THE government is being urged to increase funding for apprenticeship schemes amid concerns that those in vocational training receive significantly less financial support than those in traditional academic education.
The Children, Education, and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel is calling on the government to increase investment in apprenticeships and to review the existing scheme to better meet the needs of students and employers.
While the government has allocated £500,000 of additional funding for apprenticeships in 2025 within its spending plans, the panel says that this money will only cover increased costs of existing programmes rather than expanding or improving them.
The proposed review would aim to ensure transparency in funding by outlining how resources are allocated and making this information accessible to employers, apprentices and the public.
It would also look at how vocational schemes could be better aligned with emerging industry needs to reflect changes in sectors such as renewable energy and sustainable construction
In a report accompanying the amendment, the panel, chaired by Deputy Catherine Curtis, wrote: “The panel was interested to note that the additional public investment of £500,000 does not change the scheme and that the improvements it will provide are in order to help it keep pace with changes to industry standards and awarding-body regulations.
“The panel believes that, as the additional expenditure growth does not extend the current scheme of apprenticeships but supports the existing provision, further work should be undertaken to review the scheme available for apprenticeships, to ensure that it is providing the right skills for students, but also incentives for employers to employ apprentices and teach required skills.
“Access to the scheme, and funding and support for apprentices and employers, should be transparent and easily accessible.”
The panel also cited a report published by the previous government that found the apprenticeship system was underfunded, heavily reliant on cross-subsidies from other Highlands College programmes and lacking integration with off-the-job learning including classroom time.
Published in 2022 by former Education Minister and Scrutiny panel member Deputy Inna Gardiner, the “FE and Skills Actionable Agenda” also found “disparities” with “international norms”. It states that Jersey’s “relative lack of systematic through-life learning beyond age 19” is “most striking”.
The report reads: “Improvements in apprenticeship funding and more streamlined administration would allow Jersey to build upon the strengths of the current system to expand apprenticeship provision for young people and for existing employees to upskill.”
The disparity in funding between academic and vocational paths has come under scrutiny in recent months.
According to figures published by Deputy Gardiner in June, while students at Hautlieu School benefit from between £7,000-£8,000 in annual government support, the investment for those pursuing vocational apprenticeships at Highlands College amounted to about £1,600 per year.
At the time, the ex-Education Minister argued that students in professional training should be given the same government funding as those in education to ensure “equal opportunities” for all.
The panel’s proposed amendment to the government’s nearly £1.3 billion spending plans for 2025 to 2028 forms part of a series of changes that Members have been putting forward in recent weeks.
Politicians are due to start debating the Budget, and its nearly 30 amendments, on Tuesday.
