by Clair Mooney | May 27, 2021 | Skills
The deadline for employers to apply for the incentive payment for new apprentices hired between 1 August 2020 and March 2021 is approaching. Eligible employers must apply for their incentive payment by 31 May 2021.
Incentive payment for apprentices who joined organisations before 1 April 2021 are:
- Employers with apprentices who have a contract of employment start date between 1 August 2020 and 31 March 2021 and who also have a practical period (training) start date between 1 August 2020 and 31 May 2021 are eligible for an incentive payment
- For new apprentices aged 16 to 24, employers will receive £2,000
- For new apprentices aged 25 and over, employers will receive £1,500
- Employers must apply for these apprentices by the end of 31 May 2021
- Employers can visit our guidance page for more details.
Employers can apply for the incentive payment via the Finances section in their apprenticeship service account. For a walk-through of the process, employers can watch the support video.
There are six steps employers need to have completed before they apply for an incentive payment for hiring a new apprentice:
- They need to have registered an account on the apprenticeship service
- If they do not pay the apprenticeship levy, they need to have reserved funds in their apprenticeship service account
- They need to have recruited an apprentice
- They need to have added their apprentice to their apprenticeship service account
- They need to have agreed a start date for apprenticeship training to begin with their training provider
- They need to have accepted the latest version of the Education and Skills Funding Agency employer agreement
If employers require support with any of these steps, they can watch the how-to videos or visit the help portal, where they can access help articles, webchat with an adviser, call or text the helpline, or email the helpdesk.
Incentive payment for apprentices who join organisations from 1 April 2021 have been increased for hiring a new apprentice. Employers could receive £3,000 for new apprentices of any age who join their organisation from 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021. Visit the guidance page for more details.
by Clair Mooney | May 27, 2021 | Skills
CITB has confirmed that Levy rates will remain the same for 2022-25 under proposals that its Board confirmed on 21 May.
CITB’s recent consultation with employers and leading industry figures supported draft proposals and these have now been agreed. The Levy will remain at pre-Covid rate of 0.35% for PAYE staff at 1.25% for CIS subcontractors.
Around 40,000 employers with a wage bill lower than £120,000 will still be exempt, with 14,000 having their Levy assessment halved if their wage bill is between £120,000 and £400,000.
From Monday 14 June to Sunday 15 August, CITB will be consulting on these Consensus proposals, where they will be asking a sample of Levy payers whether they agree that its proposals are necessary to encourage adequate training in our industry over the next three years. The last Consensus was in 2017, with 76.9% agreed with CITB’s plans.
You can read more about who takes part in the CITB consultations here, and more details about the Consensus process here.
SkillsBuild – are you involved?
FIS would like to hear from members who have individuals registered for the 2021 SkillsBuild Qualifiers, it would be good to follow their journey and other FIS members may also be able to offer support. Please supply the details of your organisation, the name of the individual(s), the occupation they are competing in, the date and venue of the qualifier to georgeswann@thefis.org
by Clair Mooney | May 20, 2021 | Skills
Last week the Government outlined its legislative agenda for 2021‐22, which included the
Skills and Post‐16 Education Bill as part of the Prime Minister’s pledge for a ‘
skills revolution’ in England. With the aim of bringing the skills and education system closer to the employer market, the Bill details significant reforms to post‐16 education and training, including the Lifetime Skills Guarantee to enable easier retraining for individuals, greater influence for employers in planning publicly‐funded training programmes, and reforms to the student finance system.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said these new laws “are the rocket fuel that we need to level up this country and ensure equal opportunities for all”. Education secretary Gavin Williamson added: “Through legislation, our vision is to transform the sector (Education and Training) and expand opportunity right across the country, so that more people can get the skills they need to get good jobs.”
The main benefits of the Skills Bill will be:
- Offering adults across the country the opportunity to retrain in later life through the lifetime skills guarantee, helping them to gain in demand skills and open up further job opportunities.
- Realigning the system around the needs of employers so that people are trained for the skills gaps (roles that have been vacant for a long time) that exist now and, in the future, in sectors the economy needs including construction, digital, clean energy and manufacturing.
- Improving the quality of training available by making sure that providers are better run, qualifications are better regulated, and that providers’ performance can be effectively assessed.
by Clair Mooney | May 20, 2021 | Skills
The results of the third cross-industry ‘People Survey’, carried out by Build UK on behalf of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) in April, have now been published. Providing an up to date snapshot of the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the construction workforce, Maintaining Employment in Construction indicates that there will be a reduction of 1.2% in the size of the workforce by July. However, the number of apprentices employed is expected to increase by 2.7 % over the next three months, and the number of graduates taken on this September is expected to be 17% higher than last September.
Listed up front in the report the data highlights the following:
- A small number of job losses is expected over the next three months
- Anticipated change in the workforce for specialist contractors between April and July 2021 11.4%
- There is anticipated to be a slight reduction in the number of EU workers
- Overall the number of apprentices employed is expected to increase over the next three months
- The number of graduates taken on this September is expected to be higher than last September
- On average companies are still expecting to lose a third of their Apprenticeship Levy due to not being able to spend it within the timeframe
- Most companies have introduced some form of health and safety training related to COVID-19
Commenting on the findings, FIS CEO Iain McIlwee stated:
“With this report it is important to look beyond the headlines, the data and summary provided reflects wider construction and it shows a fairly stable picture. When we look beyond the surface at the Specialist Contractors, it is a different story. Plans are to scale the workforce up by over 10% between July and April and that is going to be tough when we know that immigration is tight and we still have the unknown impact of the July Right to Work checks and the Settlement Scheme and travel opening up for people who may not have seen their family for months and be keen to extend their holidays. At FIS we remain concerned that labour is and will remain short. The apprentice numbers are encouraging, but a drop in the ocean for our sector where, even if the immigration system has no impact on the existing workforce, our domestic recruitment target doubles. We need to be conscious of this when planning and pricing work in the coming months and longer term there needs to be a huge cultural change in the way that we recruit and train across the UK.”
Download the results here
by Clair Mooney | May 20, 2021 | Skills
Following the latest easing of restrictions on 17 May, face‐to‐face teaching can resume at all schools, colleges and other further education settings. However, there has been no further guidance on resuming face‐to‐face training in the workplace, and companies should continue to determine if any training required can be undertaken remotely or is essential at this time, as they may be required to explain how they are complying with the current restrictions, which include working from home where possible.
by Clair Mooney | May 13, 2021 | Skills
Are you an employer who could provide a T Level industry placement relating to design, surveying and planning for construction, or digital production, design and development?
In September 2020, the Department for Education launched the first three T Level qualifications, designed to equip young people with the technical skills on which to build their future careers. To achieve a T Level pass every student has to complete a substantial Industry Placement with a local employer as part of their course. The Covid-19 pandemic has placed additional pressure on colleges and other training providers in sourcing enough Industry Placements for their students.
You will find some background about T Levels below, along with links to further information, to help you decide if your organisation can get involved by offering students a good quality Industry Placement. As well as providing a young person with their first step into the world of work, it could be your first step to engaging with fresh new talent.
T-Levels are new courses which follow GCSEs and are equivalent to 3 A levels. These 2-year courses, which launched September 2020, are for 16 to 19 year olds and have been developed in collaboration with employers and businesses so that the content meets the needs of industry and prepares students for work, further training or study. T-Levels offer students a mixture of classroom learning and ‘on-the-job’ experience during an industry placement of at least 45 days. Most of the learning will take place in the classroom which makes them different from an Apprenticeship. The placement can take place as a block, day release or a mix of these. There are currently two Construction T-Levels:
Design, surveying and planning for construction (available now) the course offers a core knowledge of how the construction industry works, the principles of design and the role of technology and sustainability. Students then have the chance to specialise in either Building services design, Civil engineering, Hazardous materials analysis or surveying. Eight colleges are currently delivering this programme across England and they are seeking industrial placements for 67 students. If you are an employer interested in taking on an industrial placement please complete the form at https://www.tlevels.gov.uk/employers/next-steps or call 08000 150 600 (choose option 4).
Onsite construction (starting September 2021) learners will have the option to cover at least one trade from a choice of bricklaying, carpentry and joinery, painting and decorating or plastering. FIS are seeking support to develop an occupational specialism in interior systems installation.
There are a number of progression options open to students. These include skilled employment, an apprenticeship and higher education. UCAS points are attached to the overall T-Level achievement grade.
