2 February 2023 - The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Accounting for Growth today released its report on higher level skill and apprenticeships titled, Apprenticeships and Skills: How to boost financial and professional skills.
This report examines how companies and organisations are interacting with the apprenticeship scheme and levy, and what opportunities there are to improve them. It focuses on apprenticeships and skills at higher levels and in particular those within the finance and professional services sectors.
Report findings:
In 2021, financial services contributed £173.6 billion to the UK economy, 8.3% of the country’s total economic output.
The sector made a significant contribution to the £141 billion surplus of trade in services in 2021.
Financial and professional services employed 2.3 million people, one in fourteen people in the U.K., two-thirds of whom work outside London.
The APPG report makes 18 recommendations for how the apprenticeship scheme and the levy which funds it could be improved to support the development of higher-level skills in the finance and professional services sector and wider economy.
Key recommendations:
Link the apprenticeship scheme with the Government’s levelling up and growth plans to help build skills clusters.
Showcase the range of apprenticeships, including higher level apprenticeships, through an advertising campaign akin to the Ministry of Defence’ advertising campaign that highlighted the different roles in the military.
Relax the 12-month rule to allow companies to fund short courses and skills boot camps through the levy.
Consider an insurance scheme for SMEs to help cover the cost if an apprentice fails or drops out of the course, so the SME is not liable for the full fee.
Increase the percentage of unspent levy funds that can be transferred to another business to 40%.
Introduce a rebuttable right to retrain so individuals can ask their employers to provide an apprenticeship or fund skills training.
Encourage companies to advertise specifically for ex-apprentices.
Promoting apprenticeships to parents so that they can help support their children to understand their range of options.
Promote initiatives that enable younger workers to support older employees to upskill their digital skills.
Apply a principle-based and not a rules-based approach to enforcing the rules of the apprenticeship scheme to allow it to adapt as skills needs change.
Allow SMEs to share an apprentice to split the costs of the scheme and ensure a wider range of SMEs can access it.
Link the apprenticeship scheme with the Government’s levelling up and growth plans to help build skills clusters.
Showcase the range of apprenticeships, including higher level apprenticeships, through an advertising campaign akin to the Ministry of Defence’ advertising campaign that highlighted the different roles in the military.
Relax the 12-month rule to allow companies to fund short courses and skills boot camps through the levy.
Consider an insurance scheme for SMEs to help cover the cost if an apprentice fails or drops out of the course, so the SME is not liable for the full fee.
Increase the percentage of unspent levy funds that can be transferred to another business to 40%.
Introduce a rebuttable right to retrain so individuals can ask their employers to provide an apprenticeship or fund skills training.
Encourage companies to advertise specifically for ex-apprentices.
Promoting apprenticeships to parents so that they can help support their children to understand their range of options.
Promote initiatives that enable younger workers to support older employees to upskill their digital skills.
Apply a principle-based and not a rules-based approach to enforcing the rules of the apprenticeship scheme to allow it to adapt as skills needs change.
Allow SMEs to share an apprentice to split the costs of the scheme and ensure a wider range of SMEs can access it.
John Howell MP, Chair of the APPG said:
“Boosting the number of apprentices is essential to opening up access to the accountancy profession and providing the skills that the U.K. financial sector needs if it is to continue to thrive.
“The All Party Parliamentary Group on Accounting for Growth has produced 18 recommendations to improve how students, employers and providers interact with the system and to help boost the overall number of apprenticeships offered.
“Measures such as linking the apprenticeship scheme with the Government’s levelling up and growth plans to help build skills clusters, encouraging companies to change recruitment practices to advertise for ex-apprentices and launching an advertising campaign for higher level apprenticeships will drive the change we need to deliver world-class apprenticeships, address the U.K.’s skills shortages and set our economy up to flourish.”
Andrew Harding, Secretary General of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, said:
“CIMA is delighted to have been able to work with the APPG on Accounting for Growth on this report which makes important recommendations which could boost access to higher level apprenticeships, including introducing a rebuttable right to retrain and making it easier for SMEs to access the apprenticeship scheme.
“Apprenticeships provide a much needed non-university based route into the accountancy profession. Just under 3,000 people are currently undertaking CIMA apprenticeships.”