Yahoo Finance Fixing our broken apprenticeship system should be a top priority for the next government
Successive governments have made an education system that, despite the hard work of teachers and school leaders, is designed to fail students.
Almost a third of young people will finish their fourteen years of formal education without having attained what used to be considered the minimum standard for further study: 5 GCSEs at Grade 4 or above. This is by design; grade boundaries reflect exam scores – if a student is not in the top two thirds, our system tells them they have failed.
To colleagues and I at QA, as well as to the vast majority of teachers, that is the antithesis of education. Education needs to be lifelong. People of all ages need the space to learn, to have the confidence to test their knowledge, occasionally to fail, and to try again. The pace of change in today’s world requires this. Lifelong learning is a necessity – many of the jobs of 2030 or 2040 don’t yet exist.
As we approach the General Election, I’ve been heartened to see this way of thinking reflected in the main party manifestos. And if the pollsters are to be believed and Labour form the next Government, then they do seem to have grasped the essential problem – that there are widespread shortages of essential skills, particularly digital skills.
I am hopeful that their proposed solutions will make a difference, for school-aged children, teenagers, and the working population. In particular, I welcome the proposal to reform the Apprenticeship Levy. Its problems have been discussed for some years now – indeed, last year the British Retail Consortium, UKHospitality, techUK, and the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, sent an urgent joint letter urging the Government to increase the flexibility of how that money could be spent.
Shockingly, over £3.5bn has been wasted so far due to rules such as preventing Levy money being spent on courses that take less than a year to complete. In its current form, the Levy is out of step with the needs of businesses and workers. Its transformation into a Growth and Skills Levy will allow people to enter apprenticeships and boot camps in formats which work for them, and help employers upskill from within their organisations.
Labour’s localism angle is also welcome – empowering Combined Authorities to manage their adult skills education budgets will allow regional decision-makers to work with local businesses and ensure people develop skills aligned with the needs of local economies.
However, we would urge the next Government to preserve elements of the Apprenticeship Levy that are working. We’ve seen a steady rise in degree apprenticeships reflecting the demand for increased skills in the workplace, and over 80% of apprentices have said they are improving their career progression - this success can’t be ignored. It should be built on instead.
While short courses, bootcamps, and flexible education are absolutely necessary, some programmes of study and qualifications do require long-term study. Ringfencing at least 50% of the Levy for apprenticeships would strike the right balance. Ultimately, such an approach to apprenticeships offers a route to start fixing our education system.
As well as offering a significant earnings boost, apprenticeships allow young people an opportunity to prove themselves in an arena which may accord more closely with their style of learning.
Apprenticeships also impart key skills, can confer confidence and a sense of achievement for young people and career changers, and provide employers a chance to root new skills and talent back into their businesses. A new Government provides the opportunity for change.
Sir Charlie Mayfield is the Chairman of Tech and IT Skills provider QA Ltd.
