{"id":779367,"date":"2025-03-19T08:00:07","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T08:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=779367"},"modified":"2025-03-19T10:09:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T10:09:46","slug":"universities-fear-apprenticeship-reforms-will-stifle-demand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/universities-fear-apprenticeship-reforms-will-stifle-demand","title":{"rendered":"Universities fear apprenticeship reforms will \u2018stifle\u2019 demand"},"content":{"rendered":"

Labour\u2019s significant reforms to the apprenticeship system, announced last Autumn<\/a>, aim to \u2018rebalance\u2019<\/a> apprenticeship spending in favour of younger people.<\/p>\n

The reforms, which will see the existing Apprenticeship Levy replaced with a new Growth and Skills Levy, will introduce new foundation apprenticeships.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, employers may have to pay more<\/a> towards training Level 7 apprenticeships \u2013 the equivalent to a master\u2019s degree. The government is planning to restrict the amount of funding employers get to spend on their Level 7 apprentices.<\/p>\n

While some changes are expected to begin in 2025, the full implementation timeline is still being determined.<\/p>\n

But, according to higher education not-for-profit the University Vocational Awards Council (UVAC), a \u2018mood of pessimism\u2019 surrounds the reforms at universities, as they fear the move to introduce foundation apprenticeships will come \u2018at the expense of higher and degree apprenticeships\u2019.<\/p>\n

Nearly 70 per cent of UK universities believe the reforms will defer architecture employers from upskilling their workforces via higher apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships, according to a UVAC survey.<\/p>\n

A further 45 per cent of the organisation\u2019s member universities expressed fears that the new Growth and Skills Levy will be \u2018more complicated for architecture businesses to understand\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And 30 per cent of the surveyed universities claimed the change will \u2018increase levels of bureaucracy and administration\u2019, compared with the previous system.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More than four in five universities (81 per cent) raised concerns that the new levy would result in a reduced number of employers taking on older apprentices, aged 25 or older, for training.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, more than half of universities thought the change would lead to a decline in new apprentices from \u2018underserved\u2019 communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

And a vast majority of respondents (94 per cent) had \u2018serious concerns\u2019 about the Level 7 apprenticeship cuts, which they believe will provide less opportunity for employers to upskill existing workforces.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A further 75 per cent said they would reduce the number of people achieving senior-level roles within organisations, while 72 per cent claimed they would cause a shortfall in employees filling specialist, technical positions.<\/span><\/p>\n

UVAC said \u2018one of the few stand-out positives\u2019 from its study was the finding that 39 of its member universities think that providing <\/span>shorter apprenticeships will help those employers that can\u2019t commit to a longer, 12-month minimum apprenticeship.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mandy Crawford-Lee, chief executive at UVAC, said: \u2018<\/span>Many universities are worried about the impact these reforms will have on architecture firms, which rely heavily on higher and degree apprenticeships to address skills gaps, drive business growth, promote diversity and develop those in senior and technical roles.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Crawford-Lee said UVAC \u2018wholeheartedly\u2019 supported Labour\u2019s drive to engage more younger people in apprenticeships \u2013 but insisted the move must not come \u2018at the cost of growing the number of programmes at higher and degree level\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UVAC is urging the government to \u2018ring-fence funding of apprenticeships across all ages and levels and even invest more, given that it has outlined its commitment to growing the UK economy and addressing the skills gap\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Labour\u2019s significant reforms to the apprenticeship system, announced last Autumn, aim to \u2018rebalance\u2019 apprenticeship spending in favour of younger people. The reforms, which will see the existing Apprenticeship Levy replaced with a new Growth and Skills Levy, will introduce new foundation apprenticeships. Meanwhile, employers may have to pay more towards training Level 7 apprenticeships \u2013 …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138919,"featured_media":779417,"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":[4621,1795,101560],"yoast_head":"\nUniversities fear apprenticeship reforms will \u2018stifle\u2019 demand<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"More than two thirds of UK universities fear government reforms will \u2018stifle\u2019 demand for architecture apprenticeships\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/universities-fear-apprenticeship-reforms-will-stifle-demand\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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