UKCES response to apprenticeship funding review
24 Jul 2013
Welcoming the government’s consultation on the reform of the apprenticeship funding system, Scott Johnson, a Commissioner at the UK Commission for Employment and Skills said:
“Apprenticeships are a joint investment between the state, the individual and the employer. They deliver productive, well trained and loyal staff for business, access to a successful career for young people and strong benefits for the economy as a whole. But currently only around 15 per cent of employers offer them – they are far from the norm for young people setting out on a career.
“The government wants to put employers in the driving seat in delivering apprenticeships to help hardwire more good jobs for young people into the labour market. Funding is key to this. Up to now, public money for apprenticeships has been channelled through colleges and training providers. The government is now consulting on whether this would be better routed to employers. Our view is that it would. A model which routes the public contribution directly to employers via tax relief on their Pay As You Earn (PAYE) bill would be both efficient and effective. It would position employers as purchasers of services from colleges and training providers and place responsibility for the success of that investment with them. The tax model is, I believe, the best, indeed the only, way to return apprenticeships to their founding principle – a contract between the apprentice and the employer, for the benefit of both.”
Apprenticeship funding reform in England – Open consultation
