenticeships
Awareness of public contributions towards the cost of MA training did not appear to differ
greatly between participating and non‐participating employers. Around one‐third (32 per cent)
of non‐participating employers were aware of the contribution, slightly lower than the figure of
44 per cent amongst participating employers.
Attitudes to Qualifications
All employers are positive about the value of qualifications in informing recruitment decisions,
but non‐participating employers are less positive (Figure D.5). Overall, the highest value was
given by participating employers to SVQs.
36 per cent of non‐participating employers said that SVQs had a positive value to them,
compared with 57 per cent of participating employers.
35 per cent of non‐participating employers said that other VQs had a positive value to them,
compared with 42 per cent of participating employers
43 per cent of non‐participating employers said that academic qualifications had a positive
value to them, compared with 55 per cent of participating employers
Figure D.5: Employers’ attitudes towards qualifications
Employer Offering MAs No Value Positive Value
SVQs 14% 57%
Other VQs 14% 42%
Academic Qualifications 12% 55%
Employer not offering MAs No Value Positive Value
SVQs 29% 36%
Other VQs 29% 35%
Academic Qualifications 23% 43%
34 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

Activities Undertaken
Those employers offering MAs are also much more likely to have taken external advice in skills
and training and to have offered work placements to employees (Figure D.6). Also, among those
employers recruiting in the last 12 months, those participating in MAs are more likely to recruit
young people.
Figure D.6: Other activities carried out by employers offering an MA
Offer any type of work
placements
24%
43%
Recruit young people*
65%
76%
Take external advice
24%
59%
Employers not offering MAs
Employers offering MAs
Bases: All establishments offering Modern Apprenticeships / All establishments not offering Modern
Apprenticeships
*All establishments recruited in last 12 monthes and offering Modern Apprenticeships / All establishments
recruited in last 12 months and not offering Modern Apprenticeships
Barriers to offering MAs
Non‐participating employers were asked why they did not currently offer MAs. The UKCES
Employer Perspectives Survey classified barriers as structural, active choice and lack of
awareness. Structural barriers were found to be the most significant (Figure D.7) with 53 per
cent of non‐participating employers reporting a structural barrier, such as non‐availability for
their industry or cost, to offering MAs.
35 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

Figure D.7: Barriers to Offering Apprenticeships among Non‐Participating Employers
Structural barriers
53%
Combination of responses,
including:
- not available for our industry
- not suitable for our business
- not recruiting, can’t afford to
- too much red tape/bureaucracy
Actively choosing not to
28%
Combination of responses,
including:
- all staff fully skilled
- prefer to recruit experienced staff
- bad experience
-
in the past
Low awareness / knowledge
14%
Combination of responses,
including:
- never have, so not considered
- no enquiries
- don’t know enough about them
Don't know / no particular reason
14%
Base:
All employers not offering any Apprenticeships
36 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL

Future Plans to offer MAs
Non‐participating employers were asked if they planned to offer MAs in the future and a
sizeable minority (18 per cent) answered positively (Figure D.8).
Figure D.8: Non‐participating Employers who plan to offer apprenticeships in the future
Manufacturing
35%
Construction
27%
Business and Other Services
Non-market Services
Primary and Utilities
Trade, Accommodation and Transport
ALL
20%
18%
17%
14%
18%
Base: All establishments not offering Modern Apprenticeships
37 MA Employer Survey 2012 FINAL