Apprenticeship levy or training levy?
11 January 2018
A CIPD survey of over 1,000 employers warns of unintended consequences as nearly half (46%) of employers paying the levy expect their organisation to simply rebadge existing training.
Key findings from the survey:
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Among employers who currently pay the apprenticeship levy, 53% would prefer a training levy, compared with just 17% supporting the apprenticeship levy in its current form
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Four in ten (40%) levy-paying employers say it will make little or no difference to the amount of training they offer
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Nearly half (46%) of levy-paying employers think that the levy will encourage their organisation to rebadge current training activity in order to claim back their allowance
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More than a fifth (22%) of all employers still don’t know whether they are liable to pay the levy
Read the full report from the CIPD
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CIPP comment Data from the Department for Education (DfE) shows that through May/June in 2017 following the levy coming into force, the number of people starting apprenticeships fell by 59.3% to 69,800. Despite this drop, the number of people signing up for apprenticeships in the whole academic year was 494,900, a decline of just 2.8% on the previous year. The levy is nearing the end of its first year, and the CIPP’s Advisory team continue to receive calls from members seeking clarity on how the levy works. As with any new initiative it takes time to bed in so hopefully these figures show that while apprenticeships are still being used to upskill the workforce, businesses are treading carefully and taking their time to fully invest in the levy and their training needs. |