Safeguarding Apprentices
As more young people step into the world of work through apprenticeships, employers hold an important responsibility: to ensure that every young adult under their care is safe, supported, and equipped to thrive. EduCare’s article “Safeguarding Apprentices – what are employers’ obligations?” highlights this vital duty, reminding us that “apprentices need to be safeguarded against the same range of risks and dangers as their peers in schools and colleges.”
Safeguarding doesn’t stop at the school gates. Whether an apprentice is 17 or 21, they may still be developing confidence, resilience and an understanding of professional boundaries. As EduCare notes, “any organisation educating young people under the age of 18 has statutory responsibilities under current legislation such as ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’.” But the principles of care, awareness and protection extend far beyond legal compliance — they’re about creating a culture where young adults feel valued, respected and secure.
At Secure Foundations Training, we work closely with organisations to bring these principles to life. Drawing on our backgrounds in education and social work, we help businesses move beyond box-ticking and develop safeguarding practices that genuinely protect and empower their apprentices. From training staff and mentors to recognise signs of vulnerability, to building policies that promote safety and inclusion, our focus is on helping every employer fulfil their duty of care with confidence and compassion.
What this means for Secure Foundations Training
At Secure Foundations Training, your specialism (training companies and schools in safeguarding children and young people) gives you a strong foundation for supporting organisations in their duty of care towards young adults in industrial settings (e.g. apprenticeships, traineeships). Here are some reflections:
Duty of care for young adults: Although the article primarily refers to under-18s, many apprentices may be 18–24 — still relatively inexperienced, often moving from full-time education into work, and potentially at higher risk of exploitation, anxiety, mentoring gaps, or lack of awareness of professional boundaries. The duty of care remains very active: organisations must ensure a safe environment, appropriate supervision, accessible policies, mentoring, and safeguarding awareness.
Tailored, practical approach: This aligns very well with Secure Foundations’ ethos of hands-on, scenario based training (drawing on former teacher and social worker experience). When organisations bring in young adults, you can help them develop context-specific safeguarding procedures (not just generic e-learning) that account for: transition from education, workplace culture, technology use, mentoring/ buddy systems, potential vulnerabilities (age, background, etc).
Embedding the safeguarding culture: The article emphasises appointing a coordinator, ensuring staff are DBS checked, understanding the technology risks. With Secure Foundations, you can support businesses by building a safeguarding framework: policies, supervision/mentoring structure, training for staff and apprentices, reporting routes, technology use protocols, induction processes, and review systems.
Supporting young people in the workplace: Given apprentices’ potential vulnerabilities (anxiety, transitions, being new to workplace culture), you can assist organisations to provide wrap-around support: for example, training mentors in recognising early signs of distress or exploitation, running induction sessions with apprentices about workplace safeguarding, providing scenarios specific to their industry showing how to raise concerns, how to ask for help, etc.
How Secure Foundations Training can support organisations
Here are ways your company can assist businesses as they take on safeguarding responsibility for young adults:
Bespoke training workshops: Create tailored sessions for apprentices, mentors and managers covering:
Transition from education to workplace: recognising stresses and vulnerabilities.
Understanding organisational expectations: policies, boundaries, internet/technology use.
Recognising signs of abuse/exploitation, mental health issues, peer pressure, workplace bullying.
Practical scenario-based role-play relating to young adult apprentices.
Policy and process review: Help firms audit their current safeguarding arrangements, identifying gaps (e.g., no dedicated safeguarding lead, insufficient mentoring, weak technology policy), then co-design policies appropriate for apprentices and young adults.
Mentor/manager training: Equip staff supervising young adults with the knowledge to:
Recognise signs of vulnerability or risk.
Know how to escalate concerns.
Understand their role in creating a safe, inclusive environment (including emphasising British values, equality, anti-discrimination, internet safety) — as the article notes those responsibilities. (educare.co.uk)
Apprentice induction and safeguarding awareness: Deliver content specifically for apprentices, covering:
Their rights, what safeguarding means in this context.
How to use reporting channels, how they can raise concerns.
Digital safety and professional boundaries in the workplace.
Awareness of potential risks (e.g., being isolated, checked out, over-worked, bullied, digital exploitation) and how to respond.
Ongoing support and review: Set up mechanisms for periodic review of safeguarding effectiveness (e.g., feedback from apprentices, mentor check-ins, incident logs). Aid organisations to embed a culture of continual improvement rather than a one-off training.
Final thoughts
The article reaffirms that when organisations engage young people in apprenticeships or similar roles, they must treat them with the same protection and care as younger learners in education, recognising that the workplace brings its own risks. For Secure Foundations Training, this is an excellent area of focus: you are well-positioned to help businesses extend their safeguarding beyond the typical school/college setting and into industry, supporting the duty of care for young adults and ensuring they feel safe, supported, and able to thrive.
