UK Budget: Workforce training still out of the picture

With the General Election just round the corner, last week’s Budget gave us an important insight into the Government’s priorities.  For SMEs there was quite a lot to be enthusiastic about. But more should be planned for upskilling the UK workforce.

There was an acknowledgement that business rates should be lower and simpler, a reminder that broadband speeds have been improved significantly and corporation tax will fall to 20% in a few days’ time.

More specifically, the Chancellor announced a new digital apprenticeship scheme using vouchers, designed to give employers some relief over apprenticeship funding.  Under the scheme employers will be able to purchase staff training directly from providers using the voucher and pay only the balance of training costs not fully funded.  This system will be administered by the Skills Funding Agency which was set up to relieve concerns that, under initial proposals smaller businesses would have to bear the cost of training upfront, handle public funding, and deal with all associated bureaucracy.  Given that SMEs account for more than 99% of UK businesses and 70% of UK economic activity, it’s right that the Government has come up with this improvement to apprentice training provision.  It is also encouraging to see investment being made in developing the diverse skills of our young workforce.  Practical incentives which support more employers to offer apprenticeships help not just the business concerned but UK economy itself. We urge more employers to make use of the scheme in setting up quality training provisions tailored to the needs of business and its workforce.