APSCo has responded to the Prime Minister’s announcement of the new growth and skills levy and new foundation apprenticeships, as well as the first Skills England report on the nationwide skills gaps. Tania Bowers, Global Public Policy Director at the organisation has warned that more reforms of apprenticeships are needed than has been outlined.
“We’re very pleased to see that Skills England and the Department for Education (DfE) have clearly already been doing a lot of work behind the scenes to be able to produce a report in such depth in a relatively short timeframe,” she said. “APSCo welcomes its findings which are in line with our member experiences in terms of skills gaps.
“In terms of the employer investment,” she continued, “it has to be acknowledged that since 2008 there have been problematic business conditions, particularly in relation to productivity. This has meant that firms simply don’t have the funds or bandwidth to invest in as much training as they would want.”
While the Government has taken immediate steps with Foundation Apprenticeships Bowers expressed disappointment that Level 7 apprenticeships have been removed from Levy scope, especially given the need for expertise to boost the UK’s productivity. “Given the scale of unspent Levy funds – particularly from the recruitment sector – we consider there are sufficient funds to focus both on investment into 18–24-year-olds and master level advancement,” said Bowers.
“We do, of course, understand that the Government doesn’t yet feel that it is in a position to make a firm decision around extending the scope of the Levy beyond apprenticeships, but it is critical that a decision around this is made swiftly. It is promising to see in the official announcement from Skills England and the DfE that training eligible for funding under the new Levy will develop over time. If real progress is to be made, though, this will need to happen soon to really scale up the highly skilled workforce.”
One of the messages being made clear by APSCo has been that the Growth and Skills Levy (GSL) should be used to fund shorter, more flexible modular accredited training for everyone – including extending the scope to encompass agency workers, independent professionals and the self-employed. “The removal of Level 7 apprenticeships negates this recommendation,” asserts Bowers. “We hope to see this addressed soon.”
