My first priority is to transform the prestige of apprenticeships - Robert Halfon MP
Skills Minister Robert Halfon was interviewed by the editor of PoliticsHome Kevin Schofield about the importance of the Apprenticeships levy.
Newly appointed Skills, Apprenticeships and Careers Minister Robert Halfon opened the Apprenticeships Forum debate by giving his view that apprenticeship policy was one of the most important policies for the whole country through its ability to transform the lives of young people, and particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
He talked the room through his priorities for skills and apprenticeships policy, explaining that his first priority was to transform the prestige of apprenticeships, stressing that even if money to fund them was unlimited, their perceived value and standing would have to change to deliver proper results. Adding to this point he said he regularly warned colleagues against using the word 'vocational' as it was often perceived to mean 'lesser'.
Apprenticeships policy also had to work for social justice and social mobility objectives he said, explaining that currently 25 per cent of apprentices were from low income backgrounds, and 10 per cent from BME backgrounds.
Turning to the levy, the minister said it had been introduced as businesses had historically underinvested in skills. The Government's aim was to create an "apprenticeship nation", he said, telling attendees that there would be no delay in the levy's implementation. The Apprenticeship Delivery Board was a key player in achieving the Government's target of three million apprenticeship starts given that its role was to incentivise employers to hire apprenticeship.
Halfon described how the country was "entering a new world" in terms of skills policy, and confirmed the final announcement on the apprenticeship levy would be made towards the end of October.
Question & Answer Session
Neil Bentley, CEO at WorldSkills UK made the point that in a post-Brexit world the country needed world class standards and skills to continue to attract investment from other countries. Halfon thought Brexit was a "red herring" as the country had had such needs in terms of a better skills base for many years. He also praised the work of WorldSkills UK, and reiterated that apprenticeships "provided a ladder to opportunity".
He then spoke about an Accenture degree apprenticeship scheme which included many people form disadvantaged backgrounds. Employers that took part in such schemes all agreed that attitude was the key attribute they looked for in candidates, rather than previous qualifications.
Tom Hadley, director of policy and professional services at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) asked Halfon how the Government would make sure that the apprenticeship levy worked for everyone, describing how many of REC's members had lots of workers on temporary contracts and therefore would be eligible for paying the levy but unable get value back through training workers. Halfon replied by saying the specifics of the policy were "discussed every day", but that the Government could not keep making exceptions.
Director of External Engagement at the Open University Steven Hill asked how it could be ensured that apprenticeships improved social mobility to which Halfon said organisations would be incentivised to take on young people from local authority care homes, as well as those with disabilities. He also praised the Open University calling it a "wonderful institution".
Hill then made the point that the policy should not be all about young people given that 90 per cent of the current workforce would still be in work in 10 years' time.
Daniel Pedley, Strategic Executive Adviser to CEO at the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) voiced concerns that many employers would not actually use the levy to bring in new talent and help with social mobility, but would instead look to chase as much levy funding as possible through rebranding existing training programmes. Halford agreed there was likely to be a small amount of gaming of the system but did not think it would be widespread, particularly as employers themselves had designed apprenticeship frameworks.
Alex Burrowes, marketing and strategy director at Alstom said his organisation was a classic example of a company with a workforce that was ageing and in need of reskilling and therefore the levy was a very positive thing. He also mentioned the need to act on HS2 and develop a strong workforce; they had opened a skills academy in Widness already for this purpose, he added.
Halfon praised Burrowes' attitude and said that the levy was predicted to raise £2.5bn which would all be invested back into apprenticeships.
The discussion then turned to maths and English skills in the country, with Halfon acknowledging that the UK was very low in the league tables. Whether functional skills or GCSEs, young people all needed to have these basic skills. Digital skills were also very important, he added.
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