WIREDGOV

The CBI has responded to publication of the latest apprenticeship start numbers.

Official figures showed there were 194,100 apprenticeship starts reported in England for the first two quarters of the 2017/18 academic year, compared to 258,800 reported at this time in 2016/17, a decrease of 25%.

Neil Carberry, CBI Managing Director, said:

“This worrying data should be the final wake-up call for the Government that the Apprenticeship Levy is not working as intended. Businesses all agree the Levy could be a vital part of the skills system, but its current form does not encourage more investment in high-quality training.

“There is still time to get the Levy right, but this needs action now.  Ministers should immediately loosen the rules on what happens to the Levy cash itself – next month’s 10% transfer rule simply isn’t enough. Companies should be able to draw down far more from the Levy pot – up to 50%.  This will help firms to work with others to create centres of excellence for apprenticeship training and improve access to apprenticeships for smaller firms.”