CIPD viewpoint
Explore the CIPD's collected perspective on the key issues impacting work, including recommendations, supporting evidence and links to resources for policymakers and employers
Explore the CIPD’s point of view on apprenticeships and investment in training, including recommendations for both Government and employers
Apprenticeships are an asset to any organisation, yet their potential in England remains unfulfilled. As such, we’re calling for the apprenticeship levy to include accredited training aligned to industrial strategy priorities, while supporting government reforms towards an employer-led system with standards demonstrating occupational competency.
England has suffered a long-term and substantial decline in employer investment in training over past decades. The government’s introduction of the apprenticeship levy in 2017 aimed to address this by spurring the increase of both the quantity and quality of apprenticeships, as well as employer spending on training.
However, apprenticeships in England are still not delivering in terms of quality of skills and experience they provide. Four in ten apprenticeships are created only at intermediate level, which places England behind the best systems in Europe, where nearly all apprenticeships are at advanced or higher levels.
Apart from being concentrated at lower levels, the current system is not sufficiently providing an accessible pathway to work for young people, with most apprenticeship places going to existing employees and older apprentices. This is compounded by a bureaucratic and inflexible levy which is not tailored to employers’ skills requirements.
Furthermore, the proliferation of apprenticeship standards has raised concerns over the number of narrow and/or overlapping standards which lack occupational breadth and restrict the extent to which apprentices gain transferable skills.
Apprenticeships are an asset to any organisation and bring significant benefits to businesses, individuals and the wider economy. At their best they provide a structured route into the labour market for young people, enabling them to progress in their careers and, at the same time, providing employers with a motivated and engaged workforce with the technical skills they need.
However, the quality and accessibility of some apprenticeships in England raise concerns. Currently, two-thirds of apprenticeships are going to existing employees and individuals aged over 19, meaning the role apprenticeships should have as a route into employment for young people is not being fulfilled. Additionally, half of all apprenticeship starts in 2018 were only at Level 2 (GCSE level), leaving England considerably behind the best systems in Europe, where nearly all apprenticeships are at advanced or higher level (equivalent to Level 3, A-Level, and above).
These challenges are compounded by an inflexible apprenticeship levy which forces employers to consider apprenticeships as a way of delivering all forms of workplace training. While apprenticeships are an important and valuable form of training for many people and businesses, they are also rigid and expensive programmes that don’t always meet employers’ skills or workforce development demand. As such, the CIPD is calling for a broadening of the levy into a wider training levy, to include other forms of accredited training that are aligned to industrial strategy priorities.
The CIPD supports recent government reforms towards a more employer-led system with standards demonstrating occupational competency. However, we view with caution the rapid rise in the number of new apprenticeship standards and the implications about their quality.
Currently, there are 500 new apprenticeship standards approved for delivery and many more under development. This compares to just 200 apprenticeship occupations in Austria, 320 in Germany, 230 in Switzerland and just 100 in Denmark. The National Audit Office reported that by 2020 there may be as many as 1,600 standards in place, compared with 240 apprenticeship frameworks.
This rapid proliferation raises concerns over narrow and/or overlapping standards which lack occupational breadth and restrict the extent to which apprentices gain transferable skills.
Explore the CIPD's collected perspective on the key issues impacting work, including recommendations, supporting evidence and links to resources for policymakers and employers
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