Gibson: Funding changes risks closing doors
The restriction of funding for Level 7 apprenticeships, like those for solicitors, will not cause a “significant or unavoidable fall” in the supply of skills, the government insisted yesterday.
Work and pensions minister Andrew Western told a debate in Parliament that the decision in May to limit funding from January to those aged 16-21 put the focus on young people, “who for too long have not been able to access the apprenticeship opportunities they need to get ahead”.
The age limit will be 24 for those who are care leavers or have an education, health and care plan in place.
The debate was led by Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Gibson, whose focus was on the impact of the decision on diversity in the architectural profession – a concern mirrored among lawyers.
“For underprivileged children, apprenticeships are a fantastic route into higher education. Certainly, in architecture, apprenticeships mark genuine progress in opening the door to a profession that has been closed to those from lower incomes or from under-represented backgrounds,” she said.
“The government’s decision to restrict apprenticeship funding to those aged 16 to 21 threatens that progress.”
Responding, Mr Western highlighted the value of apprenticeships for young people in particular and was why “we need to prioritise public funding towards them”.
He explained: “Skills England was asked to provide insight into the impact of removing funding from Level 7 apprenticeships. It engaged with more than 700 stakeholders from various sectors, employer representative bodies and young people.
“It was clear that, although apprenticeship training at Level 7 is important for meeting the skills needs of the economy, alternative routes are well supplied. Skills England’s evidence suggested that there was unlikely to be a significant or unavoidable fall in the supply of these skills in the long-term post defunding.”
A “significant proportion” of Level 7 apprentices were from “non-deprived backgrounds”, the minister said, “and they are significantly less likely to be deprived than those at lower levels”.
Compared with other apprenticeships, those at Level 7 generally also have a higher proportion of older learners, he added.
Mr Western said the government was encouraging more employers to invest in upskilling their staff members aged 22 or older to Level 7.
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