Apprenticeship funding reform in England: payment mechanisms and funding principles

We want to know your views on how we will issue funding for apprenticeships directly to employers.

We want the standards of all apprenticeships to be raised to the level of the best, by making them more rigorous and more responsive to the needs of employers, so they can grow and compete.

Our reforms announced in the Future of Apprenticeships in England: Implementation Plan last October are giving employers more control over the design of apprenticeships and their assessment. The first new apprenticeship standards, developed by employer-led trailblazers, have been endorsed and published on the Apprenticeships website. We expect the first apprenticeships, based on the new standards, to start in the 2014 to 2015 academic year.

Giving employers direct control over the funding of the external training and assessment of their apprentices will give them more influence to improve its quality and relevance. Building on the results of the funding consultation last summer and the funding principles announced in the Autumn Statement, this consultation sets out a core model that could be implemented either through PAYE or an Apprenticeship Credit, and seeks views on these two payment mechanism options.

We have launched a second phase of trailblazers involving leading employers in 29 sectors. A full list of these groups, as well as lessons learned and templates from the first phase, are included in our updated guidance for trailblazers.