Make UK survey shows that 95% of manufacturers say levy
must be changed to an employer-led system to deliver the skills
of the future
Key findings:
- · 95% of
manufacturers say the Apprenticeship Levy must be changed, just
5% want the Government to keep it as it is
- · This level
of dissatisfaction figure is the same figure as last year -deep
frustration with levy remains
- · Levy
paying companies are struggling to spend their Levy with just 19%
of companies spending all their Levy last year
- · A lack of
training provision, apprenticeship standards and quality
candidates are blocking companies from taking on more apprentices
and as a result over half of manufacturers now want to use their
levy contributions for non-apprenticeship training across
wider skills
- · One in
five manufacturers want to scrap the Levy and one in five wish
improvements to be made
- · Almost one
in five (17%) want government to focus on creating more
apprenticeships in skills shortage areas and one in five (18%)
say ensuring quality among apprenticeships is essential
- · 65% of
manufacturers recruited an engineering apprentice in the past 12
months
- · 73% of
manufacturers plan to recruit an engineering apprentice in the
next 12 months
- · But 11% of
manufacturers say they have delayed or cancelled an engineering
apprenticeship directly because of the Levy
Britain’s manufacturers are calling for an urgent rethink to
Government’s Apprenticeship Levy to make access to funding more
flexible so that industry can develop the essential skills of the
future.
The call comes on the back of a report by Make UK, An
Unlevy playing field for manufacturers, which reveals
that 95% of manufacturers want to see the Apprenticeship Levy
changed and just 5% happy with the current system. This figure
has not changed from a year ago, showing that manufacturers’
frustrations remain strong.
A lack of appropriate apprenticeship training standards (training
course criteria) available to employers to deliver the skills
their businesses need is preventing employers from training the
new generation of workers, fill vital skills gaps and growing
their businesses. Half of manufacturing levy-payers (50%) now
want to see the Levy re-worked, giving them flexibility to spend
the levy they pay on all forms of training for all their
employees, not just apprenticeships.
Less than one-in-five levy payers is currently manging to spend
all of their levy funds with one in five manufacturers in this
latest Make UK survey saying they would prefer to see the Levy
scrapped altogether.
, Director of Labour Market and
Skills Policy said:
“The apprenticeship levy was rushed in development, hurried in
implementation and has been caught ever since in systemic chop
and change. It’s little wonder then that
manufacturers overwhelmingly want to see real change, not
tinkering at the edges of a skills system that is just too slow,
too complex and increasingly too late to deliver the skills
needed by tomorrow’s technologies. That’s why over 95% of
manufacturers say the Apprenticeship Levy must be changed while
one in five want it scrapped altogether.
Now is the time for Government to be both quick and bold –
opening the levy pot up to other forms of technical, work-based
training and re-focussing it on getting all workers the skills
they need to get on and get up the skills ladder.”
Despite the challenges, manufacturers remain champions of
apprenticeships with 65% having recruited an engineering
apprentice in the last 12 months and 44% recruiting an apprentice
in other parts of their business.
Manufacturers indicate they will further pick up the pace in the
year ahead with 73% planning to recruit an engineering apprentice
and 48% an apprentice in other departments.
However, 11% of manufacturers say they have delayed or cancelled
an engineering apprenticeship directly because of the Levy. With
almost six in ten (58%) of manufacturers typically recruiting
apprentices aged 16-18 years old this means that many young
people will have missed out on the chance to gain invaluable
training and a future job.
Only one in five (19%) of manufacturers spent their Levy in the
last financial year, and while one in five (18%) are yet to
crunch the numbers, the remaining companies are spending around
26-50% of their funds.
Make UK has a long-standing reputation as one of the UK’s leading
experts in the field of Apprenticeship training. Over 1,000
Apprentices a year are trained for some of the UK’s biggest
companies at its state of the art Technology Training Centre in
Birmingham.
The survey covered 205 manufacturers, included both Levy paying
and non-Levy paying companies and was conducted during April
2019.
