Apprentices over the age of 19 will no longer be required to undertake English and maths functional skills qualifications in order to complete their course.
Up to 10,000 more apprentices would be able to qualify a year as a result of the changes, according to the Department for Education (DfE).
Employers will be given the flexibility to decide whether adult apprentices will need to complete a level 2 English and maths qualification—equivalent to GCSE—in order to pass their course, the government has announced.
The rules for apprentices over the age of 19 have been relaxed so more learners can qualify in sectors like health care, social care, and construction.
The minimum duration of an apprenticeship will also be reduced to eight months, down from 12 months, to allow workers in shortage occupations—like green energy, health care, and film/TV production—to become trained sooner.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said “shorter apprenticeships and less red tape strikes the right balance between speed and quality.”
Changes to the minimum length of an apprenticeship will be introduced from August subject to the legislative timetable, the DfE said.
The announcements come as the education secretary kicked off National Apprenticeship Week on Monday by visiting apprentices at a housing development site in south London.
Speaking to the PA news agency on Monday, Phillipson said: “One key area that smaller employers have also raised with us is the need for short course apprenticeships and we’re committed to delivering that working with them.
“But also I know that a lot of bigger employers really value the work that they do with small and medium sized employers to create more apprenticeships in key areas like construction.
“And the other changes we’re setting out today around English and maths requirements will also see 10,000 more apprenticeship starts every year.”
Under current rules, apprentices must achieve English and maths qualifications of at least level 1 if they are on a level 2 apprenticeship.
For those who have already secured level 1 qualifications, the apprentices must be assessed at level 2 English and maths, and the requirement must be fulfilled before they take the end-point assessment.
If a learner is on a level 3 or higher apprenticeship, they must achieve a level 2 in both subjects before they can complete the apprenticeship.
But under the changes to English and maths—which will come into effect immediately—employers can decide what they require from apprentices over the age of 19.
The DfE has said the change does not mean that apprentices will not be assessed on core English and maths skills relevant to their occupation.
The education secretary told PA: “Apprentices will still have to undertake English and maths training as part of their apprenticeship and it will be linked directly to what they’re training in.
“So for example for a brick layer you need to understand ratios, the ability to estimate, and much more besides, and that will continue.
“But I’ve heard from businesses that they feel that the red tape that’s there at the moment is holding back apprenticeship starts, and we know we desperately need more apprenticeship starts in key areas like construction.”
On the plans to reduce the minimum duration of an apprenticeship, Phillipson said: “We’ll make sure that as part of that process high quality of the provision is maintained.
“But we have heard what employers have had to say, what businesses have told us, which is that they can condense it to cover the range of what’s required as part of the training.”
In September, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced that funding for the training system would be “rebalanced” to help young people gain skills.
He told Labour’s annual conference that foundation apprenticeships would be launched as the first step to a “youth guarantee.”
There will be a new growth and skills levy which will replace the existing apprenticeship levy and include new foundation apprenticeships.
The government said the new levy will allow funding for shorter apprenticeships, giving learners and employers greater flexibility over their training than under the existing system.
Employers have been asked to fund more of their level 7 apprenticeships—equivalent to a master’s degree and often accessed by older or already well qualified employees—outside of the levy.
Phillipson said: “Degree level apprenticeships have got an important role to play, but where it comes to level 7 provision in particular we have been clear that we want to reprioritise investment into areas such as level three and four apprenticeship starts.
“Of course, employers will be able to continue to fund those level 7 apprenticeships, but we think it’s right that we refocus the system back onto the earlier phases of people’s careers.”
The education secretary has also announced that Phil Smith, former chief executive of international tech and telecoms giant Cisco, will chair the government’s arms-length body Skills England, with Sir David Bell, vice-chancellor of the University of Sunderland, serving as vice chair.
A recent study by the Co-op suggested that almost two in five school-leavers face a lack of apprenticeship opportunities in their local area.
A number of barriers were identified in the survey of 1,000 teenagers aged 16 to 18, including not knowing how to apply and lacking the confidence to apply.
Ben Rowland, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), said, “While good literacy and numeracy are important in work and life, it is right to remove this as an arbitrary requirement for adults.”
He added: “The changes to the minimum duration of apprenticeships, something AELP has also long called for, are also most welcome and should help learners and employers access priority skills needed to boost their careers and boost their industry at shorter notice.”
