It was announced yesterday that Nadhim Zahawi has left his role as apprenticeship advisor to the Prime Minister, and no further plans have been announced in terms of replacing him.
Mr Zahawi was appointed to be David Cameron’s advisor in November of last year to assist with reaching the government target to create 3 million apprentice starts by 2020. Since Theresa May’s appointment to Prime Minister, there have been questions about whether Mr Zahawi would remain, and if not, who his replacement would be. As David Cameron was the first Prime Minister to even have an apprenticeships advisor, there are questions as to whether the role will be filled at all.
As well as apprenticeship advisor, Mr Zahawi was also co-chair of the Apprenticeship Delivery Board; a post which he now also vacates. During his time in government, he hosted the National Apprenticeship Awards in January and was involved in the launch the Primary Futures Apprenticeships Scheme; a project to encourage students to make the link between theoretical learning and practical work-based skills. Earlier this year, Mr Zahawi spoke of his enthusiasm for the future of apprenticeships and how the upcoming reforms will make the programme stronger.
Another area Mr Zahawi was involved was about the upcoming launch of the Apprentice Levy, which is due to be implemented in April 2017 and will see all employers with a wage bill of over £3million per annum make a contribution of 0.5% of that total wage bill into a digital account for which they can use to train apprentices. It’s not only levy paying employers who will see the funding of apprentices change, but also non-levy paying employers.
If you have questions about how the levy will impact your business, or if you are considering hiring an apprentice you can contact Aspire Training Team on 01202 551553 or email info@aspiretrainingteam.co.uk. We work with employers across Dorset, Somerset and Hampshire to place child care apprentices, business administration apprentices and health & social care apprentices.
