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<p>The apprenticeship levy is an important part of our reforms to apprenticeships,
supporting employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeships.</p><p>Employers
that pay the levy can spend the funds available to them in their apprenticeship service
accounts on apprenticeship training and assessment. Employers have developed over
630 high-quality apprenticeship standards in a diverse range of occupations, allowing
them to spend the levy on the training that works for them.</p><p>Our reforms to apprenticeships
have made them longer and better, with more off-the-job training and an independent
assessment at the end. Ofsted inspects the quality of apprenticeship training provision
at all levels. Any provider that receives an ‘inadequate’ Ofsted assessment for apprenticeships
will be removed from the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers. We are also
taking a number of steps to improve the quality of apprenticeships further. This includes
refreshing the Register with more stringent criteria, investing in a comprehensive
package of professional workforce development for apprenticeship providers and providing
tools, advice, and guidance to support employers to give their apprentices a high-quality
experience.</p><p>We publish a wide range of information on apprenticeships through
our monthly and quarterly statistical releases. Information on the number of apprenticeship
starts, achievements, types of apprenticeships undertaken (for example standards and
sector subject areas), as well as the number of starts supported by apprenticeship
service account levy funds, can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships</a>.</p><p>Provisional
data show that there have been 319,400 starts reported to date in the 2020/21 academic
year. Final year data will be published in November here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/further-education-and-skills-statistical-first-release-sfr#latest-releases"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/further-education-and-skills-statistical-first-release-sfr#latest-releases</a>.</p><p>In
August 2020, we introduced incentive payments for employers taking on new apprentices
as part of the Plan for Jobs. Latest figures show that over 101,000 apprentices have
been supported through the apprenticeship incentives between August 2020 and September
2021, of which 76% of apprentices are under the age of 25. We have extended the £3,000
incentive payment for new apprentice hires of any age until 31 January 2022 to support
employers to offer new apprenticeships.</p>
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