The Apprenticeship Levy - an opportunity to revisit talent strategies

Helen Clark, Principal Consultant 

While UK productivity has increased in recent months it’s still lagging behind most G7 countries. To address the situation government is introducing the levy to encourage employers to invest more in apprenticeships and help improve off-the-job training. Starting next April, the levy will raise an estimated £3bn a year to support 3 million new apprenticeships by 2020. If implemented successfully, it could help to address key skills shortages and offer viable alternative career paths to young people and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Some organisations may choose to accept the levy as a cost, however many will reinvest it in apprenticeships across their organisation. Apprenticeships can be offered from GCSE’s up to masters’ level degrees, presenting a broad range of talent strategy options. For example, key skills could be trained for rather than hired in, traditional training programmes could be replaced with apprenticeships, or new initiatives could be established. The broader aim of the levy is to address the UK’s skills gaps, therefore key to its success will be the identification of these skills gaps in order to target critical business needs and functions.