The apprenticeship levy should be introduced over a much longer period to avoid unintended consequences, according to an influential backbench MP.
Peter Kyle, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group for Further Education and Lifelong Learning, told TES that the levy was a “really good idea” but one that was being “poorly executed”. Implementing the policy - which is intended to fund the government’s plans for 3 million apprenticeships by 2020 - in just two years was bound to cause problems in some areas, he said. “It should probably be introduced in twice the time,” he added.
Mr Kyle (pictured), who is also a member of the Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, also told TES that it was not yet clear what the impact of the levy would be on sectors such as the creative industries or technology companies. “If the levy works the way it looks at the moment, they will pay it but they stop investing in primary and secondary schools and just recruit from abroad,” he said.
Some sectors did not lend themselves easily to an apprenticeship programme because of the way in which staff move between jobs, the Labour MP said. “For those sectors, we need to be careful in how the levy impacts. There could be some unintended circumstances.”
In response to Mr Kyle’s comments, skills minister Nick Boles said that all employers in England who were eligible to pay the new apprenticeship levy would be able to get back more than they put in. “What’s more, research shows that for many, the cost of apprenticeship training pays for itself within one or two years,” he added. “The levy will create life-changing opportunities for millions of people while ensuring businesses have the skills they need to be more productive and innovative in the future. We have worked with hundreds of employers to design the system around their needs.”
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