The think tank Reform has published a report, The great training robbery: assessing the first year of the apprenticeship levy, assessing the first year of the apprenticeship levy. The report states that the apprenticeship levy is ‘ too complicated for employers’ and has ‘diminished the quality of apprenticeships’, with 40% of the new apprenticeships being low-skilled jobs designed by employers as apprenticeships ‘in name only’, while still allowing employers to qualify for subsidies.
The report recommends:
abandoning the target of 3m apprenticeships by 2020, so as to focus on apprenticeship quality instead;
introducing a new internationally-benchmarked definition of an apprenticeship;
removing the requirement for 10% employment co-investment towards the cost of training apprentices, to avoid employers disengaging from apprenticeships;
replacing the existing HMRC digital payment system with a simpler ‘apprenticeship voucher’ model; and
making the exam regulator Ofqual the only option for quality assuring at the end-point assessments for apprentices to ensure standards are maintained over time.
The think tank Reform has published a report, The great training robbery: assessing the first year of the apprenticeship levy, assessing the first year of the apprenticeship levy. The report states that the apprenticeship levy is ‘ too complicated for employers’ and has ‘diminished the quality of apprenticeships’, with 40% of the new apprenticeships being low-skilled jobs designed by employers as apprenticeships ‘in name only’, while still allowing employers to qualify for subsidies.
The report recommends:
abandoning the target of 3m apprenticeships by 2020, so as to focus on apprenticeship quality instead;
introducing a new internationally-benchmarked definition of an apprenticeship;
removing the requirement for 10% employment co-investment towards the cost of training apprentices, to avoid employers disengaging from apprenticeships;
replacing the existing HMRC digital payment system with a simpler ‘apprenticeship voucher’ model; and
making the exam regulator Ofqual the only option for quality assuring at the end-point assessments for apprentices to ensure standards are maintained over time.
