Image source, Getty Images
- Author, Josh Parry
- Role, BBC News
Labor is promising to give businesses more flexibility over how they spend government money currently earmarked for apprenticeships if they win the July election.
Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the party would allow businesses to use up to 50% of the money provided by the Government to fund apprenticeships or training for existing staff.
Labor previously outlined its plan to “tackle skills shortages”, but the announcement gives more detail on how it hopes it will work in practice.
It comes after the Conservatives announced they would cut some university courses to fund more apprenticeships.
The Conservative Party said Labor’s proposal was “poorly thought through”.
Apprenticeships are partly funded by money raised through taxes, as well as an ‘apprenticeship levy’ paid by large companies with annual payrolls in excess of £3 million.
These companies, as well as smaller businesses, can then use this money to train apprentices.
Labor’s plans for what it called a “growth and skills tax” involve giving businesses the choice to spend up to half the money they receive training existing staff to “high-level technical skills” such as renovation or engineering.
Under the plans, employers could also offer “pre-apprenticeship training” courses to prepare people for a full apprenticeship or job.
A minimum of 50% of the levy money would remain reserved for apprenticeships.
They say all courses will have to come from an approved list of essential skills, which could include areas such as digital and green skills, social care or childcare, and that businesses will not be able to use them in within the framework of internal training such as human resources or health. security.
Labor said if businesses used just 3% of the extra flexibility it could generate 150,000 internships for young people.
Bridget Phillipson said the plans would create a “golden age of lifelong learning”.
She added: “Labor will put business in the driver’s seat to create the opportunities people need to find work.”
A party spokesperson said it had no plans to increase the levy.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said Labor’s plans would halve the number of apprenticeships and disadvantage small and medium-sized businesses.
“Since 2010, we have built a world-class apprenticeship system from the ground up… creating pathways to 70% of professions through apprenticeships.”
The Liberal Democrats said their own plans were to give every adult a “cash of money” throughout their working life to spend on education and career retraining.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that for apprenticeship plans presented by any party to be a success, more businesses must be convinced to take up the funding available.
Imran Tahir, research economist at the IFS, said: “Both major parties have now expressed aspirations to increase the number of employees – and particularly younger employees – in training or apprenticeships.
“Ultimately, employers will decide how to use the funding, and currently many are choosing not to use the available funding.
“If these new programs are to benefit the youngest employees, both parties will have to convince employers to change their current habits, according to which almost half of the apprenticeships financed by the levy are followed by employees aged 25 and over. “
David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said the plans were a “good first step” in transforming the current apprenticeship levy which he said “has not delivered results for young people “.
He added: “I would like to see more commitment to increasing funding for college training and skills for adults who need to learn in a rapidly changing world.
“Without urgent and significant growth in college opportunities, millions of adults risk being left behind in the face of technological change.”
According to the IFS, average employer spending on training has fallen by 27% in real terms since 2011, and public spending on adult education and skills has fallen by 31% over the same period.
The number of people completing their apprenticeships has also fallen in recent years.
In England, 54.6% of apprentices completed and passed a final assessment in 2022-23, which is well below the government’s target of 67% by the end of 2024-25.
A Department for Education report from March 2022 suggests that four in ten people who did not complete their apprenticeship cited personal reasons such as mental health issues, caring responsibilities or a career change.
However, around four in ten also said the learning was poorly organised, not given enough time to train or did not meet their expectations.
There are no UK-wide figures on the number of apprentices, but there were 752,200 in England in 2023, which is higher than during the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic, but lower than in the mid-2010s.
Additional reporting by Branwen Jeffreys and Louise Martin
News Source : www.bbc.com
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