Commenting on the apprenticeship and levy statistics for June 2018, issued today by the Department for Education, Jane Gratton, Head of Business Environment and Skills Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“This further drop in the number of apprenticeship starts is a clear sign that something is going wrong with the Apprenticeship Levy.

“Businesses want to make the system work, and train and up-skill people of all ages, but the system as it stands is in need of reform.

“The government needs to listen to the business community, and work with us to ensure more people have access to high-quality apprenticeship training, in order to make the Levy system work better for everyone.”