My Lords, I rise to agree with almost everything that has been said about the importance of apprenticeships. This is the right moment to be pressing for reform, as both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor are emphasising the importance of skills in the post-Brexit economy and in levelling up, as the noble Lord, Lord Layard, indicated. However, there are some problems with this amendment as it stands—notably, the lack of clarity as to what it would cost, and exactly where the funding would be found for proposed new subsection (1).
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Turning to proposed new subsection (3), I would say that there is a case for some investment in management skills, which are very poor in parts of the economy and are often a cause of poorer company and public sector performance. Indeed, when I was a Minister, I had an assistant private secretary who was an apprentice and in fact became something of a showcase for how apprenticeships could be used right across the public sector. Some levy funding should be spent in these areas. However, I entirely agree with my noble and
learned friend Lord Clarke that most apprenticeship money should go the under-25s. His proposal of two-thirds is worthy of consideration.
Frankly, this is only one of several things that are still wrong with apprenticeships. Another issue is that lower level apprenticeships have been phased out. In my Tesco days, such apprenticeships made many of the least well educated in the land extremely proud that they were able to achieve an apprenticeship and then able to move from one employer to another with a certified skill. The exclusions under the current scheme have led to much smaller numbers of people able to become apprentices, which I think is one reason why so much less is spent on the under-25s. Flexibility is also an issue. The noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, gave us some examples from his own experience, and of course we have had the experience of my noble friend Lord Forsyth’s report on this whole area.
In conclusion, it is very good that we have this amendment. We have a new, impressive and energetic Secretary of State in Nadim Zahawi, and we have my noble friend the Minister. I hope that they will review the apprenticeship arrangements and that this amendment will spur them to action.