National Apprenticeship Week 2025

[edit] About National Apprenticeship Week

National Apprenticeship Week celebrates and showcases the positive impact of apprenticeships on individuals, employers, various industries, sectors and the economy. Apprentices, employers, training providers, parents, schools, colleges, universities, End Point Assessment Organisations (EPAOs), the Department for Education, ambassadors and related skills programmes all contribute to the success of apprenticeships and skills across the country. This is a week of coming together to promote the benefits of apprenticeships and encourage more people to consider apprenticeship opportunities as a pathway to acquiring new skills and building rewarding careers.

National Apprenticeship Week was first launched in 2008 by the National Apprenticeship Service in the UK, typically taking place in February each year, and running from February 10th to February 16th in 2025. As an annual event it has grown, celebrating the achievements of apprentices and highlighting the vital role apprenticeships play in addressing skills shortages and boosting economic growth. It is a valuable opportunity to recognise the importance of apprenticeships in shaping the workforce of the future and raising awareness encouraging more people to explore apprenticeship programs.

[edit] ‘Skills For Life’ theme

Theme for National Apprenticeship Week 2025 was announced by the Department for Education as ‘Skills For Life’. For more information, visit the NAW website and download the NAW toolkit and T Level Toolkit – which are available to support the apprenticeship and skills community with planning their activity for National Apprenticeship Week 2025.

To find out more about events during National Apprenticeship Week 2025 follow this link

To find out more about apprenticeships, visit: www.apprenticeships.gov.uk.

[edit] National Apprenticeship Week at ECA

Apprenticeships have been and remain the dominant and preferred entry route for individuals joining the electrical industry. Consistently, the electrical apprenticeship enjoys one of the highest take-ups of any apprenticeship: 25% of all ‘construction and built environment apprentices’ in England are electrical apprentices, for example.

Other features that set electrical contractors apart include the fact that apprentice numbers have grown in recent years, not shrunk. There is also the essential role played by SME employers in the sector: 80% of electrical apprentices are employed by businesses too small to pay the Growth and Skills levy.

During National Apprenticeship Week in both England and Wales, ECA will be shining a light on different facets of apprenticeships in our industry.

Celebrating the achievements of some of the former apprentices featured on the Electrical Careers website. These achievements include not only successful progression in their own careers post qualification, but also an admirable willingness to share experiences and insights with the next generation of apprentices and potential apprentices.

With Jeremy Parkin, ECA Member and Chair of our all-Wales Skills Forum, discusses the work we are doing to influence the Welsh Government and other key bodies to help improve apprenticeship provision in Wales. And to mark the 50th anniversary of the ECA Edmundson Apprentice Awards, ECA President, Stuart Smith, and Edmundson Managing Director, Mark Felber, will look ahead to some of the special features of this year’s Awards.

On each day of the week ECA’s Catherine Watt will highlight one of the resources available on the ECA website and th MyECA app to support Members in their role as apprentice employers.

Employing apprentices is not without its challenges, and certain recent events – not least last autumn’s Budget – have arguably accentuated these challenges even more than before.

As always, however, National Apprenticeship Week offers a chance to consider the ongoing benefits of apprenticeships, both for individual businesses and the industry in general. ECA will also continue to play our part: offering relevant advice and support to Members; influencing policy-makers at both national and regional levels; and, celebrating the hard-earned successes of apprentices and their employers.

The first sections of this article are based on 'National ApprenticeshipWeek 2025' the last section appears on the ECA news and blogsite as 'National Apprenticeship Week at ECA', dated 10 February 2025.

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