UK government set to pull plug on MBA apprenticeships

A controversial MBA apprenticeship plan that authorized organizations in England to send out senior executives to organization faculty with money earmarked for on-the-task training is set to be axed.

The go to scrap the qualification was uncovered when the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technological Education and learning, which administers apprenticeship specifications, printed a revised list of apprenticeship specifications subsequent opinions from companies with all reference to MBAs eliminated.

The decision is predicted to be verified in early June when the government is owing to publish a review of MBA apprenticeships. 

The inclusion of MBAs as portion of the government’s apprenticeship plan was widely criticised as it diverted a large proportion of the funding away from office training. The funding for apprenticeships comes from a levy launched in 2017 that necessitates companies with once-a-year wage charges higher than £3m to set apart an equivalent of .5 per of their payroll.

Underneath levy guidelines, companies are specified command above which qualifications can be classed as apprenticeships. Accepted schemes assortment from level-two GCSE-equivalent courses for faculty leavers, such as training for shop staff, to diploma-level roles, such as lawyers and nurses.

Superior supervisors is what this state desperately demands

The MBA was involved as a portion of the level-7 senior leader occupational standard.

Underneath the changes, companies will continue to be authorized to invest the levy on superior-level management training but it would be much less desirable as participants would no for a longer period get a masters diploma at the conclusion of the programme.

Critics argued the MBA plan was an abuse of the apprenticeship levy. In the first entire calendar year immediately after the levy was launched in April 2017, there were 375,800 new apprenticeship commences, a 26 per cent fall on the similar period of time in 2015/16.

However, the proportion of higher-level apprenticeships, equivalent to bachelor’s levels and higher than, increased from 5.three per cent to twelve.eight per cent throughout this period of time.

A analyze by FE 7 days journal calculated that there were 6,387 commences on MBA apprenticeship programmes up to the conclusion of the first quarter of 2019/20. Specified that each of these courses can get up to £18,000 from the apprenticeship levy pot, up to £115m had been put in on the standard in that fiscal calendar year.

Jennifer Coupland, chief executive of the institute, had as not too long ago as January defended the MBA programme, which she said loaded techniques gaps discovered by companies.

However, the most current opinions from companies has demonstrated a shift in opinion. “The employer group have created a very clear suggestion, which we are now consulting on,” the IfATE said.

The Division for Education and learning said: “The training secretary is dedicated to keeping an employer-led procedure, but is not convinced the levy should really be applied to fork out for workers, who are typically by now remarkably certified and remarkably compensated, to get an MBA.”

Business enterprise educational facilities, which have benefited most from the growth in bachelor’s and masters-level diploma apprenticeships, expressed disappointment at the decision to get rid of the skill to get an MBA as a result of levy funding.

“Better supervisors is what this state desperately demands,” said Anne Kiem, chief executive of the Chartered Association of Business enterprise Educational facilities, which represents the Uk sector.

“Taking the qualification out of the senior leader standard would make it incredibly unattractive for most of individuals who have signed up for it to date.”