The Social Mobility Commission published its fifth annual ‘state of the nation’ report on social mobility highlighting sharp social divides across different regions in the country and calling for a national ten-year plan targeted at local ‘cold spots’ to help remedy the situation. The response of the education & skills sector is here. Meanwhile, another report – ‘Better Apprenticeships’, by social mobility foundation the Sutton Trust, looked at whether apprenticeships are of a high-enough quality to boost the life chances of young people aged 16 to 24. It found that two thirds of apprenticeships were “converting” existing employees and could be certifying existing skills, rather than focusing on expanding expertise, a new report has warned.