Recommendation 7

HM Government · verbatim extract Acknowledged

The Government stopped funding L7 apprenticeships for those aged 22 or older on 1 January, and has no plans to re-introduce levy funding for Level 7 apprenticeships in the Industrial Strategy sectors. However, supporting skills across the eight growth-driving sectors identified in the Industrial Strategy is a priority for this Government and we are introducing flexibilities through the growth and skills levy to support critical skills in these sectors, including the introduction of new short courses from April 2026. The first eight short courses have now been announced and are heavily focused on the Industrial Strategy sectors. This Government also has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity; we have seen apprenticeship starts by young people under 25 fall by 40% over the last decade, and almost one million young people are not in education, employment, or training. That is why we are prioritising apprenticeships for young people through the growth and skills levy. To support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, we are expanding foundation apprenticeships from April and launching a new level 2 administrative assistant apprenticeship for young people from August. We are also introducing a new incentive of up to £2,000 for SMEs which take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees. This will apply to apprenticeship starts from October, as long as they have joined their employer within the past 3 months i.e. from July. We will also fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible 16–24-year-olds from August 2026 and launch a £140 million pilot, in conjunction with Mayoral Strategic Authorities, to better connect young people to local apprenticeship opportunities. From January 2026 level 7 apprenticeships are no longer be funded except for young apprentices under the age of 22, and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan. Apprentices that started prior to 1 January 2026 will be funded through to completion. Additionally, from September 2026 government will no longer fund three generic leadership and management apprenticeship standards which are largely used by employers for older, established staff as continuing professional development. A further 13 standards which do not sufficiently support young people, or the Industrial Strategy, will also be defunded. Streamlining the existing offer in this way ensures our increased investment delivers maximum value for money, supports clearer routes into skilled jobs, and creates headroom for investment into new opportunities for young people and employers alike. Defunded apprenticeships are not being retired by Skills England so employers who value them can continue to use them and providers will still be able to deliver them on a privately funded basis – they just won’t be publicly funded. The Department for Work and Pensions has published guidance on privately funded apprenticeships: Privately funded apprenticeships: rules and guidance - GOV.UK.