The best laid plans: Why good intentions make bad apprenticeships

Most executives treat apprenticeships as a yes-or-no decision. You either run a program or you do not. Research by Quigley (2026) shows that this framing hides the variable that matters most. Two companies can be equally committed, recruit every year, pay the levy, and still produce opposite outcomes for apprentices and for the business. What separates them is what leaders believe the program is for. Quigley (2026) conducted 60 interviews across eleven large Scottish employers between July 2021 and August 2022, then selected two for detailed comparison. Both were classified as committed employers: positive attitudes, active participation. On paper they...