UK government set to pull plug on MBA apprenticeships
A controversial MBA apprenticeship scheme that allowed organizations in England to ship senior executives to organization university with revenue earmarked for on-the-position instruction is established to be axed.
The move to scrap the qualification was revealed when the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Training, which administers apprenticeship requirements, posted a revised listing of apprenticeship requirements next responses from companies with all reference to MBAs removed.
The choice is expected to be verified in early June when the government is because of to publish a evaluate of MBA apprenticeships.
The inclusion of MBAs as component of the government’s apprenticeship scheme was widely criticised as it diverted a substantial proportion of the funding absent from place of work instruction. The funding for apprenticeships arrives from a levy introduced in 2017 that demands companies with yearly wage expenditures earlier mentioned £3m to established apart an equivalent of .5 for each of their payroll.
Underneath levy procedures, companies are offered management above which qualifications can be classed as apprenticeships. Accepted techniques vary from level-two GCSE-equivalent classes for university leavers, this sort of as instruction for store personnel, to degree-level roles, this sort of as legal professionals and nurses.
The MBA was integrated as a component of the level-7 senior leader occupational regular.
Underneath the adjustments, companies will even now be allowed to commit the levy on high-level management instruction but it would be fewer desirable as participants would no more time obtain a masters degree at the conclusion of the programme.
Critics argued the MBA scheme was an abuse of the apprenticeship levy. In the 1st complete year following the levy was introduced in April 2017, there ended up 375,800 new apprenticeship starts, a 26 for each cent drop on the identical period in 2015/16.
Having said that, the proportion of increased-level apprenticeships, equivalent to bachelor’s degrees and earlier mentioned, amplified from 5.3 for each cent to twelve.8 for each cent throughout this period.
A study by FE 7 days magazine calculated that there ended up 6,387 starts on MBA apprenticeship programmes up to the conclusion of the 1st quarter of 2019/20. Offered that every of these classes can obtain up to £18,000 from the apprenticeship levy pot, up to £115m had been invested on the standard in that fiscal year.
Jennifer Coupland, main government of the institute, had as just lately as January defended the MBA programme, which she mentioned loaded techniques gaps recognized by companies.
Having said that, the newest responses from companies has proven a change in opinion. “The employer team have manufactured a clear suggestion, which we are now consulting on,” the IfATE mentioned.
The Department for Training mentioned: “The training secretary is committed to maintaining an employer-led system, but is not persuaded the levy ought to be made use of to pay out for staff members, who are typically now extremely certified and extremely paid, to obtain an MBA.”
Business enterprise faculties, which have benefited most from the progress in bachelor’s and masters-level degree apprenticeships, expressed disappointment at the choice to remove the capacity to attain an MBA by means of levy funding.
“Better administrators is what this country desperately needs,” mentioned Anne Kiem, main government of the Chartered Affiliation of Business enterprise Faculties, which signifies the United kingdom sector.
“Taking the qualification out of the senior leader regular can make it pretty unattractive for most of individuals who have signed up for it to date.”