Government Announces Major Overhaul of Apprenticeships in England
In a bid to boost economic growth and provide more opportunities for young people, the UK government has unveiled a significant shake-up of the apprenticeship system in England. The changes, announced by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, aim to create 120,000 more training opportunities for young adults and those looking to retrain.
According to the BBC, apprenticeships in England are available for those aged 16 and over and combine practical training in a job with study. The programmes take between one and five years to complete, depending on their level. A level 2 apprenticeship is considered equivalent to a GCSE, while levels 6 and 7 are considered equivalent to a bachelor’s or master’s degree.
The government plans to increase a charge paid by employers recruiting from outside the UK to create 45,000 training places, building on existing programmes aimed at helping adults get into work. However, the big shift in the announcement is the decision to pull funding from the highest level apprenticeships, equivalent to a postgraduate or master’s degree.
These level 7 apprenticeships are used by people training in a wide variety of roles, including accountants, tax advisors, and solicitors, most of whom are already in work. They are also a significant part of some NHS advanced training, such as for district nurses who want to pursue a more specialist qualification. According to the BBC, since an apprenticeship levy for large employers was introduced in 2017, there has been a boom in higher qualifications at degree or postgraduate level, called level 6 or level 7.
However, the numbers of young adults starting entry apprenticeships at level 2 have fallen. The government’s announcement is an attempt to push more of the money generated by the apprenticeship levy paid to the government towards those under the age of 21. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "When we invest in skills for young people, we invest in a shared, stronger economic future."
In an interview with BBC Breakfast, Ms. Phillipson described the changes as "really good news for young people" and said it was "time as a country we took skills far more seriously than in recent years." She also highlighted the problem of "too many people not in education, employment or training
