Policy briefing: Apprenticeships & the apprenticeship levy

This short briefing provides a high-level background to the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy on 6 April 2017 and the wider context of the growth of apprenticeships.

In his Summer Budget in July 2015, chancellor George Osborne announced the introduction of a levy to fund the target of three million apprenticeship starts by 2020. The introduction of a levy fundamentally alters the UK’s approach to skills funding – lessening the cost to the public purse, transferring the cost burden to employers. It also seeks to address the perception that firms’ investment in talent is on a downward trend. This policy was to form a key pillar of George Osborne’s Productivity Plan entitled Fixing the foundations: creating a more prosperous nation which he published immediately after the budget.

Apprenticeships have a vital role to play in addressing this skills challenge as part of a dynamic education and skills system.

Read more about the levy in the attached paper.

Download here