The great training robbery: assessing the first year of the apprenticeship levy

Now that the apprenticeship levy has completed its first full year of operation, this report reviews the available evidence to determine whether the levy will, as the UK government hopes, 'incentivise more employers to provide quality apprenticeships' and 'transform the lives of young people who secure them'. The report addresses the impact of the levy on the quantity and quality of apprenticeships, on employers and on apprenticeship training providers. The opening page of the government-sponsored Richard Review [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 110.775], published in 2012, observed that the growth in apprenticeship numbers in the preceding years had 'led us to stretch the definition of what an apprenticeship is too far and, as a consequence, we risk losing sight of the core features of what makes apprenticeships work, what makes them unique'. The report argues that, six years on, there is a real danger that the same mistakes could be made all over again. The evidence from the first year of the apprenticeship levy suggests that significant reforms are needed if the government is to deliver its aim of high-quality apprenticeships for young people at greater volume. At present, the levy is too complicated for employers, focused on too many inappropriate forms of training and as a result is unlikely to deliver value-for-money. A number of recommended changes are described in this report with the aim of benefitting apprentices, taxpayers and employers for many years to come.

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