The budget announcement that the government is planning “digital apprenticeship vouchers” to implement its policy of giving employers control of apprenticeship training funds has been welcomed by the sector.
There had been fears that asking construction SMEs to pay colleges upfront for apprentice training – reclaiming the money from government at a later date – would impact badly on their cash flow and willingness to take on apprentices.
But the new scheme has been well received. Sarah McMonagle, head of external affairs at FMB, told Construction Manager: “From our point of view this is much better than we feared when the original Richard Review proposals came out, but the system needs to be really simple. Employers will still need to fill out quite a complex online form. At the moment, most of our members just phone up CITB and say they need an apprentice.”
Read related article
10 things you need to know about this week’s Budget
A statement from CITB explained that the new paperless system, which is due to apply from 2017, would be administered by the Skills Funding Agency.
McMonagle added: “I believe in our sector CITB will still be acting as a third party brokers and members will be able to use their services. But a lot of the detail is still up for discussion, and we’ll get down to the nitty gritty of discussions after the General Election.”
According to its latest survey, 20% of FMB members are currently training apprentices, up from 18% two years ago.
Welcoming the voucher scheme, the CITB’s director of policy, Steve Radley, said: “This revised funding model is employer-led and more workable for SMEs. This is vital for an industry that is made up of 95% SMEs and facing a significant skills challenge for the coming years.
“The new model must also take into account sector-specific needs. For example, in construction we believe that employers should have the choice to opt for a third-party provider to manage their training, especially where this already works well.”
At the ICE, director general Nick Baveystock said: “Practical action which incentivises more employers to offer apprenticeships can only help, and we welcome greater involvement from employers in setting up quality schemes tailored to the needs of business.
“I will wait to see the small print, but this appears to represent another positive step forward for apprenticeships. Whoever wins on 7 May should continue to support high-quality schemes that result in a career for life.”
