Key facts
- Employers warn that increasing training costs for workers over 25 could hinder efforts to tackle youth unemployment.
- The proposed change aims to make training older workers more expensive to encourage firms to train younger people.
- Business groups argue the plan would shift opportunities rather than create new ones.
- The government is considering a 'co-investment rule' for older apprentices, where levy funds cover 75% of costs.
Britain's largest employers have expressed concern to the government that a proposed overhaul of the apprenticeship funding scheme, which would increase the cost of training older workers, could negatively impact efforts to address youth unemployment. The plan, reportedly drawn up before the budget, aims to encourage businesses to train younger people by making training for those over 25 more expensive. Business leaders argue this would merely reallocate existing opportunities rather than create new ones. The government, however, states it is focused on reversing a decline in youth apprenticeship starts and supporting employers with new hiring incentives.