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Public Sector Apprenticeship Targets Officially at 2.3%

on Friday, 03 February 2017.

The government has issued its response to a consultation on public sector apprenticeship targets launched in January 2016.

The government's aim is to deliver three million apprenticeships by 2020. The purpose of the consultation was to seek views on which public bodies in England should be set targets on the number of apprentices working for them.

It was proposed that public sector employers that have more than 250 employees in England should meet a target of at least 2.3% apprenticeship starts each year. The consultation asked whether headcount was the correct basis for the target and proposed a reporting period as the financial year.

The Government's Response

The government has decided:

  • to retain headcount (rather than Full Time Equivalent, as many of the respondents suggested in the consultation) as the basis for the target  
  • to introduce flexibility by making the target an average from 2017/18 - 2020/21 inclusive  
  • that the target from April 2017 will coincide with the introduction of the apprenticeships levy and the Institute for Apprenticeships.

What next?

The government will now draft regulations which are set to come into force in March 2017 and which will indicate which employers are in scope. The government has said it will set out exact timings in the guidance for employers but it looks likely that the first report will be due in September 2018, which will cover the previous financial year.


For more information, please contact Amaya Hobby in our Employment Law team on 0117 314 5640.