Government reforms (2): Apprenticeship consultation

What do we already know?

In our June Newsletter Apprenticeships: Say it like you mean it… we updated you that the Government had announced that they intended to protect the term “apprenticeship” in law – meaning that unauthorised use of the term will be illegal.

What’s new?

The Government consulted this month on its above plans to create an offence for misuse of the terms “apprentice” or “apprenticeship”. The intention would be to limit use of the terms to refer only to a Government funded apprenticeship.

The Government’s aim, according to the Consultation document, is to avoid diluting the apprenticeship brand by banning its application to lower-quality courses that do not meet the standards of Government apprenticeships. The new offence would prevent training providers from offering poor quality “apprenticeship” training.

The proposed maximum penalty for non-compliance with the prohibition would be a fine. The proposed measures would not prevent employers using the word “apprenticeship” to describe their own training, or offering contracts of apprenticeship.

The Consultation closed on 19 August 2015.