THE ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE HISTORIC AND CLASSIC MOTOR INDUSTRY IN THE UK

55 12.3 Value of apprenticeships Apprenticeships provide valuable skills and learning experiences, allow prospective employees to demonstrate value to employers in a hands-on setting and provide a boost in wages, particularly for young workers. The corresponding lift in productivity helps the general economy, as qualified apprentices bring enhanced skills into the broader workforce. This is particularly pertinent for an industry such as classic car maintenance that is reliant on employees with specific technical skills. The benefits also remain with trainees throughout their careers, enhancing their earning power and performance. They can even manifest in different industries through developing a strong skills base, for example through the provision of basic engineering skills. These productivity gains are a direct contribution to the UK economy and help reduce the productivity gap between the UK and other developed countries. Cebr estimated that apprentices contributed £34 billion to the UK in 2014. 19 The latest ONS data shows that UK has had 4.5 million apprenticeship starts, since May 2010, although this has been in decline since 2015/16. Apprenticeships starts by year can be seen i n Figure 10. Funding apprentices There are two bases for funding apprentices. If your annual paybill is £3 million or more, you have to pay a levy, calculated at 0.5% of your annual paybill. All employers get a £15,000 annual allowance (ie 0.5% of £3 million) to offset against the amount they have to pay. Each employer has an account and they can work with training providers to agree on an apprenticeship programme suitable for their business. If your annual paybill is under £3 million, you do not have to pay the levy but can still benefit from the apprenticeship system. If you do not pay the levy you have to contribute 5% towards the cost of the required apprenticeship and the government will pay the remaining 95%. Figure 10: Apprenticeship starts by year, 2010/11 - 2018/19 Source: ONS, Cebr analysis 1 9 https://cebr.com/reports/economic-impact-of- apprenticeships/#:~:text=The%20Cebr%20report%20reveals%20the,national%20economy%20gains%20%C2%A321. 0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19