After government set a target of creating 3 million apprenticeships across the course of this parliament, chancellor George Osborne announced plans for a levy on large firms to pay for apprenticeships. This new system has crucial differences with the longstanding levy administered by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB). Our levy cuts across the whole of the construction industry, not just large firms. It also pays for a whole range of other training beyond apprenticeships.
We recognise that the construction levy and grant system needs significant change to properly address the industry’s skill needs. That is why work is under way to reform the system, to make it more responsive to employers’ needs as they evolve, and far easier to access.
But it is also worth taking the time to note what the levy has done for construction:
- Over more than 50 years the levy has paid out more than £2.3bn in grants.
- It has helped to train more than half a million apprentices, and supported a 1.3 million people in achieving a vocational qualification.
- It has provided cards for more than 4 million workers, making sure people on site have the right skills and accreditation.
- It has paid for tens of thousands of visits to young people, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by apprenticeship officers, careers advisers and company development officers – helping to secure the future of the industry.
- It has allowed construction to retain talent during the hard times, and enabled us to flourish when times are good. This is something we in construction can be proud of.
With this new proposal, CITB will be playing a key role in representing the interests of construction in the upcoming consultation on the levy.
We will be making three key points:
- A levy alone cannot address all of industry’s skill needs.
- The construction levy and grant system is currently being significantly reformed to make it simpler to access, and more responsive to industry needs.
- We need to look afresh at how construction invests in apprenticeships if we are to meet the skills challenge
the industry faces.
We know that, if the new system is to be successful, it must have industry buy-in. In addition, it must reduce and remove the barriers to participation in training.
And, finally it must raise standards, so that apprenticeships are of high quality and relevant to employer needs.
At CITB, we have a wealth of experience in running a levy system, and want to utilise that to help shape an approach that will deliver for our economy and the next generation of apprenticeships.
By Stephen Radley, director of policy and strategic planning at the Construction Industry Training Board
