This week, we’re celebrating National Apprenticeship Week 2025 in the UK. It’s a chance to shine a light on the positive impact apprenticeships make to individuals, businesses, and the wider economy.
This year’s theme - Skills for Life – is timely, as students and employees around the world consider the impact of Generative AI, and the skills and knowledge they might need to thrive in a changing world of work.
At Pearson, we’re proud to support apprentices as they navigate these skilling pathways. We’ve supported over 20,000 apprentices since 2018 as an end-point assessment organisation (EPAO), achieving an overall 98% pass rate. But beyond metrics, it’s the human impact that resonates. We spoke to apprentices, employers and training providers to hear how apprenticeships have made a difference.
Christian Disney, Pearson TQ Apprentice
Christian Disney, operations manager at BCM Global, completed a Level 5 apprenticeship with training provider Pearson TQ: “My apprenticeship has been a journey of self-development, not only within my work but also in my personal life. It gave me the confidence to grow in my role, and I’ve recently been promoted from team leader to operations manager. I’m extremely lucky to have an incredibly supportive coach in Jenny, and my line manager has given me the freedom to work through my apprenticeship.”
Jenie Keen, Customer Success Team Manager at Pearson UK, said:
“My Level 5 Operational Management apprenticeship was transformational. I started it while managing a new team in another country with little experience. This apprenticeship provided me with invaluable knowledge, skills, and confidence, greatly improving my managerial performance. Where I once felt overwhelmed in meetings, I now speak confidently, challenge senior colleagues, and make well-reasoned contributions. This experience has been career-changing, and I highly recommend apprenticeships to others.”
Jenie Keen (left) has thrived since completing her Level 5 Apprenticeship
And Great Ormond Street Hospital:
“Our colleagues on the leadership programs come from a mixture of professions. The programmes have brought our teams closer together with Pharmacists, Nurses, Allied Health professionals and non-clinical teams all learning together and from each other. We now have close to 100 Apprentices across the L3 and L5 programs with TQ – our highest at Great Ormond Street. Many from the first cohort are now completing with distinctions! We have low attrition, and this is due to the wonderful support provided by the TQ team."
Within Pearson, we have seen first-hand the positive impact they can have on our own Pearson Employee Apprentices (over 300 in total) as a pathway to learn new skills and support career progression.
Siobhan Bradley, Early Careers and Talent Development Programmes Manager at Pearson explained: “Apprenticeships are adding real value Pearson and invaluable opportunities for those willing to learn. I've seen how people can change the trajectory of their career based on apprenticeship learning and skills development.”
Hear from Freya Thomas Monk, Pearson’s Managing Director of Vocational Qualifications and Training, on the three ways Pearson supports the workforce of the future through apprenticeships.
Apprenticeships can be life changing - a way of blending work with learning that creates growth for individuals, organisations, and beyond. Read more about Pearson’s apprenticeship offerings in the UK: