Businesses 'lack clarity' over Apprenticeship Levy, BCC suggests

20 Sep 2016

A survey conducted by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has revealed that many businesses lack clarity over the Government’s new Apprenticeship Levy.

From April 2017, the Levy will be introduced for employers with pay bills of over £3 million per annum, in order for them to invest in apprenticeship programmes.

The survey of over 1,600 business leaders found that 39% still have no understanding, or haven’t heard of, the Apprenticeship Levy.

The data also revealed that 51% of businesses don’t understand how the funding reforms work above or below the £3 million pay bill threshold.

Additionally, only 11% state that the reforms will increase the number of apprentices they take on, while just 5% believe that they will have a positive impact on their wider training budget.

The BCC is calling for the Government to ensure that businesses are aware of the funding reforms and how such reforms could affect them.

Marcus Mason, Head of Education and Skills at the BCC, commented: ‘The Government needs to ensure that businesses understand how they could benefit from the reforms, because if it just feels like yet another tax then the policy will have failed.

‘The Government should allow businesses to use the Levy funding to support other high-quality workplace training or there is a risk of displacing other valid forms of training.’