AO WORLD’S boss has called on the Government to give businesses the power to fix the widely criticised apprenticeship levy — and make it fit for the real world.
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch last week announced changes that would help small firms access more of it.
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But demands from bigger companies to cut red tape have fallen on deaf ears.
Many complain that firms struggle to use the levy due to the narrow rules.
As a result, £2.2billion of unspent cash has gone back to the Treasury since it began seven years ago.
A document stipulating all the funding conditions runs to a whopping 55 pages.
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AO World chief exec John Roberts told The Sun he was putting together a group of firms, including B&Q and cobblers chain Timpson, to lobby ministers with their own scheme for apprentices.
He said: “How about bringing together the leaders of some of these great businesses to test a different, more flexible approach?
“Give us two years to come up with a pilot that makes a difference to how apprenticeships can be done.”
B&Q’s Graham Bell said: “Enabling as many as possible to realise their potential is in all our interests.”
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Timpson boss James Timpson said: “For Timpson to fully use the levy we would want to remove the time limit restrictions and the off- site development mandate.”
Apprentices must spend at least 20 per cent of working hours on off-the-job training, and must take part for 12 months.
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AO World’s Mr Roberts has set up 14 youth centres and wants unspent apprentice cash to go into projects like these instead of back to the Treasury.
The Department for Education said the levy has boosted investment in apprenticeships to over £2.7billion a year and added: “There are almost 700 for employers to choose from. Over the last two financial years on average 98 per cent of the budget was spent.”
Give hope back to our youngsters
THE Apprenticeship Levy was a beacon of hope when it launched in 2016.
Ever the optimist, I thought it would be a huge boost for the futures of young people.
Sadly, it wasn’t to be.
Since its launch, over £2billion of potential apprentice funding has been returned to the Government unspent.
That’s because the scheme is so badly designed that brilliant employers like Timpson, Tesco, M&S, B&Q and AO are unable to use it to enhance their own, better schemes.
The Government tweaked the levy last week to allow bigger firms to pass on more unspent cash to smaller players.
But this is basically fiddling around the edges.
Since the levy’s introduction there are 35 per cent less apprentices and only four per cent of firms are able to spend the levy in full.
These are not success metrics for any organisation.
Everyone is quick to complain about politicians, but not that many people are providing solutions.
We are — if you give us a go.
Having spent over 30 years campaigning for better futures for young, particularly underprivileged people, I’ve seen how the picture is getting worse.
Wouldn’t it be better if some of that £2billion unspent apprentice levy could be used to support youth clubs?
Over 1,000 have closed and 5,000 youth workers have been lost with them over the past decade.
If those clubs and workers were schools and teachers, there’d be a national outcry.
As it is we’re saddled with a bureaucratic system that works for nobody — and we’ve got skills gaps all over the place.
If we stand by and do nothing, we’re killing our kids’ future.
Five’s wine time
VIRGIN WINES is launching a new subscription service called “Five O’Clock Somewhere” to drum up yet more members.
The major Merlot merchant grew sales by two per cent to £34.3million and profits rose from £100,000 to £1.1million in the six months to the end of last year.
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Virgin Wines said the biggest increase in alcohol duty in 50 years added 44p to every bottle.
Tech 3 in EU probe
THREE of the world’s biggest tech firms are facing a fresh investigation from the EU as regulators look to curb their market power.
Apple, Google parent firm Alphabet and Instagram and Facebook owner Meta are being probed under new laws to counter their dominance.
If the tech giants are found guilty of restricting choice for customers they can be fined up to 10 per cent of their global turnover.
For Apple alone this could be a £30billion penalty.
Screwfix to open 40 shops
UP to 40 new Screwfix shops will open this year despite its parent company warning yesterday that a subdued housing market is hitting profits.
Kingfisher, which owns the trade-focused retailer as well as B&Q, said underlying profits could tumble to as low as £490million over the next year, well short of analysts’ expectations.
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It came after the latest annual profits fell by a quarter to £568million.
It contrasts to the DIY spending boom during lockdowns when Kingfisher’s profits topped £1billion.
Boss Thierry Garnier said the company was cautious about the outlook because “we know there is a lag in housing activity and home improvement demand”.
Still, it was confident enough in the UK to grow its 922 stores to 1,000 and keep expanding the brand internationally.
The group is restructuring its French Castorama business to save costs.
Interest dip hope
INTEREST rates could fall to three per cent by the second half of next year, according to economists at KPMG.
The Bank rate of 5.25 per cent could be lowered as soon as June, traders say.
A KPMG forecast expects inflation to fall to two per cent in the summer, which should herald cuts.
It also predicts the economy to grow by 0.3 per cent this year and 0.9 per cent next.
Yael Selfin of KPMG said: “The UK economy is recovering from a shallow recession.”
Boeing… Boeing… 3 gone
PLANE maker Boeing has cleared its boardroom after a door blew out mid-flight, sparking a safety crisis.
The firm has been scrambling to restore its reputation after the terrifying incident on a 737 Max plane in January.
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Boss Dave Calhoun announced he is leaving at the end of the year, while chairman Larry Kellner is not standing for re-election.
Stan Deal, who leads commercial operations, is departing immediately.
Mr Calhoun took the top job in 2020 after two fatal crashes involving Boeing jets in 2018 and 2019.
Shares have fallen by a quarter in the year to date.
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The firm is facing a criminal probe and another by aviation authorities.
The changes were welcomed by Michael O’Leary, boss of Ryanair, which uses Boeing planes.
Gone West
THE Government is no longer Natwest’s controlling shareholder after its stake fell below 30 per cent.
The Treasury has been steadily reducing its holding, which stems from its £46billion RBS bailout.
It is still planning to offload shares to retail investors.
