Keir Starmer Announces Apprenticeship Reforms

What is an apprenticeship? 

An apprenticeship is a paid job where the employee will continue their studies by learning on-the-job skills, as well as completing off-the-job training with a college, university, or training provider in order to gain a qualification. 

The employee will be required to spend at least 20% of their working hours completing off-the-job training, meaning they work their way towards a qualification while at their workplace. 

An apprenticeship will include: 

• paid employment with holiday leave  
• hands-on-experience in a sector/role of interest 
• at least 20% off-the-job training  
• formal assessment which leads to a nationally recognised qualification 
  

What are the apprenticeship reforms? 

Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer, along with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announced a new growth and skills levy to replace the existing apprenticeship levy at the annual Labour Party conference.  

They also announced that this new growth and skills levy will include new foundation apprenticeships, giving young people a different route into careers in critical sectors – allowing them to earn a wage whilst developing vital skills. 

Along with these foundation apprenticeships, the new levy will also allow funding for shorter apprenticeships that give learners and employers more flexibility over their training. Under the current system, apprenticeships must run for at least 12 months. 

Further details will be announced on the scope of the new levy and the new offerings, as well as how it will be accessed by The Department for Education. 

How will the growth and skills levy be funded? 

Employers are being asked to rebalance their apprenticeship funding, with the top priority on investing in younger workers. Businesses will also be asked to fund more of their level 7 apprenticeships outside of the levy. These higher-level apprenticeships are equivalent to a master’s degree and will usually be accessed by older employees or those who are already well qualified. 

What is the need for apprenticeship reforms? 

The government launched Skills England in July to identify skills needs. This new body for the skills system had its first report yesterday (Tuesday 24th September), which highlighted the need for change.  

The report provides an initial assessment of the nation’s working skills, along with the future skills needs and gaps employers are currently struggling with across the country. In this report, it found that employer investment in training has been declining steadily over the past decade, with training expenditure currently at its lowest level since records began in 2011, with investment per employee decreasing by 19% in real terms. 

It also shows that almost 1 in 10, or 2.5 million roles, are in critical demand in the UK. More than 90% of these are in roles that require training or education.  

Going forward, Skills England will play a crucial role in determining the which types of training will be eligible for the expanded growth and skills levy and will shortly set out how they will work with stakeholders to inform their advice to the Department for Education. 

The need for jobs and skills varies across different industries. The health and social care sector experience the highest demand, followed by education, manufacturing, then science and technology.