Top apprenticeship employers announced
The Department for Education (DfE) has released a list of top employers of apprentices, which includes the Armed Forces, BAE Systems, Amazon and Network Rail.
Based on employers’ commitment to create new apprenticeships, the diversity of their apprentices, and the number of apprentices completing their apprenticeships, the rankings were unveiled by the new Skills Minister Baroness Smith last month during a special TV broadcast.
The Armed Forces took three of the top five spots: the British Army came out on top for the fourth year running, with 16% of employees taking up apprenticeships, accounting for 4,344 new starts in 2023/24 alone.
Hot on the British Army's heels was BT Technology in second, followed by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. The London Ambulance Service were fifth, with BAE Systems, Go-Ahead Group Transport, Mitchells & Butlers Hospitality, childcare provider Tops Day and accounting firm PwC taking the remaining spots in the top ten respectively.
The programme featured a full countdown of the nation’s top apprenticeship employers, specially-filmed showcases of apprenticeship employers featured in the new rankings, plus studio interviews with apprenticeship recruiters and current apprentices. Watch the video below.
The organisations were compiled based on the latest data about England's apprenticeship employers, so there was no voting and no judging process to determine the results.
Accounting firm DJH was the front runner in the Top 50 SME Apprenticeship Employers for 2024, followed by two construction firms and a childcare provider. The full lists are available here.