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BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT has co-signed a letter, along with 50 other signatories, to highlight the importance and benefits of the apprenticeships levy after being approached by the Department for Education (DfE).

Business leaders and apprenticeship providers have joined with Apprenticeship Minister Anne Milton and Institute for Apprenticeships chief executive Sir Gerry Berragan in defending the apprenticeship levy. Other organisations who signed the letter include Airbus, Barclays and the NHS. They agree that they have “all seen first-hand that apprenticeships can change the lives of apprentices - and the businesses they work with - for the better". They also talk about apprenticeships being like “a passport into many industries” such as law, engineering, professional services and digital technology.

The letter has been published by the Chartered Management Institute today and has resulted in some further media coverage in education publications TES and FE Week.

Lucy Ireland, Managing Director, BCS Learning & Development, said: “We wanted to join with other organisations to send a powerful message to government, employers and employees. We are praising the high quality of apprenticeships and focusing on the point that apprenticeship programmes are a great way of ensuring that businesses can fill the skills they need. Digital apprenticeships are a great example of what can be achieved when an apprenticeship works well. Our stats back this, with over 5000 digital IT apprentices registered for the new standards since 2017”.

The open letter from business leaders that you need to read right now