RHA welcomes skills white paper

RHA welcomes the Get Britain Working Again White Paper. The paper recognises how young people have been left behind since the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy.

RHA Skills Policy Lead Sally Gilson said: “We welcome the Growth and Skills Levy pledge for greater flexibility reiterated within this new white paper. We’ve long campaigned for Apprenticeship Levy reform which is vital for our sector to fully utilise funds for more flexible training options.

“As a sector we have an ageing workforce, and we need to attract more young people into it. This was a major focus of our recent National Lorry Week campaign. With record numbers of NEETs (young people not in education, employment or training), we’re pleased to see the Eight Youth Guarantee trailblazers introduced in the eight mayoral authorities, to prioritise getting young people into work. We would, however, caution against a postcode lottery whereby different regions have access to quality training, but non-mayoral regions are left behind.

“Although we await further details on the announcements and how new foundation apprenticeships will link with existing training programmes, it’s welcome news that skills policy is being given the priority needed.”

Read the Get Britain Working Again White Paper here.