Take 5: The 5% Club Podcast

In this episode of Take Five , Lindsay Conroy (Director of Policy & Strategic Engagement) is joined by Phil Smith, Chair of Skills England, to explore the key themes emerging from the recently published Skills England Annual Report and what they mean for employers, learners and the future of the UK's skills system.  The discussion covers the growing challenge of supporting young people in...

Welcome to the The 5% Club Podcast: Take Five – where we bring you insight, inspiration and innovation from employers, stakeholders, policy makers and contributors, all in 5% of your working day. This episode is delivered in collaboration with the Youth Futures Foundation and forms part of a mini-series supporting the Make It An Apprenticeship Campaign. Bagnalls discuss how employers can use appre...

Welcome to the The 5% Club Podcast: Take Five – where we bring you insight, inspiration and innovation from employers, stakeholders, policy makers and contributors, all in 5% of your working day. This episode is delivered in collaboration with the Youth Futures Foundation and forms part of a mini-series supporting the Make It An Apprenticeship Campaign. Today Chris Shirley, Fellow of The 5% Club,...

In this episode of Take Five, Phil Smith, Chair of Skills England, joins us to discuss the recent apprenticeship assessment reforms and what they mean for employers across sectors. We explore the rationale behind the changes, how the reforms aim to create a more streamlined and responsive system, and the role employers are playing in shaping assessment approaches that better reflect workplace real...

In this episode of Take Five, Phil Smith, Chair of Skills England, joins us to discuss the recent apprenticeship assessment reforms and what they mean for employers across sectors. We explore the rationale behind the changes, how the reforms aim to create a more streamlined and responsive system, and the role employers are playing in shaping assessment approaches that better reflect workplace real...

In this episode of Take Five, we are joined by Phil Smith, Chair of Skills England, to explore the Government’s Youth Guarantee and the recent announcements aimed at reducing youth unemployment and expanding access to apprenticeships. We discuss the strategic ambition behind the Youth Guarantee, the role employers can play in creating more opportunities for young people, and the new incentive stru...

In this episode of Take Five , we speak to inspirational employer MCFT, a business that has gone all in on apprenticeships. Facing skills shortages and an ageing workforce, MCFT made a strategic decision to grow their own talent. As an established employer-provider, they now recruit four times a year to their engineering programmes and achieve retention rates significantly above the national avera...

In this special National Apprenticeship Week episode of Take Five, we are joined by Phil Smith CBE, Chair of Skills England, for a celebratory and forward-looking conversation about the power of apprenticeships. Together, we reflect on the role employers play in building the UK’s future workforce, the impact apprenticeships have on individuals and businesses alike, and why investing in early talen...