Reforms Promise More Apprenticeships for Under 21s

A PACKAGE of apprenticeships reforms will be set out today to deliver more apprentices, cut red tape for SMEs and leverage more private investment in businesses started by women.

The government announcement will reveal plans to pay the full cost of apprenticeship training for anyone up to the age of 21 from 1 April.

The move will reduce costs of training for businesses. It will also save time and costs for providers which currently need to source funding separately from the government and businesses.

The reform is underpinned by £60m funding for next year, guaranteeing enough funding to meet apprenticeships demand.

From the start of April, the government will also increase the amount of funding that employers who are paying the apprenticeship levy can pass onto other businesses. Apprenticeships can currently be funded by a levy paying employer transferring up to 25% of their unused levy to a different employer.

Under the new measures, large employers who pay the apprenticeship levy will be able to transfer up to 50% to smaller firms taking on apprentices.

Hundreds of large levy-paying employers have already transferred their unused levy funds to other businesses. By the end of 2023, 530 employers pledged to transfer £35.39m to fund apprenticeships in businesses since September 2021.

More Apprenticeships

Taken together, the measures are expected to enable up to 20,000 more apprenticeships.

Apprenticeship starts were down by 3.5% in the 2022/2023 academic year to 337,140.

In roofing, there were around 800 apprentices enrolled in the academic year 2022/2023. Those starting an apprenticeship numbered 370, while 170 achieved their roofer apprenticeship.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “This government has built a world-leading apprenticeship system from the ground-up – with apprenticeships now available in around 70% of all occupations.

“Apprenticeships are a fantastic way for businesses to develop the skills they need, and these new measures will help more businesses and young people benefit from them.”

Invest in Women Taskforce

Speaking at the Business Connect conference in Warwickshire, the prime minister is also expected to announce a new industry-led Invest in Women Taskforce. It will encourage private investment in female business leaders. The proportion of equity capital investment going to all-female founder teams has been around 2% in the UK for the past decade.

The taskforce aims to raise a bespoke funding pot for female-founded businesses through private capital.

The prime minister is also expected to announce simplification measures to non-financial and financial reporting for SMEs. They will include taking 132,000 businesses out of reporting requirements.

The government will also consult on further changes later this year including exempting medium-sized companies from producing strategic reports, which could save them a further £148 million a year and raising the employee size threshold from 250 to 500 employees, which will mean around 1,000 more large companies could become SMEs.

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