How unions are transforming apprenticeships

If we want to boost the prospects of young people, unions must be a key player. Unions can increase participation in apprenticeships and make a significant difference by negotiating for better training standards, sufficient training time and improved pay, reducing dropout rates and enhancing apprenticeship experience. 

We know this is possible, because it’s already happening. During Young Workers Month we’ve gathered case studies to highlight the difference unions are making for apprentices around the country. 

Here are two examples from the construction sector.  

Hinkley Point C – pay, progression and safety for apprentices – a win by Union and GMB members 

The construction of new nuclear power station Hinkley Point C (HPC) has become a flagship for large-scale, high-quality apprenticeships in major infrastructure. Following trade union negotiation, EDF (the developer) pledged to create 1,000 apprenticeships during construction, but hit this target ahead of schedule in 2022 and has since expanded delivery to around 1,500 apprentices by 2025. 

The programme covers a broad range of disciplines, from civil trades such as steel-fixing and tunnelling, to electrical and instrumentation, welding, project controls, construction management and business support. Training is anchored locally through Bridgwater & Taunton College and the National College for Nuclear, with additional provision from employer-led academies and the HPC Jobs Service. The majority of apprentices are recruited from the South West. 

HPC’s apprenticeship policy is integrated within a site-wide industrial relations framework agreement. This agreement covers all contractors and subcontractors on site, ensuring consistent pay, conditions and skills standards across the multi-tier supply chain. 

Unions have played a central role in: 

• Pay and progression: securing wage structures that allow apprentices to step onto skilled grades upon completion.
• Quality assurance: resisting de-skilling and ensuring apprenticeships are trade- specific, accredited and portable.
• Health, safety and welfare: embedding union safety reps and joint inspections into site governance.
• Dispute resolution: providing structured channels that have resolved issues, including in tunnelling, without prolonged disruption 

The results demonstrate that large infrastructure projects can deliver apprenticeships at scale and quality when union involvement is built-in from the outset. Benefits include achieving target numbers at pace, retention of a skilled local workforce, and enhanced safety culture. 

Challenges remain, particularly around maintaining standards across complex contractor chains and ensuring that welfare issues are addressed promptly. 

HPC shows the value of setting ambitious, transparent apprenticeship targets, embedding union agreements site-wide that provide the context for training policies, aligning pay progression with skills growth, and creating strong local training partnerships. 

Sizewell C Skills & “Work Ready” Pipeline – investment in young people and Further Education – a win for GMB, Unite and Prospect 

Sizewell C, the UK’s next major nuclear power station, is projected to create around 10,000 jobs during construction, including 1,500 apprenticeships, with at least a third of the workforce from East Anglia. Building on lessons from Hinkley Point C, the project has embedded a structured skills and “work ready” programme to maximise local benefit and ensure high-quality jobs. 

At the heart of this is the Sizewell C Skills Charter, agreed in partnership with unions, alongside the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), councils and local FE providers. The charter commits all contractors to: 

• Support pre-employment training to prepare local residents for site work, targeting under-represented groups.
• Offer accredited, high-quality apprenticeships linked to recognised trades and technical disciplines.
• Invest in upskilling and reskilling, creating transferable skills for long-term careers. 

Unions have shaped the charter’s provisions to ensure that skills investment is tied to secure employment, fair pay and safe working conditions. Their role includes: 

• Negotiating the industrial relations framework: to cover all contractors and subcontractors, embedding apprenticeship and training obligations into site agreements.
• Monitoring training quality and standards: to protect against de-skilling and low-value placements.
• Championing equality, diversity and inclusion: in recruitment, pushing for better representation of women, young people, and workers from disadvantaged backgrounds.
• Joint oversight of health, safety and welfare: integrating H&S reps into the governance of training and induction. 

Delivery is supported by £23 million of investment in local FE and training facilities, and the ASEC Fund (£3.9 million in 2024-25) to enhance curriculum, trainers, and equipment. The Young Sizewell C programme has engaged over 1,300 young people and 200 schools, creating clear pathways from education to site work. 

Sizewell C demonstrates how early, formalised union involvement in a skills strategy can lock in high-quality, fair jobs, protect training standards across a multi-tier supply chain, and leave a sustainable skills legacy for the region.