Having spent a day this week at the ISE’s Apprenticeships Conference in London, I couldn’t help noticing a recurring theme across the industry: confusion.

Not confusion about whether apprenticeships are popular. Most organisations I spoke to were filling roles easily and receiving hundreds of applications without having to lift a finger. They were broadly happy with the quality too.

But confusion about how the system itself is evolving.

Employers are still trying to understand how the new Growth & Skills Levy and the introduction of short-course units will affect them and their learners. With the defunding of Level 7 apprenticeships, many organisations will no longer be able to offer staff aged 22 and over the development opportunities they had previously promised. That inevitably raises questions about retention and internal mobility.

Students face a different type of confusion. Many seem to scroll through hundreds of opportunities before applying to large numbers of roles, often navigating processes that feel increasingly automated rather than human.

At the end of the day, a panel of students hosted by Springpod offered a refreshing perspective. The panellists spoke eloquently about their experiences applying for apprenticeships, and many had submitted a remarkable number of applications. One student had applied to 120 degree apprenticeships before securing a role. It didn’t sound unusual.

Parents and schools can add to the uncertainty too. Apprenticeships are still sometimes seen as second best to the university route, despite the growing number of high-quality programmes now available.

So while application numbers remain strong, clarity around the opportunity often does not.

The issue also surfaced when conversations turned to diversity and social mobility. When asked whether organisations were successfully attracting socially mobile talent, several admitted they weren’t sure, largely because the data simply wasn’t there.

At the same time, students are often self-selecting out of opportunities before exploring them fully. Questions such as “Do people like me succeed here?” or “Would I belong in this environment?” still sit quietly in the background.

UCAS research suggests that 58% of 16–19 year olds want to be introduced to careers they haven’t yet considered. But if the routes into those careers feel unclear or impersonal, it’s easy to see why many stay with the paths they already understand.

Where things felt clearer during the conference was in the stories people shared.

West Midlands Police officers openly discussing their salaries on social media and achieving thousands of views. An apprentice who described staying resilient after others dropped out and eventually moving roles when she realised the first one wasn’t right for her. Another apprentice talking about the confidence he gained from being part of an early careers community.

Those moments brought the experience to life.

As we wait for greater clarity on apprenticeship regulations, these are the stories worth telling. They make the opportunity tangible, help people see where they might belong, and show what success can look like.

And in a system that can still feel confusing to many, that kind of clarity matters.