Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the apprenticeship levy to include more qualifications.

The apprenticeship levy is an important part of the department’s reforms, supporting employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training.

Employers can already choose from over 640 high-quality employer-designed apprenticeship standards, at all levels and in all sectors of the economy, to meet their skills needs. Employers can hire apprentices at any age and at any stage in their career, whether that’s a new recruit, or an existing employee being retrained or upskilled. Apprenticeships are designed to support an apprentice to achieve occupational competence. They may include a mandatory qualification, such as a degree or professional accreditation.

The Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education continues to work with employers to develop new apprenticeship standards to support businesses to build the workforce of the future.

We are also supporting employers to make greater use of their levy funds by helping them to choose more flexible training models, and making it easier for levy-paying employers to transfer funds to support apprenticeships in their supply chains or to meet local or sectorial skills needs.

Employers can continue to benefit from a range of other high-quality government funded skills programmes, including Skills Bootcamps and traineeships, to recruit new talent or train current staff.

The department currently has no plans to broaden the scope of what apprenticeship levy funds can be spent on.