UK : Manufacturers association Engineering Employers Federation, EEF has given a four-pronged response to the government’s consultation on the new apprenticeship levy funding guidance.
Under the proposals, the government has claimed that its new funding model for the planned apprenticeship levy would see the vast majority of employers having 90% of training costs paid for by the government. Under the plans employers that are too small to pay the levy – around 98% of employers in England – will have the bulk of the costs provided.
Extra support – worth £2,000 per trainee – will also be available for employers and training providers that take on 16- to 18-year-old apprentices or young care leavers.
Employers with fewer than 50 employees will also have 100% of training costs paid for by government if they take on these apprentices. However, the EEF has again called for a delay in the apprenticeship levy, adding “there remain major question marks over the design of the new levy and digital system”.
The association added: “It lacks flexibility and does not give employers control of their own funds. Delaying its introduction would buy the government some much-needed additional time to work with industry on ironing out some of the major wrinkles. The levy should also align with the academic cycle.”
The EEF also called on the government to extend the lifetime of levy vouchers from 18 months as the average EEF member apprenticeship lasts up to four years, yet their levy vouchers will only last; greater flexibility for employers to spend their vouchers on training and training costs and for SMEs to get further support to get involved in the design of new standards.
A recent apprenticeship levy funding survey conducted by the EEF found that only 3% of firms feel fully prepared for the Apprenticeship Levy.
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