Today, the government published proposals for a new funding model for apprenticeships and further details on the apprenticeship levy. Under the plans for the levy, the government has proposed that employers that are too small to pay the levy, will have 90% of the costs of training paid for by the government.

Extra support, worth £2,000 per trainee, will also be available for employers and training providers that take on 16 to 18-year-old apprentices or young care leavers. Employers with fewer than 50 employees will also have 100% of training costs paid for by government if they take on these apprentices.

To download the proposal documents and take part in a survey, click here.

The Department for Education’s new minister for skills and apprenticeships, Robert Halfon, will unveil details on the structure of its proposed apprenticeship levy on Friday 12 August. Details of the levy were first expected to be published in June, but this was pushed back following the Brexit vote.

As a result of the Government’s delay in issuing further information regarding the operation of the apprenticeship levy, Build UK intends to support the CBI’s call for a one year delay in the levy’s introduction. The levy is currently scheduled to take effect in April 2017, giving companies insufficient time to plan for the new arrangements.

With the introduction of the levy, changes to apprenticeships through trailblazers, and the Government’s recently published Skills Plan, Build UK will be working with the new ministers and CITB to ensure that “the outcome of construction training and qualifications delivered by or on behalf of the industry meets the needs of employers and that sufficient employment and apprenticeship opportunities are available to maintain a skilled and professional workforce”.

If FIS members have any comments on Build UK’s position, please contact FIS by Monday 15 August 2016.