Project Manager from Edge: Olly Newton
The Institute for Employment Research (IER) at Warwick University is undertaking this piece of research on behalf of The Edge Foundation and Gatsby Foundation.
Following the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in 2017 the number of apprenticeship starts declined significantly. Research undertaken at the time of the introduction of the Levy indicated that there could be an initial impact on the number of apprenticeship starts - some short-term fall-off in the number of apprentices as the new systems for taking on apprentices bedded-in. In fact, in the period since the Levy’s introduction the number of apprenticeship starts has been consistently lower than in the period before. This might not be a direct consequence of the Levy. It might reflect other changes introduced at the time of the Levy, such as the move to standards from frameworks, the introduction of a new register of providers, the move to End Point Assessment (EPA) rather than a final qualification, wider economic and business conditions, such as Brexit uncertainty, or the pre-levy ‘spike’ in apprentice recruitment by firms. There is, however, the possibility that the introduction of the Levy has affected employers’ investment decisions regarding apprenticeships. This is the issue that the study will address.