The longer the better? The impact of the 2012 apprenticeship reform in England on achievement and labour market outcomes

Abstract

We analyse the effects of a 2012 reform, which increased the duration of many service sector apprenticeships, while leaving many other apprenticeships, including some in the service sector, unaffected. Using a Difference-in-Differences approach, we estimate the effect of this reform on apprenticeship starts, achievement, drop-out, employment and earnings. We find evidence for reduced apprenticeship starts, increased drop-out rates and reduced achievement of the qualification, but also significantly increased earnings, especially amongst achievers. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

Author Keywords

Apprenticeship Returns to education United Kingdom

Index Keywords

Employment United Kingdom returns to education labor market England reform process service sector

Author Affiliations

Centre for Vocational Education Research, United Kingdom, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, United Kingdom, London, United Kingdom

King’s Business School, London, United Kingdom, Centre for Vocational Education Research, United Kingdom

Funding & Acknowledgements

Department for Education, DfE

Funding text 1: We would like to thank the editor and two reviewers for their comments as well as Sandra McNally and an anonymous reviewer from the London School of Economics for comments on an earlier version. We gratefully acknowledge comments obtained in presentations at the London School of Economics, the 2016 Conference of the Centre for Vocational Education Research (CVER), the Department for Education and the Education Policy Institute (London). We would like to thank Marcus O'Brien and Adrian Jones from the Department for Education, and Andy Cooke from the Skills and Funding Agency for their help with data access. This work has been funded by Department for Education under the CVER programme. Declarations of interest: None.; Funding text 2: We would like to thank the editor and two reviewers for their comments as well as Sandra McNally and an anonymous reviewer from the London School of Economics for comments on an earlier version. We gratefully acknowledge comments obtained in presentations at the London School of Economics, the 2016 Conference of the Centre for Vocational Education Research (CVER), the Department for Education and the Education Policy Institute (London). We would like to thank Marcus O’Brien and Adrian Jones from the Department for Education, and Andy Cooke from the Skills and Funding Agency for their help with data access. This work has been funded by Department for Education under the CVER programme.

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The longer the better? The impact of the 2012 apprenticeship reform in England on achievement and labour market outcomes

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