Apprenticeship data suggests reducing higher learning funding risks growth
updated on 04 December 2024
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Higher and degree apprenticeships have been found to be critical for skills supply, according to data released on apprenticeship trends earlier this week. This comes amid concerns that reduced funding for level 7 apprenticeships could harm growth.
The Department for Education found that higher apprenticeships (including degree apprenticeships) starts increased by 8.2% to 122,230 in 2023/24. Meanwhile, starts at level 6 and level 7 increased by 7.1% to 50,110 in 2023/24, accounting for 14.8% of all starts for that period.
CEO of the National Centre for Universities and Businesses Dr Joe Marshall described the qualifications as “vital to produce the skilled workforce needed in the UK’s national growth sectors”.
However, the government’s planned reforms to the apprenticeship levy have raised concerns over the funding for level 7 apprenticeships going forward. Speaking about the proposed reforms, Marshall said that the new growth and skills levy “should ensure funding is available to meet the demand for apprenticeships”, while maintaining flexibility for businesses to fund higher level apprenticeships, including level 7.
Former president of the Law Society of England and Wales I Stephanie Boyce called the government’s proposals “counterproductive”. Boyce added: “Defunding level 7 apprenticeships without exemptions will close the door to qualifying as a solicitor and make a legal career less accessible for many, which is a backward step and counterproductive to our overall aim of making the solicitor profession more accessible, especially to those from an under-represented and disadvantaged background.”
Boyce has called for the government to “rethink the policy and engage meaningfully with the legal sector’s representatives”.
Find out more about the government’s planned reforms in our recent feature: ‘Your guide to the legal profession 2024/25’.
