Following a year of the Apprenticeship Levy, the Government initiative to fund three million places for apprentices by 2020, Lindsey Appleby-Flynn, National Lead for Adult Health and Social Care at apprenticeship provider Connect2Care, reflects on what the future holds for apprenticeships in the care sector.
For some care businesses, the perceived admin involved with the Government’s Apprenticeship Levy may have seemed to outweigh the benefits. However, in the care sector particularly, there have been positive steps to show that apprenticeships are working well to effectively attract new learners. Before 2016/17, the most common subject area for apprenticeship starts was in Business, Administration and Law, but for the first time there have been more starts in Health, Public Services and Care.
At Connect2Care, we see the reality is that, as with anything new, there have been teething problems and some confusion around the Levy. As such, it’s hardly surprising that, according to a report by the Open University, £1.3bn of the cash paid into the fund is yet to be claimed.
But this figure is much less dramatic than it appears; businesses actually have 24 months to use Levy payments so understandably they are taking time to get to grips with the scheme first. Far from writing a scheme off, we need time to allow a new piece of complicated legislation to bed down.
Reflecting on 12 months of the Levy 
As a reminder, the Levy itself requires all companies with a pay bill of more than £3m to contribute 0.5% of their pay bill costs to the scheme, which they then claim back for training. This amount is then topped up by 10% from the Government. Businesses with pay bills below £3m don’t have to pay into the fund but they still have access to Government subsidies of 90% of the cost of the apprenticeship, with the employers co-paying the additional 10%.
According to the Apprenticeships Statistics from the House of Commons Library, the sector of Health, Public Services and Care saw the highest number of new starts in the last year. There were 138,000 new starts in 2017/18, 7,000 up from the previous year. This makes it an excellent time for employers in the care industry to maximise the advantages of the Apprenticeship Levy, as they too can experience benefits including better staff retention rates, improved skills and higher industry training standards.
Our care clients continue to praise apprenticeships and consider them to be an excellent way to upskill staff whilst also recruiting and retaining top talent. As expected, we are seeing apprentices lead on to successful, long term careers in care.
What the legislation looks like now
In May we also saw a new evolution to the Levy as, for the first time; large employers can now transfer up to 10% of their annual Levy fund to another organisation. This means that Levy-paying employers can work with another employer to help them take on apprentices, increasing the skills base in their supply chain.
The future of care apprenticeships
The future is certainly bright for apprenticeships and we encourage all employers to take advantage of the Levy. Setting up a programme with a trusted provider like Connect2Care will encourage staff to stay in the industry by enabling workers to train for valuable career pathways. Apprenticeships should not just be considered for new staff, they can be useful for updating the skill set of existing employees too – from junior right up to senior level.
The benefits speak for themselves; 70% of apprentices stay with their employer after completing their qualification. Then there is the boost to morale; 92% of businesses find that having an apprenticeship programme has led to a more motivated team.
So as the Levy starts its second year we encourage more care businesses to utilise and maximise their funds. There is no doubt apprenticeships are the go-to solution for employers looking to develop talent, from new starters right through to senior level employees.”
