University Alliance (UK)’s Post

I have spent most of my career struggling with the challenge of skills. When I entered industry a Thursday night advert would result in a huge response. The rot set in during the late 70’s and 80’s imo when the city of London was prioritised over manufacturing (and we had loads of oil revenue). Now mid career talent is all but impossible to find. Some mid career roles take years (many years) to fill. 3P is a SME so we can only do so much. We have embedded apprenticeships, internships and grad development in our employee owned business from the get go. We are proud recipients of a Princess Royal award for training. Around 65% of our current staff, including most of our current leadership team, joined at the beginning of their careers. The trick to finding experience is hiring for talent rather than experience and then investing in training in my view, but it does need a very long term view. It is great news if our new government has woken up to this. Only government can set a climate to incentivise the SME community to really invest in the next generation of talent.

In a joint letter to UK Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, ARA has joined forces with 600+ organisations to send the message loud and clear: #KeepFundingL7Apprenticeships. ARA has joined a coalition of employers and apprentices spanning sectors including healthcare, science, construction, manufacturing, creative, business and local government to write to the Chancellor to express deep concern over the planned defunding of level 7 apprenticeships. Over 600 signatories have backed the letter, organised by the University Alliance, including representatives from over 60 NHS Trusts, 29 local authorities and sector representative groups such as the CBI, GAMBICA, RIBA and The Royal Town Planning Institute. The signatories argue that level 7 apprenticeships are integral to recruitment, retention and skills strategies across a range of essential sectors. The government has indicated that it plans to prevent employers from using the Apprenticeship Levy to fund level 7 apprenticeships – the highest level of apprenticeship. All employers with a turnover of over £3 million are charged at 0.5% of their annual pay bill for the Levy, which will soon become the Growth & Skills Levy. Part of what is raised through the Levy is used to fund apprenticeships in employers of all sizes, including SMEs. Employers argue the levy should be used to fund the qualifications that best meet their skills needs, including level 7 apprenticeships. https://lnkd.in/dNZVEyRu

Delighted to see the work that AELP has been undertaking along with insight and input from our members on the need for a Foundation Apprenticeship is being taken forward by the new government and indeed the direct reference to "Foundation Apprenticeships" made today by the Prime Minister. We look forward to continuing to work with the DfE on the design and implementation of this new much-needed offer for young people. Making the apprenticeship programme itself more flexible has also been something that AELP has campaigned long and hard for so it is excellent to see that the arbitrary notion of time served as a measure of quality that is now set to be finally reformed. We don't want a return to 6-week apprenticeships, but 12+ months is simply not always needed for many programmes, especially some of those at level 2 and it's absolutely time to move on from an arbitrary one-size-fits-all approach. Alongside this commitment to move to a more flexible approach on duration, there are other pinch-points set to be reviewed, including maths and English policy. Today's narrative from the new government has been to indicate a future pivot on the apprenticeship programme and a redistribution of priority and funds away from level 7 apprenticeships to "rebalance spending towards young people to help them get on at the start of their working lives". We would argue that rather than a redistribution the government could have used some of £800m levy top slice to still do both. More on our press release here: https://lnkd.in/eR7E7mvR It is important to remember that Skills is very much a cross-cutting theme across all of Labour's key missions. It was positive to speak to and hear from many new Labour MPs over the last few days at the Party Conference who were not only interested and recognised the power and impact of our sector, but also already knew about the great work of independent training providers and the impact they have for learners, employers and communities. #FoundationApprenticeships #SkillsMeansGrowth #AskAshworth #Apprenticeshps #LabourPartyConference2024 #Flexibilities #SkillsEngland #OpportunityMission #ITPs https://lnkd.in/eKmqZdXH

We'll be watching closely to see how this unfolds. ° restricting levy payments on some L7 apprenticeships ° reducing the 12 months minimum duration on some apprenticeships ° introducing foundation apprenticeships We're also hoping to hear about changes to the delivery of EPA soon after the much talked about pilots. https://lnkd.in/eDNz2UTU

Commenting on the speech by the Prime Minister and the announcement on Apprenticeships, Stephen Phipson, CEO of Make UK said: “This announcement demonstrates real intent from the Government to fix England’s broken apprenticeship system. For too long, #manufacturers have been held back from investing in critical trade and technical skills by a chronic lack of funding and industry will applaud the Government’s determination to start putting this right. It is clear the Prime Minister has listened to businesses across the country and taken decisive action on apprenticeships. “#Manufacturers are clear that a successful, long-term industrial strategy depends on employers being able to invest in the skills they need to create jobs and deliver growth. This new approach to Foundation apprenticeships, focused on making high-quality training for crucial job roles available and, accessible to the businesses developing the next generation of talent, is central to making this a reality. Industry stands ready to work with Government to take this positive announcement forward.” investing in critical trade and technical skills by a chronic lack of funding and industry will applaud the Government’s determination to start putting this right. It is clear the Prime Minister has listened to businesses across the country and taken decisive action on apprenticeships. https://lnkd.in/gE6isB8p #SupportUKmfg #ShoutAboutUKmfg #UKmanufacturing #UKmfg

✅ The Prime Minister has today confirmed that major apprenticeship levy reform will go ahead to enhance flexibility, boost opportunity for young people, and tailor training to tackle the most significant skills shortages affecting businesses and industries across the UK. ♻️ The new 'Growth and Skills' levy will allow funding for shorter apprenticeships by lifting the current 12 month minimun duration requirement, will be targeted at supporting apprentices in key growth sectors, will support the introduction of foundation apprenticeships for young people, and will encourage businesses to fund more of their higher level apprenticeships outside of the levy. 🗣 "We've got to give businesses more flexibility to adapt to real raining needs, and also unlock the pride and ambition that young people feel when building a future not just for themselves, but for their community", the Prime Minister said today at the Labour conference. "We will rebalance funding in our training system back to young people and align that with what businesses really need." #government #labourconference #starmer #apprenticeships https://lnkd.in/guWtjZER

📢 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 Prime Minister overhauls apprenticeships to support opportunity The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson today announced a new growth and skills levy which will replace the existing apprenticeship levy and include new foundation apprenticeships. The new levy will also allow funding for shorter apprenticeships, giving learners and employers greater flexibility over their training than under the existing system – where apprenticeships must run for at least 12 months. The training eligible for funding under the new levy will develop over time, informed by Skills England’s assessment of priority skills needs. To fund this, employers are being asked to rebalance their funding for apprenticeships, asking them to invest in younger workers. This will also involve businesses funding more of their level 7 apprenticeships – equivalent to a master’s degree and often accessed by older or already well qualified employees – outside of the levy. Full press release below #apprenticeships #growthandskills #levy #overhaul #foundation #rebalancing https://lnkd.in/ejqMJWQe

In a press release, the government has announced changes to the funding of apprenticeships in England. Relatively few details have been published but it appears that the existing apprenticeship levy will be replaced by a growth and skills levy. New foundation apprenticeships will be introduced and funding will be allowed for apprenticeships shorter than 12 months.    The announcement suggests that the focus for funding will be for those at the beginning of their careers and that apprenticeships for the equivalent of a master's degree will no longer be funded by the levy. The press release refers to employers investing in "younger workers". It appears that other training and technical qualifications may also be available via the growth and skills levy.   The type of training eligible for funding will be informed by Skills England, an arms-length body established by the government on 22 July 2024 to tackle skills shortages and support sustained economic growth. We await further details and will continue to provide updates via the Athena Hub. If you have not yet downloaded our app, it is a great resource and available NOW! #apprentices #funding #employmentlaw #AfterAthena

Exclusive: The next government should phase in a 'flex and match' skills levy that allows employers to spend part of their money on non-apprenticeship training – but only if they invest as much in apprenticeships for young people, L&W proposes. Here’s how it would work 👇

These proposals make a lot of sense. There have been lots of great things about the apprenticeship reforms but the evidence shows that it hasn’t worked for young people as well as it has for others. At the same time we’ve seen the labour market recover less well for young people with increasing level of youth unemployment and inactivity. We know that being out of work or education at this time can have scarring effects across working life. This proposal could give flexibility but also address the declining numbers of young people and SMEs involved in apprenticeships.