Training experts warn apprenticeship changes will leave industry skills gap

The trade has warned that plans to defund management-level apprenticeships will result in a skills gap due to fewer training opportunities for aspiring managers.

The government is to axe funding for 16 Level 3 to 5 apprenticeship courses, which cost from £4,000 to £22,000 each. They include popular industry courses such as team leader, operations manager and coaching professional. No cut-off date has been given.

The government’s biggest shake‑up of apprenticeships in a decade, which includes an incentive of £2,000 for small and medium-sized businesses that take on a 16-to-24-year-old, aims to create 200,000 jobs for young people. 

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Education and training experts welcomed the pledge to invest in attracting young people into the workplace but said cutting funding for existing apprenticeships would hit training and career progression.

Vicki Wolf, Abta’s head of education and career development, said members were “very concerned” about the “detrimental impact” of the cuts, with a “significant” number affected. She insisted the expectation that employers would foot the bill for management apprenticeships was unrealistic. 

“Bearing in mind the already rising costs businesses are having to cope with, the reality is few will be able to fund those opportunities to the extent they have been able to use the apprenticeship levy,” she said.

Training provider AS Training said it was working with the Department for Education to ensure its new eight-month Level 3 team leader course could go ahead as planned later this month. 

Managing director Michelle Van Sprang said there had been “significant demand” for the course as she feared a future skills gap.

“It would be disappointing if cohorts like this were impacted, particularly given the clear need to develop first-line managers,” she said.

“There’s a real risk of creating a gap at entry-level leadership, with limited progression routes available below Level 4.”

Claire Steiner, UK director of the Global Travel and Tourism Partnership, which promotes talent and skills in the sector, was also disappointed by the cuts but welcomed further entry-level investment to “help our sector bring in fresh talent and open doors for the next generation”. 

But she added: “It remains up to us as an industry to ensure we are promoting travel and hospitality as offering exciting, accessible career paths for young people.”