Levy on large businesses to fund 3m new apprentices
EVERY large company will be asked to pay into a fund to cover three million new ‘high-quality’ apprentices.
Firms that employ apprentices will then ‘get back more than they put in’ in return for training their own workforce.
The move has been praised by employers and trainees, who described the decision as ‘fantastic news’.
The Government hopes the levy will ‘reverse the long-term trend of employer underinvestment in training’.
It follows widespread complaints from British industry that young workers are not qualified in vital skills. But the Treasury yesterday accused companies of taking a ‘free ride’ on the education system by failing to equip their workers with the right skills.
Last year the number of employees who attended a training course away from the workplace was just 18,000 – down from 141,000 in 1995. Mr Osborne said: ‘While many firms do a brilliant job training their workforces, there are too many large companies that leave it to others.
‘So we are going to take a radical and frankly long-overdue approach... and introduce a levy on all large firms.’
The move was applauded by Francesca McKenna, 21, who has been an apprentice at BAE Systems since 2011.
Miss McKenna, from Cumbria, said it was ‘ fantastic’ that the Government is encouraging businesses to train their staff, and that learning at work is a valuable alternative to university.
Nigel Whitehead, a manager at the defence giant, also welcomed the ‘commitment to quality apprenticeships’.
Currently, most apprenticeships are funded through the taxpayer, but soon all large firms will pay into the pot.