The UK government plans to create three million new apprenticeships by 2020.

Core to delivering this vision are significant changes to the way apprenticeships are funded and delivered. Over the coming year we will see:

• the introduction of an Apprenticeship Levy
• the development of the Digital Apprenticeship Service in England
• the establishment of a new body - the Institute for Apprenticeships - responsible for the quality of apprenticeships in England
• more encouragement for employer-led design of apprenticeships through the Trailblazer programme

Apprenticeship Levy

A measure first announced by Chancellor George Osborne in his 2015 Summer Budget, the Apprenticeship Levy will come into effect in April 2017.

The purpose of the Levy is to fund the planned increase in the number and quality of apprenticeships. In his 2015 Autumn Statement the Chancellor estimated that by 2019-20 the Levy will raise £3billion, with £0.5bn of this due to be allocated across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

There’s more information available on the UK government website but in short:

• The levy will only be paid on annual pay bills in excess of £3million and will be charged at a rate of 0.5% of an employer’s pay bill, through PAYE
• Each employer will receive an allowance of £15,000 to offset against their Levy payment
• Employers in England will be able to draw down funding to train apprentices through the Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS)

The vast majority of heritage employers have a pay bill of less than £3m and will not pay the Levy. They do stand to benefit, however, and could be in a position to access support from the DAS, however small their business.

DAS will help heritage employers to identify and pay a training provider, choose an apprenticeship training course – if the right ones are available - and recruit candidates. Quality assurance will be provided by the independent Institute for Apprenticeships, due to be open for business in 2017 and which will be led by employers.

Trailblazing the future of heritage training

There aren’t many apprenticeship frameworks that serve heritage-specific roles but those that do exist will need to be replaced by a set of apprenticeship standards in coming years. The standards show what an apprentice will do and the skills they need to demonstrate, by job role. They are being developed by ‘Trailblazers’ - groups of employers with a common interest.

Last year a consortium of heritage organisations worked successfully to deliver the first step in developing new apprenticeship standards in Historic Environment Practice - find out more on the Cifa website. More advanced is work leading to new standards for craft practitioners and front-of-house staff, supported by Creative & Cultural Skills.

[quote]“While HLF’s Skills for the Future investment continues to make a significant contribution to the supply of specialist heritage skills, it can’t be our sector’s only response.”[/quote]

It will be vital for growth and skills development in the heritage sector that employers take advantage of these opportunities. While HLF’s Skills for the Future investment continues to make a significant contribution to the supply of specialist heritage skills, it can’t be our sector’s only response. We know acute skills shortages remain. And there is an urgent task to diversify our workforce.

In future, if heritage employers are to tap into money raised by the Levy (whether or not they paid in), they will need to deliver training to meet approved standards. If we don’t have recognised standards that heritage apprentices can follow in place, our sector risks losing out on this new investment. The task over coming months and years, therefore, is for a wider range of heritage employers to join forces and to engage with the trailblazer process, together creating the new qualifications and employment pathways we need to build resilience for the future.

Changing lives

At HLF, we know that supporting apprentices can make a big difference to individual lives. Like Hannah Steele: she completed a one-year apprenticeship at the London Transport Museum before joining the Museum as Youth Travel Co-ordinator. Hannah contributed to the Museum’s Apprentice Journey Planner which shares the practical experience of delivering apprenticeships in a downloadable toolkit.

Meanwhile, Lila Ruhurimbere is pursuing a one-year apprenticeship with the National Trust for Scotland based at the David Livingstone Centre, Blantyre. She has high hopes of making a career in museums and galleries.

We need more stories like those of Hannah and Lila and we welcome your views on what steps our sector can take to respond to the Apprenticeship reforms.

A discussion about the Levy and the implications for the heritage sector has been started on our online community. Do join in and tell us what you think.