Paul Howell MP announces major package to boost apprenticeships and cut red tape for thousands of small businesses.
- Major package of reforms to support small businesses in PM’s first economic speech since the Spring Budget
- £60 million new investment to enable up to 20,000 more apprenticeships, including for young people and small businesses
- Unnecessary regulatory burdens to be slashed through Brexit freedoms saving around £150 million per year for thousands of small businesses
- New taskforce to be established to boost private investment in women-led businesses and make the UK the best place in the world to be a female founder
In his first economic speech since the Spring Budget, the Prime Minister is expected to set out a major package of reforms to support businesses to deliver more apprenticeship places, cut red tape for SMEs and leverage more private investment in female founders at the Business Connect conference in Warwickshire on Monday 18th March.
The Government will fully fund apprenticeships in small businesses from 1st April by paying the full cost of training for anyone up to the age of 21 - reducing costs and burdens for businesses and delivering more opportunities for young people to kick start their careers.
This will remove the need for small employers to meet some of the cost of training and saves time and costs for providers like further education colleges who currently need to source funding separately from the government and businesses.
The move is underpinned by an additional £60 million of new government funding for next year, guaranteeing that where there is demand for apprenticeships from businesses, the government will ensure there is enough funding to deliver them.
From the start of April, the government will also increase the amount of funding that employers who are paying the apprenticeship levy can pass onto other businesses. Apprenticeships can currently be funded by a levy paying employer transferring up to 25% of their unused levy to a different employer.
Under the new measures, large employers who pay the apprenticeship levy will be able to transfer up to 50% of their funds to support other businesses, including smaller firms, to take on apprentices. This will help SMEs hire more apprentices by reducing costs and enabling more employers to get the skilled workers they need while unlocking more opportunities for young people in a huge range of sectors, industries, and professions.
Hundreds of large levy-paying employers have already taken advantage of the opportunity to transfer their unused levy funds to other businesses. As of [December 2023], 530 employers including ASDA, HomeServe and BT Group have pledged to transfer over £35.39 million to support apprenticeships in businesses of all sizes since September 2021.
Paul Howell MP said:
"I'm very pleased to share the announcement of a major package to boost apprenticeships and cut red tape for thousands of small businesses.
£60 million of new investment is being provided to enable up to 20,000 more apprenticeships, including for young people and small businesses. Reducing costs and burdens for businesses and delivering more opportunities for young people here in Sedgefield to kick start their careers.”
Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan said:
"This Government has built a world-leading apprenticeship system from the ground-up – with apprenticeships now available in around 70 per cent of all occupations.
Apprenticeships are a fantastic way for businesses to develop the skills they need, and these new measures will help more businesses and young people benefit from them.
Our plan to deliver a high-growth, high-skilled economy is working, with more opportunities available to young people than ever before."
