THE apprenticeship levy will not deliver the three million apprenticeships targeted by the Government without urgent change, according to a report from The 5% Club.
In its latest paper, The 5% Club, an organisation that brings together employers focused on creating momentum behind the recruitment of apprentices, sponsored students and graduates into the workforce, sets out employers’ current concerns with the levy.
Membership of The 5% Club consists of large and small employers from a wide range of sectors who want to make a difference, fill the skills gap and support the UK’s ability to compete in increasingly tough global markets.
It also spells out the levy reforms members believe are urgently needed to boost training and deliver the career opportunities and highly skilled workforce required post-Brexit. According to the report:
– The levy will have little impact on the number of apprentices taken on in the short-to-medium term.
– Apprenticeships are still seen as second best by many schools: the provision of career guidance setting out the full range of education training options is not working.
– Accessing good-quality specialist training locally is one of the key barriers to taking on more apprentices, especially outside London and the southeast.
– The apprenticeship levy should be focused on areas of the economy, and of the country, where skills training is most needed, rather than the current catch-all approach.
– Expenses such as travel to training centres or paying for accommodation can make some apprenticeships untenable – companies should be allowed to use the levy funds to cover these essential expenses.
– Failure to approve new apprenticeships in a timely manner is damaging recruitment of new apprentices, since the levy cannot be claimed until an apprenticeship has been approved.
– The levy should be allowed to be spent on shared apprenticeships – where an apprentice is employed and trains across a number of small businesses, thus allowing companies which are too small to employ a full time apprentice to support training.
– Other measures should be considered to improve social mobility, for example, those employers offering opportunities for young people with poor school results could be provided with extra funding to support them.
Penny Cobham CBE, Director General of The 5% Club, said: “The apprenticeship levy has the potential to be transformational to many people’s career chances – and to our future as a global trading nation.
“But we urgently needed to revamp it so that employers can provide the apprenticeships so vital to prosperity across the UK.”
Find out more about The 5% Club at www.5percentclub.org.uk