New apprenticeship proposals ‘balanced and fair’ say manufacturers

FIRMS in England are being offered extra incentives if they agree to take on and rain young workers.

Companies could be eligible for an extra £2,000 if they employ teenagers, care leavers and those with special education needs as apprentices.

Under the £2.5bn apprenticeship plans, small businesses will be subsidised with 90% of the costs of providing apprenticeships.

Larger firms will have to contribute 0.5% of their payroll to the new apprenticeships scheme from 2017.

Commenting on the government’s plans, Terry Scuoler, chief executive of EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, said: “High quality apprenticeships cost more and it’s good to see the Government has recognised this, particularly through the uplift of funding for STEM apprenticeships.

“The manufacturing industry already punches above its weight in both the quantity and quality of apprenticeships it provides and will see this as a green light to train even more.”

On the whole, he said the provisional funding bands for manufacturing and engineering apprenticeships were a true and fair reflection of the cost of training, but there remained a few apprenticeship standards that needed to be knocked into a higher band.

However, question marks still remain over the design of certain aspects of the scheme, especially the apprenticeship levy, he warned.

“Employers will want to see a commitment from Government that the system will evolve and respond to employer needs not just in the lead up to the implementation date but, importantly, also afterwards,” he said.

“Delaying the introduction of the levy would buy the Government some much-needed additional time to work closely with industry to iron out some of the major wrinkles. This will be vital if the levy is to support the creation of more high quality apprenticeships.”   

On co-investment proposals, he said manufacturers were used to putting their hands in their pockets – over two-thirds currently fund apprenticeships through a combination of public and private funding and almost a third pay for apprenticeship training entirely themselves.

“The level announced today is both balanced and fair. Requiring employers not in scope of the levy to co-invest could help to improve the quality of apprenticeships as the employer will have a vested interest,” he said.