AELP backs youth focus but warns apprenticeship streamlining could backfire
The Association of Employment and Learning Providers has responded to today’s announcement by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, setting out a package of reforms to apprenticeships and employment support for young people.
The Association of Employment and Learning Providers has responded to today’s announcement by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, setting out a package of reforms to apprenticeships and employment support for young people.
While the government’s announcement focuses on tackling youth unemployment and supporting more 16–24-year-olds into work and training, AELP is disappointed that it also includes plans to streamline parts of the apprenticeship system. In particular, the removal of several established leadership and management programmes is deeply concerning.
Measures announced today include new employer incentives for recruiting young people, the expansion of foundation apprenticeships – including their long-anticipated launch in hospitality and retail. However, the government has also confirmed that 16 existing apprenticeship standards will be withdrawn from September, including the three management standards.
AELP believes these cuts are unnecessary and are being driven by financial pressures created by the Treasury withholding funding from the Apprenticeship Levy. The organisation estimates that around £1.5bn will be top-sliced from the levy over the next two years. AELP warned that removing management apprenticeships risks widening the UK’s long-standing gap in management skills at a time when employers need stronger leadership capability.
AELP also warned that the scale of employer incentives announced today reflects wider pressures in the system and underlines the need for a longer-term strategy for apprenticeships and workforce development.
The organisation also warned that limiting apprenticeship opportunities for older workers can have unintended consequences for younger people. When experienced staff are able to upskill and progress through apprenticeships, it often creates space for new entrants to move into entry-level roles. If progression routes are restricted, those internal promotions are less likely to happen, reducing the number of opportunities available for young people starting their careers. AELP said employer incentives should work alongside apprenticeships and foundation apprenticeships so that young people entering work are supported to progress beyond their first job.
Finally, AELP have said it is only right that transition arrangements will be introduced for providers affected by the withdrawal of standards, adding that employers and training providers must be given time to adapt to the changes.
Ben Rowland, Chief Executive of AELP, said:
"It is a good thing that Government is now spending to open up opportunities for young people, and it's great to see initiatives that have been in gestation for too long finally see the light of day, such as Foundation Apprenticeships for Hospitality and Retail. Short-term subsidies and incentives, while welcome as an emergency measure, are not the basis for a sustainable and effective system.
Government is dismantling the current system with the defunding of a number of cherished employer-led programmes, such as the Team Leader and Management apprenticeships, but has not yet shown what their vision for the replacement system is.
We need urgently to establish what that vision is, and it must be one that doesn't just put people into entry-level jobs, but lifts them, via skills, into a better job, leaving the entry-level job for the next person. To make this happen, Government must increase apprenticeship funding bands to ensure they rise with inflation, and must establish extra funding for providers to work with SMEs."
AELP will be hosting briefings for members this week to explain the reforms and answer questions from providers and employers about what the changes mean in practice.
ENDS
The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) is a national membership body, proudly representing organisations operating in the skills sector. AELP members deliver a range of training and vocational learning – including the majority of apprenticeships as well as Skills Bootcamps, 16-19 Study Programme, Adult Education Budget and more.
For further information or interviews please contact Matt Strong, Communications Manager, AELP, on 07920 161685 or [email protected]
AELP backs youth focus but warns apprenticeship streamlining could backfire
For further information or interviews please contact Matt Strong, Communications Manager, AELP, on 07920 161685 or [email protected]
