Agenda item

A report by the Director, HR & Organisational Development is attached.

A report by the Director, HR & Organisational Development was received which provided the Committee with an update on the progress made on apprenticeships within the Council’s workforce since the implementation of the apprenticeship levy in May 2017. The report also outlined future plans to ensure the levy was maximised to support the development of the Council’s workforce.

Members were reminded that in 2013 the Government announced a number of reforms to the national apprenticeship programme as a way of introducing more rigorous standards, being more responsive to the needs of employers and to meet the commitment of having three million apprenticeships in place by 2020. At the heart of these reforms was the aim to increase both the quantity and quality of apprenticeships.

The two elements of these reforms which would have the most impact for Wiltshire Council were the levy and the proposed public sector target.

The apprenticeship levy was charged at a rate of 0.5% of an employer’s pay bill and was collected monthly by the HMRC through PAYE deductions. The Council’s contribution was £470,000 for the first year and it was explained that the cost of the levy would be approximately £1M in any one year.

The public sector target was set for public sector bodies with more than 250 employees in England to employ an average of at least 2.3% of their staff as apprentices from 2017-2021. This would mean that the Council would need to have approx.106 apprentices in the workforce each year until 2021 and the schools approx.150 apprentices. 

The current number of apprentices employed by Wiltshire Council was 90, of which 16 were newly recruited apprentices and 74 were existing staff who were accessing apprenticeship training to upskill and gain qualifications to support their personal development and career progression, and also the Council’s succession plans.

In addition to the 90 apprentices currently in place there were a further 8 civil engineering, 3 data analyst and 3 residential care apprenticeships pending because the apprenticeship standards had only recently become available or were outstanding.

It was noted that the current number of apprentices and the 14 pending equated to 98% of the public sector target, this meaning that the Council employed 2.2% of its staff as apprentices.

The Committee noted the plans that had been developed to further increase apprenticeships and sustain the progress so far made.   

It was pointed out that there were certain categories of staff, for example planning officers, where at present it was not possible to employ apprentices because apprenticeship standards were not yet available.  Members hoped that this problem could be overcome before long.

It was noted that from April 2018, employers could transfer up to 10% of their apprenticeship levy to smaller firms who did not contribute to the levy. This had been designed to allow larger employers to support their supply chains and local small and medium size enterprises. For 2018/19, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) had stated that employers could only transfer up to 10% of the levy to one employer but from 2019/20 employers would be able to transfer up to 10% to multiple employers. This would allow the Council to support the local economy and help local micro businesses and small and medium sized enterprises to grow.  It was suggested that Area Boards be made aware of these new arrangements and to ask them to help in drawing this to the attention of suitable firms within their areas.

Resolved:

(1)          To note the contents of the report and to request that a further report be provided in 12 months to give a further update on the progress of apprenticeships.

(2)          To congratulate the officers on the progress made to date.