The Leicester and Leicestershire Business and Skills partnership (LLBSP) welcomes the recently announced Government reforms to skills and apprenticeships.
Government is:
- implementing a 32% increase in the Immigration Skills Charge, which will deliver up to 45,000 additional training places to upskill the domestic workforce and reduce reliance on migration in priority sectors, as announced in the recent Immigration white paper
- refocusing funding away from Level 7 (masters-level) apprenticeships from January 2026, while maintaining support for those aged 16 to 21 and existing apprentices. This will enable levy funding to be rebalanced towards training at lower levels, where it can have the greatest impact.
- launching 13 new Level 2 construction courses for adults in non-devolved areas under the Free Courses for Jobs scheme
In Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland, there are 2,930 young people aged between 18-21 who are looking for work. This funding will enable them to get the higher-level skills they need in order to get good quality employment.
In addition to the £3 billion apprenticeship budget, Government is also investing in:
- £136 million for Skills Bootcamps across a range of priority sectors in 2025 to 2026, providing training to over 40,000 learners
- £100 million over 4 years to expand Construction Skills Bootcamps
- 10 technical excellence colleges specialising in construction skills, opening in September 2025
The Construction sector in the LLBSP region (Leicester City and Leicestershire County) at 3.8% of all employee jobs is smaller than the East Midlands (4.3%) and nationally (4.8%). This funding could help support the sector locally get the staff they need to grow.
The announcement comes following a dramatic fall in the number of apprenticeships starts over the last decade, and as recent ONS statistics show as many as one in eight 16–24-year-olds are not in employment, education or training.
Anna Cyhan, LLBSP Business and Skills Engagement Manager says “Apprenticeships are a great route for young people who are thinking about career pathways, and the new Foundation Apprenticeships should help businesses to recruit and grow the talent they need. It is also good to see the construction sector being supported, and the offers for adults via Skills Bootcamps”.
The names of the first seven foundation apprenticeships have been revealed.