12.02.2026

Make UK welcomed MPs from across Parliament yesterday to mark National Apprenticeship Week with a dedicated drop-in event celebrating the vital role apprenticeships play in strengthening UK manufacturing and engineering.

The session brought together parliamentarians, industry leaders and award-winning apprentices to highlight both the success stories and the urgent challenges facing the sector.

Showcasing Award-Winning Talent

MPs met apprentices from Automate BEST (Business, Education, Skills and Training), an network (supported by Automate UK) promoting and supporting apprenticeships across engineering, manufacturing, robotics and machine vision.

Apprentices showcased their innovative work, including a competition-winning machine design developed as part of Automate BEST’s apprenticeship cluster programme. The programme fosters collaboration, technical excellence and the sharing of best practice across the sector - demonstrating the high-quality training and talent pipeline apprenticeships can deliver when properly supported.Addressing the Skills Challenge

During discussions, Make UK highlighted the pressing workforce challenges facing manufacturers. Apprenticeship starts in manufacturing and engineering have fallen by 40% since the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in 2017. Meanwhile, more than £1 billion a year raised from employers through skills levies is not currently reinvested into training.

With skills shortages continuing to constrain growth, productivity and competitiveness, the event provided a timely opportunity to set out the reforms needed to ensure the system works effectively for employers and apprentices alike.

A Call for a Skills Investment Pledge

Make UK used the event to outline our calls for Government to commit to a Skills Investment Pledge - ensuring that every pound raised through skills levies is spent on developing the workforce. We also urged targeted incentives for smaller employers and greater flexibility in training provision to support the diverse needs of modern manufacturing businesses.

National Apprenticeship Week is an important moment to celebrate the achievements of apprentices and the employers who invest in them. But it is also a reminder that long-term, fully funded investment in skills is essential to secure the future workforce our economy depends on.

Make UK will continue to work with policymakers and industry to ensure apprenticeships remain a cornerstone of growth, innovation and opportunity across UK manufacturing.