Reforms expected to be outlined in the New Year could see an end to government funding for built environment apprenticeships, which large firms with an annual wage bill of over \u00a33 million currently contribute towards with a 0.5 per cent payroll levy.<\/p>\n
The planned changes, which the government first announced in September, could mean businesses are forced to pay more towards training Level 7 apprenticeships \u2013 the equivalent to a Master\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n
In a statement yesterday (18 December), the RIBA and its partner institutes the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), the Chartered Institute of Building (CIoB) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said cutting funding for apprenticeships would mean the sector \u2018would not be able to support\u2019 the government\u2019s 1.5 million homes target or large infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n
The four bodies told the skills minister, Baroness Smith of Malvern: \u2018Built environment Level 7 apprentices play a key role in delivering the government\u2019s \u201cmission-led\u201d milestones of building 1.5 million homes over the course of this Parliament and the acceleration to achieving net zero.<\/p>\n
\u2018The government\u2019s recently published Plan for Change states that, to deliver ambitions, it will \u201crequire a rate of housebuilding and infrastructure construction not seen in over 50 years\u201d, pointing to an increased demand on capacity in an already under-resourced sector.\u2019<\/p>\n
Calling for built environment apprenticeships to be exempted from these changes, the institutes continued: \u2018[We] are deeply concerned about the potential negative impact of a reduction in employer access to the new Growth and Skills Levy to recruit or upskill Level 7 apprentices at a time when there is a clear need to widen access and increase capacity.<\/p>\n
\u2018Without access to levy funding, organisations will not be able to support and deliver training for built environment Level 7 apprentices, reducing the sector\u2019s ability to meet the capacity demands of the government\u2019s growth mission.\u2019<\/p>\n
The statement also echoed warnings made by\u00a0the University Vocation<\/span>al Awards Council (UVAC), which told the AJ in October that proposed changes to apprenticeship could restrict access to the profession from disadvantaged backgrounds.<\/p>\n The RIBA said: \u2018Level 7 apprenticeships are an additional access route for people from underrepresented groups to participate in built environment professions, ensuring that a wide range of voices and experiences are reflected in the communities and places we create.\u2019<\/p>\n UVAC chief executive Mandy Crawford-Lee said skills would be hit due to cost pressures and that reform would \u2018largely affect those businesses with apprentices aged over 25 that rely on the current financial support to meet the cost of upskilling employees to be effective managers, business leaders or occupy more technical roles via Level 7 and Master\u2019s degree apprenticeships.\u2019<\/p>\n She continued: \u2018Given this government\u2019s current focus is economic growth and addressing social mobility, it makes no sense to introduce policy that could undermine it. Degree apprenticeships at Level 7 are proven to enhance social mobility by giving individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to follow a pathway into the professions, gain access to higher education and also achieve higher-paid, senior-level positions further in their careers.\u2019<\/p>\n Around 90 per cent of roles in architecture and other sectors will require higher-level skills by 2035, Crawford-Lee added. That means more people working in architecture will seek Level 6 and Level 7 training to upskill.<\/p>\n The government said in September that it would ask employers \u2018to rebalance their funding for apprenticeships [by] asking them to invest in younger workers\u2019.<\/p>\n It added: \u2018This will also involve businesses funding more of their Level 7 apprenticeships \u2013 equivalent to a Master\u2019s degree and often accessed by older or already well-qualified employees \u2013 outside of the levy.\u2019<\/p>\n The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Reforms expected to be outlined in the New Year could see an end to government funding for built environment apprenticeships, which large firms with an annual wage bill of over \u00a33 million currently contribute towards with a 0.5 per cent payroll levy. The planned changes, which the government first announced in September, could mean businesses …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131789,"featured_media":760279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[681],"tags":[4621,1795,4089],"yoast_head":"\n