To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to encourage more organisations that pay the apprenticeship levy to use the funds thereby available to them to offer apprenticeships themselves.
Answered on
30 January 2018
Over 90 per cent of employer PAYE schemes with larger levy declarations (of over £150,000) have registered an account on the apprenticeship service. Feedback from levy payers has shown they plan to increase their demand for apprenticeships.
We have made significant changes to the way we build a skilled workforce and in light of this it would be premature to draw definitive conclusions on the basis of the limited data available. We fully expect there to be a period of adjustment while employers decide how to maximise the opportunities these reforms present them.
The department is supporting employers to help them plan their future programmes. This includes account management for over 1,000 of the largest levy-paying employers. We have recently announced initial awards totalling around £485 million to hundreds of providers across the country to offer apprenticeship training to non-levy paying employers.
We are also undertaking a wider range of ongoing communications and engagement activities to encourage the take-up of apprenticeships. A new phase of our communications campaign started on 26 January 2018, to encourage employers to offer high quality apprenticeship opportunities and to promote these to potential apprentices.