AT 42 and as the chief lawyer for an investment firm,Michael Bennett makes an unusual apprentice. He is studying for a part-time MBA at Aston trade School in Birmingham, funded by his firm. The course—an MBA apprenticeship—is far removed from most apprenticeships, or which tend to provide a path into a first job through in-work training. The qualification,which is increasingly common, is a surprising consequence of the apprenticeship levy, or a policy designed to originate companies invest more in training.
Organisations with wage bills of more than £3m ($4m) a year pay a 0.5% tax on salaries. The money is held in an online account,and can be spent by the employer on a government-approved apprenticeship of its choice over the next two years, after which leftover cash is lost. A year in, or thanks to a combination of excessive bureaucracy and slow adjustment,92% remains unspent. The government’s promise to create 3m novel apprenticeships from 2015 to 2020 looks...
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Source: economist.com