A survey of UK universities has shown that almost half are concerned about government plans to reform the way apprenticeships for nursing, and other disciplines, are funded.
The University Vocational Awards Council (UVAC), which represents more than 80 universities, has published the results of a member survey on the impact of the planned Growth and Skills Levy and called for the protection of funding for degree-level nurse apprenticeships.
“We’re urging the government to protect Growth and Skills Levy funding in this area”
Mandy Crawford-Lee
Currently, employers with an employee wage bill of £3m or more per year pay into the Apprenticeship Levy.
This is used to fund apprenticeships of all levels, up to level 7, which is equivalent to a master’s degree.
Many post-registration nurse apprenticeships, such as community nursing and school nursing, are of this level.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, shortly after winning the general election last year, announced that he would be replacing the current levy with a Growth and Skills Levy.
He subsequently announced that funding for apprenticeships would be shifted away from higher level courses towards those benefitting young people, who predominantly access lower-level courses for trades.
This policy shift, due to come into effect next year, will include the total removal of levy funding for level 7 courses.
UVAC chief executive Dr Mandy Crawford-Lee has repeatedly criticised the move due to the impact it could have on employers looking to up-skill their workers, in particular nurses.
UVAC has also said it would negatively impact education providers, by whom the taught side of bachelor’s and master’s degree-level apprenticeships are administered, and hamper NHS recruitment and retention.
Its members, the new survey suggested, appear to agree with the organisation – 42% of respondents told UVAC that they thought the Growth and Skills Levy would make it harder to the NHS, as well as private providers, to plug “skills gaps” in their healthcare workforces.
Around a third aired worries that the new system would add further bureaucracy and administration for employers of nurses, and almost half (48%) said they thought it would “restrict” the provision of degree-level apprenticeship provision.
“With nursing employers and the wider economy so reliant on higher and degree apprenticeships to plug skills gaps, develop a sustainable talent pipeline or fill specialist roles, we’re urging the government to protect Growth and Skills Levy funding in this area,” Dr Crawford-Lee said.
“Whilst apprenticeships are not the only solution, they provide an in-work route to the professions and advanced practice careers up to and including post-graduate and master’s degree levels,” she said.
She claimed that the cuts to level 7 apprenticeships would cost nurse employers around £214 in additional training costs, as they would have to self-fund any courses without access to levy funding.
Dr Crawford-Lee added: “In addition to protecting funding, we feel the focus now should also be on defining the government’s intentions around its plans to provide greater flexibility to nursing employers. It feels like businesses and the NHS are in a state of limbo at the moment.
“The government appears to be prioritising lower-level apprenticeships designed for people not in employment, education or training, but not providing the clarity or reassurance to the healthcare sector that needs apprentices across all ages to meet the critical skills challenges they face.”
UVAC’s new survey comes after the publication of new research, commissioned by the organisation, which suggested that level 7 apprenticeships saw the highest in new starts across the last three years, of funded programmes between levels 5-7.
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