The Apprenticeship Levy has arrived

13 April, 2017

The UK Government has said that the Levy’s objective is to boost productivity by investing in human capital. As part of this, the Government states it is committed to developing vocational skills, and to increasing the quantity and quality of apprenticeships. It has committed to an additional 3 million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020. The Levy aims to help to deliver new apprenticeships and to support quality training by putting employers at the centre of the system. The Government comments that employers who are committed to training will be able to get back more than they put in by training sufficient numbers of apprentices.

The Apprenticeship Levy may be a game changer, but it has its challenges, according to Bally Bhogal, managing director of new Birmingham-based advisory firm Independent Training and Skills Services (ITSS). She said one of the biggest challenges is the lack of knowledge and understanding around apprenticeships and the subsequent handover of control to a training provider. “Being in the driving seat is key to ensuring that employers get a good deal,” she remarked, adding that the Apprenticeship marketplace has over 1500 registered training companies, so “doing your homework” can really pay off to avoid getting ripped off.

With companies paying £3 billion a year, the CBI has cautioned that significant concerns still exist about whether the policy will deliver the high-quality training businesses and apprentices need. With the Government having worked quickly to get the Apprenticeship Levy in place for the launch, which took place on 6 April, its focus so far has been on building an operational system that works. Now the policy has been introduced, the CBI is repeating its call for the Government to broaden its focus, prioritising quality and long-term success measures alongside growing apprentice numbers.

Neil Carberry, CBI director for people and skills policy, said for the Levy to be a success it must deliver long-lasting careers and close skills gaps, not just create more apprenticeships. The CBI has identified a number of recommendations for the Government, which it maintains would help employers access quality training with confidence. These recommendations include:

• The Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) should set long-term measures of success, agreed in partnership with businesses.

• Providing more commercially-focused resource and support to the IfA, to help understand what quality training looks like for business and why they chose to invest.

• The IfA should work with businesses to help improve market regulation of college and private providers and challenge poor quality provision.

• Focus must be given to increasing the pace of approval of new apprenticeship standards across all industries.

• The Government should give employers longer than 24 months to spend their Levy vouchers, if current issues remain unresolved in the first year.

• Over the longer-term, the Government should consider a more flexible Skills Levy, to not only support apprentices but also retraining for adults.

The Apprenticeship Levy certainly has the best interests of businesses at heart. However, it is understandable that valid concerns remain at this early stage of implementation. New apprenticeship standards need to be approved and apprenticeship choices need to be discussed in detail as part of career guidance in schools. Let’s hope and trust that as the Levy finds its feet over the next few months genuine benefits will begin to be enjoyed by companies and apprentices alike.

Ed Holden

Editor