Written evidence from Aldermore Bank (FES 267)

Education Committee

Further Education and Skills

RE: Urgent need to reconsider plans to abolish funding for Level 7 apprenticeships

I am writing to you in my capacity as Head of Talent and Learning at Aldermore Bank to urge you to make the urgent case to Government to reconsider the proposed decision to exclude Level 7 apprenticeships from the Apprenticeship Levy funding.

We appreciate that the Government is already in the process of reforming the Apprenticeship Levy into a new growth and skills offer, which will give greater flexibility to employers and learners and align with the Industrial Strategy. We welcome these measures, including shorter duration apprenticeships and new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted, growing sectors.

However, as you will know, Skills England identified the Financial Services sector as having one of the largest skills gaps of all sectors in the UK. In order to redress this balance, and to deliver much-needed economic growth and investment across the UK, there is an urgent need for the continued provision of the higher apprenticeship levels – Levels 6 & 7 – by firms within the sector. With this in mind, we are concerned by plans to exclude funding for Level 7 apprenticeships and would urge the Government to reconsider. Many Level 7 apprenticeship programmes already require supplementary funding, as assigned funding bands often do not meet programme costs, and excluding the provision from the Levy will disproportionately affect smaller firms and mid-tier and specialist lenders.

By way of context, 76% of apprenticeships taken up at Aldermore were done so by existing employees seeking to upskill themselves, in turn boosting the skill level of our workforce and our ability to drive growth and attract investment. Several of these existing employees were also from low socio-economic backgrounds and many had no prior degree-level education. As such, excluding Level 7 apprenticeships would contradict the Government’s goal to redress the skills gap, as well as ambitions to instil a culture of life-long learning and encourage older workers to return to the workforce.

May 2025