Senior figures in the utilities sector feel there is not full transparency on how much is generated through the Apprenticeship Levy and how the funds are spent.
A snap poll among nearly 200 delegates at the National Skills Academy for Power (NSAP) annual conference last month found that more than half were unaware of how much of the levy had been returned to the Treasury.
The NSAP has estimated that the energy and utilities sector pay approximately £75 million per annum for the levy but when asked if they felt there was full transparency around the scheme, 89 per cent of delegates said no.
Companies have been paying into the scheme for two years now but when asked if they were aware of how much was being retained by Treasury, and not explicitly spent on apprenticeship development 56 per cent did not know it was a total of £133 million to date.
In hearing that the new apprenticeship funding approach will not result in the government reaching its declared number of starts, and that there is a predicted overspend in the policy fund in the longer-term, delegates looked at what options are in public debate. These ranged from employers not drawing down levy funding for apprenticeships at level 6 upwards, possibly doubling the levy to 1% of PAYE, or broadening the number of employers who must pay the levy.
However, in a vote, only 32 per cent said they would be in favour of doubling their levy payment.
In a concluding poll, a resounding 100 per cent declared they would recommend to a friend to come and work in the sector.
The NSAP pointed out that the utilities have been at the forefront of establishing trailblazer groups and developing apprenticeship standards. It was the first sector to secure ministerial sign-off for a Trailblazer Standard, to graduate an apprentice through end point assessment, to secure female completion in engineering, to reach its 500th achievement and was widely applauded when it secured the 1,000th end point assessment this summer.
Nick Ellins, chief executive of Energy & Utility Skills, said: “We need more talent stars to fill the 221,000 predicted vacancies by 2027. The energy and utilities sector wants to see a coherent approach taken to tackling labour market sustainability and workforce policy right across the 4 nations, and it should start with optimising the Apprenticeship Levy.”