Bridgehead Communications
MBKB Training

Case study · MBKB Training

From an Outstanding rating to a reform agenda

We turned an Outstanding Ofsted rating into a parliamentary roundtable, five FE Week opinion pieces and a sector-wide apprenticeship reform agenda with major employer consensus behind it.

15

pieces of coverage

6

outlets and editions

1

country

667k

audience reach*

Results

The results, 2022-08 to 2024-05

15 pieces across 6 outlets

15 pieces in 6 outlets, 2022-08 to 2024-05. Counts come from the coverage book piece by piece; the audience figure is measured per outlet (Portal Coverage Builder, September 2026) and marked with an asterisk.
FE WeekDA 56

29 Apr 2023

The minimum apprenticeship duration requires reform

Read the piece
Comment CentralDA 39

1 Mar 2024

The Budget should reform apprenticeships to drive skills growth

Read the piece
15

pieces of coverage

6

titles

11k

estimated readers*

667k

audience reach*

*audience reach and estimated readers, Portal Coverage Builder, September 2026. Portal Coverage Builder: one audience-reach figure per outlet domain (the maximum reported), summed across every domain; estimated readers is the sum of views across every piece. Figures reproduce the portal's own method exactly; a title that carries several pieces is counted once for reach (its highest reported figure) but every piece counts toward readers. Every other figure is counted from the coverage book piece by piece.

Month by month

2022
1

08

09

10

11

12

2023

01

02

03

1

04

1

05

06

1

07

08

3

09

1

10

3

11

12

2024

01

02

3

03

04

1

05

Every month of the programme, shaded by pieces published; 9 of 22 carried at least one. FE Week carried a piece in 9 of 22 months, 7 of them its own — not a monthly fixture.

Research

The research

Original research built for the client

How to Optimise Apprenticeships Amid Degree Devaluation cover

Live web edition

Cover and pages 6 and 9

How to Optimise Apprenticeships Amid Degree Devaluation

December 2023 · 11 pages · Roundtable write-up

The write-up of the parliamentary roundtable we convened for MBKB, chaired by Peter Aldous MP of the APPG for Further Education and Lifelong Skills, with Mitie, Go-Ahead, Thames Valley Police, WTW and County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue around the table.

One finding. MBKB's chief executive Mark Bremner argued that scrapping the apprenticeship wage and paying a proper wage would do more for apprentice retention than any other single change, and that minimum duration requirements need to flex both up and down.

Read the report

Status: Prepared by MBKB, published December 2023.

The milestone

A parliamentary roundtable that turned a training provider into an apprenticeship reform agenda.

By convening senior employers from Mitie, GoAhead, British Transport Police and County Durham Fire alongside Peter Aldous MP, we created the conditions for a genuine policy conversation. The resulting employer consensus, on completion rates, online learning and standards flexibility, was documented in a report that continued to drive stakeholder engagement long after the event.

The outcome

15 pieces, a parliamentary roundtable and an employer-backed reform agenda: MBKB positioned as both sector advocate and training provider of choice.

The impact

  • 01Five opinion articles in FE Week establishing the CEO as the sector's apprenticeship reform voice.
  • 02Parliamentary roundtable hosted by Peter Aldous MP with senior employer attendance.
  • 03Policy report enabling sustained stakeholder engagement post-event.
  • 04~4,000 government and training-sector decision-makers reached via The Mark newsletter.
MBKB Training
See the live coverage book

Keep exploring

Related work and services

All case studies
Sector hub

Education

PR and policy for education institutions.

Explore
Case study

Natspec

We took Natspec into 37 meetings at Westminster and in Cardiff Bay, briefed ten opposition candidates before the election, seven of whom now sit as MPs, launched its manifesto in the Palace of Westminster, and turned the meetings into questions to ministers, debate speeches and letters on the record.

Explore
Case study

Kutaisi International University

We launched a new university to the world: 51 pieces across Forbes, Times Higher Education, Business Insider and AP News, reaching 311,000 readers across the US, UK, France and Germany.

Explore
Report

Meeting Britain's skills needs

Bridgehead research on the skills the economy needs after Brexit and the pandemic.

Explore
Proof

Case studies

Campaigns and the coverage they earned.

Explore

Speak with us

One conversation tells you
if we're the right fit.

Thirty minutes with a partner. We'll tell you whether we can help, what the work would look like, and what it's likely to cost, before either of us commits to anything.