Business owners across four industries say they can no longer afford to take on apprentices, despite high demand from young workers. A decade of frozen government funding, soaring minimum wages, material inflation and heavy supervision costs have pushed employers to the brink, with many forced to pull the plug on their schemes.
Mechanics hit by training costs
Jason McManus, who runs Mouths Motor Company LTD, wants to bring on younger workers but feels the costs are now too high. Becoming a mechanic himself in 2000, he was paid £2.50 an hour to learn on the job. Now he has to pay minimum wage to learners plus shoulder training costs.
"When we're running a trade, we can't add an expense that doesn't provide any profit to cover the expense. I'm not begrudging paying a wage, because they're working but then on top of that, you're expected to pay for all of their training which then becomes really expensive," he told The Mirror.
"A three-year apprenticeship programme comes in at around about £13,000 a year that we have to pay as employers. If we had a 16-year-old apprentice who was doing it through a college provider, we'd also have to for their travel there, their accommodation while there, all their food and everything they need, plus the training course."
Jason said taking on an apprentice now would cost him roughly £30,000 for the year, with no guarantee they will stay once qualified. "Why would people want to take on an apprentice for £30,000 a year rather than employ someone at £28,000 a year that's going to earn you money from day one?"
"The government are pushing everyone to take apprentices, but they don't support businesses," Jason argues. "It doesn't make sense where we have to pay for everything. We want to take them on, but something needs to be done to subsidise the costs."
Hidden costs for small firms
Screwfix boss John Mewett recently warned the 'bureaucracy' and rising employment costs are turning businesses away from hiring young workers through apprenticeships. Britain faces a growing shortage of tradespeople, with just 24% of workers in the trades aged 44 or less, according to the company. Their survey of 700 trade professionals found 48% of employers who hired an apprentice last year received no funding because navigating the system was too difficult.
Nathan Trasler, director of window and doors business RKNA Ltd, is well-versed in taking on young apprentices but says it's a complicated picture. "There's a chance we could find a really motivated, talented member of staff who can grow and stay with business for an extended period of time, all at a reduced cost compared to other candidates, so financially it makes sense," he says. "We wouldn't need to pay national insurance either, so it's a huge help."
But there are hidden costs. Restrictions on tasks younger apprentices can take on, particularly with heavy machinery, mean additional risk assessments, training and supervising requirements all take up resources. "They also couldn't be left alone with just one member of staff, which, whilst important for obvious safeguarding reasons, sometimes reduced the whole factory or office workplace's output," he explains. "There had to be multiple people around and they also weren't allowed on heavy machinery either, which hindered the amount of work they can do."
New legislation is set to provide qualifying employers with 100% funding on training and assessment costs for apprentices aged 16 to 24, alongside a £1,000 payment, increasing to £2,000 in October 2026. Nathan warns: "While these government subsidies seem a great benefit, it's the hidden costs like additional supervision, working restrictions and overall productivity loss that can burden us, and many other small businesses, when hiring apprentices, at least in the short term. The ever-rising minimum wage costs also mean the pay difference between an apprentice and a younger worker who may have relevant experience for us is not that great, which makes it harder to justify for us."
Minimum wage rises hit apprenticeships
Minimum wage for apprenticeships has risen significantly in the last decade. When apprenticeships were first introduced in October 2010, minimum wage was just £2.50 an hour. It's now grown by 220%. In October 2013 it had jumped to £3.30, April 2021 saw wages rise to £4.30, then in April 2024 it had gone up to £6.40. By April 2025 it was at £7.55 and now in April 2026 the wage is £8.
For any small business operating on small profit margins, adding another £15,000–£20,000+ a year to the payroll is a massive extra cost. Business owners also need to cover the apprentice wage while they are studying, which equates to around 20% of their working hours off the job.
For Edwin Trebles, owner of tech and data software company LangOptima, taking on apprentices takes up too much "startup oxygen" and the cash needed is not viable. "There just needs to be a bit of a compromise, as there is not much budget to for these apprentices," he warns. Edwin suggests young workers should be willing to receive unpaid positions to gain work experience and mentorship, but for many young people, working without being paid is not feasible.
Some of the most popular apprenticeships across the country are in Business and Administration, Health and Social Care, Education and Early Years, Engineering and Manufacturing, and Digital and Technology. But for more specialised roles in healthcare and dentistry, apprenticeships are much harder for smaller employers. David Drew, owner of boutique cosmetic dentist The Dental Barn in the West Midlands, says bringing them on would be "more work" for staff to make sure they aren't compromising on patient care. "As dentistry is so heavily regulated, you couldn't just leave someone to it," he explains. "Everything needs to be done to a very high standard and done properly. Some of their training is paid for, but not all of it."
For David, it's not about the cost, it's more about the "resource burden." "I would need to have a team ready to look after the apprentice. That means taking someone away from their core job to help with the training. It's not so much the financial side of it for me, it's the time it takes to train someone up that is hard. It can also be quite risky as patients want to be handled with care and empathy."
Young people face bleak prospects
The wider picture for young people is bleak. Almost one million people in Britain aged 16 to 24 are not in education, employment or training (NEET). Six out of 10 NEETs have never had a job, up from four in 10 in 2005. Nowhere is this crisis more apparent than in Huyton, Knowsley, where young people are 40 per cent more likely to be NEET, earning the borough the dubious title of the 'NEET capital of the UK'.
When visiting the town in June, The Mirror heard stories of young people who have spent up to four years trying - and failing - to find work. Knocked back for entry-level McDonald's jobs and facing fierce competition for work on supermarket tills, they say the only options lie further afield but without the money or means to travel, many are stuck. Terry, who did not wish his surname to be published, told how despite having earned an NVQ in retail and customer service, he has held just two paid positions in his life - both temporary Christmas roles. Now 28, he said he's tried everywhere from B&M to the Card Factory, but to no avail, adding that he would work "nearly anywhere as long as it was a paid job". "My hope for the future is actually successfully getting a paying job. That's the main thing I'm clawing at to get," he said.
At a local pub, the Mirror caught up with friends Nathan and Joe, both 22, who faced the gruelling task of finding work as 18-year-olds. Joe told us that, during his time on Universal Credit, most job offers were too far away. One of the jobs offered to Joe was a 16-hour contract at Liverpool Airport. The wage wasn't enough to cover the commute which would have involved taking a taxi back. Nowadays, Joe drives, which makes things much easier, and he was fortunately able to secure a position at the warehouse where his dad works. Not everybody is so lucky.
Locals say jobs in the area tend to be part-time, with little advancement potential. As a jobseeker, Joe was put forward for 16-hour Easter contracts but found skilled, full-time work rare. He noted: "It's not really any progression, not like something you could do for the rest of your life or you could build on."
