Future developments


A number of developments in skills and learning at work have been announced by the Conservative government which will start to take effect during 2016.


The Welfare Reform and Work Bill includes an obligation for the government to report each year on the progress made towards meeting its target of three million new apprenticeships by 2020. Public sector bodies will be required to employ apprentices and will be set targets to increase apprenticeship numbers. Widespread concern has been expressed about this government target (see Chapter 3).


The government has also announced that it will give apprenticeships the same legal treatment and standing as degrees and protect the term “apprenticeship”, by preventing misuse of it in describing training provision. The Enterprise Bill contains measures to create an offence for a person, in the course of business, to provide or offer a course or training as an apprenticeship if it is not a statutory apprenticeship; and to protect the reputation of training providers, employers who offer statutory apprenticeships, and participating apprentices, by maintaining their standards and ensuring that statutory apprenticeships are not confused with lower quality training.


In line with recommendations from the 2012 independent review of apprenticeships carried out by entrepreneur and educator Doug Richard, The future of apprenticeships in England (known as the Richard Review), new apprenticeship standards are being developed by employer-led groups known as “trailblazers”. A new funding pilot is being trialled for these standards giving employers greater control over spending on training delivery.


The apprenticeship levy (see Chapter 3) was announced in the government’s combined Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015. Current plans, as this booklet went press, are that the levy will be rolled out in April 2017 and paid by UK employers with a wage bill of more than £3 million at 0.5% of the total payroll costs of all employees. 


Each employer will receive an allowance of £15,000 to offset against their levy payment. The levy aims to raise over £3 billion a year by 2019-20, £2.5 billion of which will be spent on apprenticeships in England only. It is estimated that just 2% of UK employers will be affected by the levy requirements.


However, proposals for the levy have come in for criticism from unions and employers’ organisations (see Chapter 3).