But it isn ’ t the only thing that has happened that will influence the future of apprenticeships in 2016 . Last year saw the government make serious progress towards the final stage of completing the apprenticeship reforms that began in the Coalition era , and has seen several developments take place in our industry that highlighted the commitment of employers and industry bodies to alleviating our skills shortage and developing the next generation of skilled professionals .

Having said that , apprenticeship policy is always prominent in the news – not least because new policies and initiatives can shape the success of apprenticeship recruitment in our industry – and more widely – for many years . February 2016 saw The Enterprise Bill , which contained a pledge to legally protect the term ‘ Apprenticeship ’ and create an employer led Institute for Apprenticeships , receive its second reading in the House of Commons . Both elements were backed by employers from a range of industries across the economy and , now the Bill

‘ Employers have continued to invest in apprentices and find ways of recruiting , developing and celebrating the success of the young talent in our industry .’

has received Royal Assent , will mean that apprentices are finally given the parity with undergraduates they have long deserved , which should help our industry and others attract high calibre candidates .

March showed that apprenticeship recruitment in our industry remains strong , when government figures revealed that 1,100 more apprentices had joined the industry during the 2014-15 academic year than in 2013-14 . I would suggest this rise in starts is down to three factors : Strong economic performance , the resolving of concerns around apprenticeship funding and the continued enthusiasm and commitment to recruiting apprentices from employers in our industry .

This is something government is keen to support and , in an attempt to lessen the financial burden on employers across the UK who recruited and trained apprentices , they announced in April that firms would no longer have to make National Insurance contributions for apprentices under 25 years of age . This policy will benefit a large number of employers – in our industry and more widely – by reducing the cost of apprentice training , particularly in the final year of the electrotechnical apprenticeship , where salaries are typically much higher than the £ 16,000 threshold the government set for this policy .

Commitment reinforced

Although the government ’ s clear commitment to supporting employers who train apprentices didn ’ t start last year , this was reinforced in the summer during the consultations around the Apprenticeship Levy . The initiative underwent a number of revisions as the government attempt to find a middle ground between their desire to boost apprenticeship funds and employers ’ need for simplicity when it came to paying contributions to the Levy .

A solution to this dilemma was announced at the end of October when the funding arrangements for apprentices starting after 1st May 2017 were confirmed . The announcement that the funds raised by the Levy will be accessible for 24 months gave hope to those businesses who were new to apprenticeship training that they would have a chance to develop the infrastructure they need , and the news that the government would add a 10 per cent top up to employer contributions was a welcome surprise .

But October ’ s apprenticeship funding announcements didn ’ t just concern those firms who would be paying the Apprenticeship Levy . The government confirmed that the differentiation of support by age would be withdrawn and that the employer contribution for the training of all apprentices would be a flat 10 per cent , with firms who employed fewer than 50 people and recruited apprentices aged 16-18 having the full costs of their apprentice ’ s tuition paid by the government .

This news was a welcome boost to small and micro-businesses across England , but also in our industry , where the financial investment made by these businesses – who train the majority of our industry ’ s apprentices – is high . Those firms who are not eligible for full financial support should hopefully only have to pay £ 1,800 over the duration of the apprenticeship – based on the maximum value of the funding cap government has placed on the apprenticeship – which I would hope will further boost apprentice recruitment in our industry .

But , as I said at the start of this piece , 2016 wasn ’ t completely dominated by political issues . We saw the first candidates complete our Career Progression Programme and receive their ECS cards , a large intake of apprentices began the new Electrotechnical Apprenticeship based on the Standard developed by our industry ’ s Trailblazer Group , and a number of organisations from the industry came together to help support the Skills Show and crown the UK ’ s best young electrician at SkillElectric , our industry ’ s skills competition . Although these events may not receive the same national profile the political announcements do , they illustrate our industry ’ s ongoing commitment to recruiting , training and developing the next generation of highly skilled professionals and illustrate the calibre of people who are starting their careers in the industry .

Despite the challenging economic conditions and the changes that have taken place in the apprenticeships arena in recent years , electrotechnical employers have continued to invest in apprentices and find ways of recruiting , developing and celebrating the success of the young talent in our industry . Hopefully the initiatives launched by the government and the industry over the last year will make it easier for us to do this in the future , as we continue to support the country ’ s economy and develop our future skills base .