CIMA has called on the next UK Prime Minster to reform the UK apprenticeship programme to increase social mobility and productivity.
It believes the apprenticeship levy should be transformed into the apprentice and skills levy. This would allow employers to invest unspent levy funds after two years on employee training the professional development.
It also wants to see delivery expansion of apprenticeship tuition and exams, so one organisation can do both. The institute believes this will help to create a simpler and flexible system for both apprentice and employers.
Finally it wants the government to keep funding higher-level apprenticeships and work to expand their number. This will help more apprentices gain the skills, knowledge and experience needed to get into their chosen career, while keeping their education debts to a minimum.
CIMA said together these measures could contribute to increasing the number of and quality of apprenticeships, make the programme more accessible outside of big city centres and support lifelong learning.
CIMA’s Andrew Harding said: “We must better support current workers to reskill and upskill throughout their careers, not just at the start of their working lives. This is why we need to review our national and education and skills policies, in particular the apprenticeship programme as it currently stands, to expand to provide for reskilling and lifelong learning.”
