This would enable the Government to meet its objective of increasing the number of apprenticeships in the United Kingdom, while also addressing concerns from employers about the levy. Employers with fewer than 50 employees will also have 100% of training costs paid for by government if they take on these apprentices.
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This includes draft funding rates for each apprenticeship standard and framework, an online tool for calculating employers’ contributions to the levy, and confirmation that extra funding will be available for training 16-18 year olds, something which Chamber members have called for.
It said just 23% of SMEs in Northern Ireland have engaged in apprenticeship schemes.
Nadine Hudspeth, Chair, North East England Chamber of Commerce, Education & Skills Group and Director of Marketing & Communications at Gateshead College, said: “We welcome today’s publication of further details of the Apprenticeship Levy”.
“FSB therefore calls on the Northern Ireland Executive to implement the Securing our “Success: NI Apprenticeship Strategy” in full, with appropriate resource allocations to ensure the financial incentives for employers are adequately funded”. The government has proposed that the employers who will not pay into the levy – some 98 per cent of organisations in England – are to have 90 per cent of the costs of training paid for by government.
The upper limit of each funding band will cap the maximum amount of funding that a levy-paying employer can use towards and individual apprenticeship, or that a non-levy paying employer will be able to access from the government. “This will give our young people the chance they deserve in life and to build a highly-skilled future workforce that the United Kingdom needs”, he said.
“The government’s announcement provides business with much needed information which shows some progress, including support for smaller firms, but fundamental problems remain”. It covers only one type of training and employers can only reclaim off-the-job costs.
“Without a radical rethink it could damage not raise training quality”.
“Though business understands the fiscal challenges, it would be a great mistake to rush ahead before a viable scheme is ready”, Fairbairn said.
“The apprenticeship levy is absolutely crucial to this”, he said. “This means you will only pay the levy if your pay bill exceeds £3 million in a given year”. “This means most small employers should not end up paying more towards training costs than they now do”.
The consultation closes on 5 September, and the government intends to confirm the final funding proposals in October.
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This article was published on 15 Aug 2016 (last updated on 15 Aug 2016).
