Apprenticeships can provide hospitality operators with a useful source of labour – they bring young people into the industry and provide stability in the workforce as apprentices complete their training. From April 2017 the way apprenticeships in England will be funded is changing. Employers with a wage bill of over £3m annually will be required to make an investment in apprenticeships by contributing to a new apprenticeship levy.
The levy will be set at 0.5% of an employer’s pay bill, although they will receive an allowance of £15,000 to offset against the levy payment. By 2019–20, the levy is expected to raise £3 billion in the UK.
Whilst expressing confidence in the quality of the current apprenticeships regime, the vision for the future is a programme that puts the relationship between employer and apprentice is at the core, with emphasis on quality and rigour and training that is trusted and transferable. The aim is for employers to be at the heart of apprenticeship design and delivery which suggests a programme which meets the needs of businesses.
Other changes: From October 2016 the Digital Apprenticeship Service will start to be rolled out. This will be a new simple online portal enabling employers to select the most appropriate apprenticeships, choose a training provider and pay for apprenticeship training and assessment.
The guide, published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills clarifies how the levy will work and gives more detail on the Government’s vision. This can be found at:
