Investing in trusted training providers: the missing link in the UK’s skills revolution
Chris Claydon, Chief Executive Officer
| JTL
The UK’s skills revolution will stall unless government backs trusted training providers and gives SMEs the confidence to hire apprentices
Skills and apprenticeships have rightly moved from the shadows to the spotlight of the government’s economic agenda. A skilled workforce is vital for productivity, growth, and net-zero ambitions. Yet, despite the rhetoric, building services engineering – that is the mechanical, electrical and plumbing trades that power the UK’s infrastructure, remain overlooked.
At JTL, a not-for-profit Independent Training Provider (ITP), specialising in electrical and plumbing apprenticeships we see the impact of quality vocational training every day. We deliver thousands of skilled tradespeople who keep homes warm, businesses running, and enable the energy transition. But this success depends on investment in training capacity and policies that give employers, especially SMEs, the confidence to hire apprentices.
Fully funded apprenticeships for under 25s announced in the Autumn Budget are a welcome boost for small businesses – the backbone of this sector who must invest in the next generation. The real test will be the decisions employers make in the months ahead. Growth depends on sustained investment in infrastructure, and that future needs skilled electricians and plumbers to deliver it.
The capacity challenge
Funding still flows exclusively to colleges, leaving independent providers, who deliver most construction and building services apprenticeships, struggling to scale. This imbalance creates bottlenecks just as demand for skilled labour surges. Low-carbon technologies, home retrofits, and transport electrification all need technical skills. Without investment in trusted providers like JTL, the system cannot meet the challenge.
Independent providers bring agility and industry expertise. JTL trains over a third of England’s electricians and 12 per cent of plumbers, with achievement rates above average. Yet funding for classroom-only courses, proven not to lead to jobs, diverts much-needed resources from where they make more of an impact. Independent providers lose out on cash for training staff, buildings and equipment, which in turn impacts quality and drives up delivery costs.
Apprenticeship funding bands haven’t risen in line with the cost of delivery, despite added technical content like EV charging and solar PV. We’re asked to do more with less.
SME confidence: the other half of the equation
Even if training capacity grows, apprenticeships only work if businesses hire. SMEs dominate building services engineering, and these firms want to invest in talent but face cost pressures, workload uncertainty, and admin complexity. Around 80 per cent of electrical and plumbing apprenticeship starts are SME-led, yet engagement has fallen since 2017. Incentives exist but often miss the mark; for example £2,000 for Foundation Apprenticeships that simply don’t suit this industry.
To scale up, SMEs need simplification in the apprenticeships system, targeted grants, and tax reliefs that reflect the strategic value of skills investment. Confidence breeds commitment. When SMEs know policy will back their decision to train, they invest – creating a virtuous cycle of more apprentices, more productive workers, and stronger economies.
A call to action
The UK cannot afford piecemeal skills policy. We need a coherent strategy linking training investment with employer support. Moving skills to the Department for Work and Pensions is a chance to deliver that.
Skills policy needs to be about trust. Trust in quality training and trust that employers will be backed. At JTL, we are ready to deliver. The question is: will policy empower us?
Find out more about JTL, our partner employers and apprentices, by visiting our website jtltraining.com
References
- JTL trains over a third of England’s electricians and 12 per cent of plumbers:
- Annual Qualification Achievement Rates (QAR) data, DfE
- Around 80 per cent of electrical and plumbing apprenticeship starts are SME-led, yet engagement has fallen since 2017:
- Apprenticeship Starts Academic year 23-24, DfE
- Apprenticeships in England by industry characteristics, Academic year 23-24, DfE
