Apprenticeship starts have risen for the first time since the introduction of the apprenticeship levy in April 2017, the latest figures show.
There were a total of 225,800 apprenticeship starts between August 2018 and January 2019, an increase of nearly 10% on the same period a year before.
However, the figure was still below the number of starts registered before the levy, with 269,600 in 2016/17 and 264,600 in 2015/16.
The figures cover all types of apprenticeships and were not broken down to show how the number of apprenticeship starts in the construction industry has changed.
The Department for Education said that companies taking part in the apprenticeship levy had two years to spend their funds and that as the system became more established, the number of apprenticeship starts being reported was likely to change further.
Karen Jones, group HR firector at housebuilder Redrow, said: “It is very promising to see that apprenticeship starts since the start of the academic year have risen 9% annually. Taking on an apprentice is a big investment for employers, however the figures show that more businesses are recognising their benefits.
“The financial burden of hiring an apprentice continues to grow however, locking smaller businesses out of the opportunity. Significantly, 38% of all construction SMEs that we recently surveyed who are not employing apprentices at the moment, are failing to do so due to a lack of funding. It is vital that we help construction SMEs take on and train more people. One way to ease the pressure would be by expanding the remit for what levy funds can be used for. Vital aspects of hiring an apprentice, such as wages, statutory licences to practise, travel and subsidiary costs, as well as the costs for setting up an apprenticeship programme, are all the burden of the SME business. Introducing this flexibility would significantly ease the financial load to smaller businesses.”
Meanwhile, contractor Costain said it welcomed the government’s reforms to apprenticeships and pointed to a 183% increase in the number of apprentices within its business aged 25 and over ahead of the launch of the National Retraining Scheme later this summer.
Sally Austin, group HR director at Costain, said: “It’s critically important that the Government maintain its progress on the National Retraining Scheme and therefore it was positive to see Philip Hammond use the recent Spring Statement as a platform to reiterate their commitment to apprenticeships. Everyone, no matter what their age, should have the opportunity to retrain or upskill in a new industry and have the support from both businesses and Government to do so.
“The UK is rich in talent across multiple sectors and we see the benefits in attracting a diverse range of ‘new blood’, who will have completely different but valuable skill sets to help the industry deliver highly complex technology-based innovative solutions. As the technology revolution gathers momentum we need to ensure we have a strong supply of people with the requisite skills to deliver on our 21st-century requirements and apprenticeships will play an essential role in developing skills for tomorrow. We look forward to hearing more from Government on what the National Retraining Scheme will look like in practice.”
