This post was originally published on this site

Funding for Level 7 (masters-level) apprenticeships will cease from January 2026 for all but those aged between 16 and 21, or who are on existing apprenticeship schemes. The levy funding for Level 7 will instead be diverted to lower-level apprenticeships.

The Department for Education said that the plans is to ‘rebalance’ funding towards training at levels where it can have the greatest impact.

Predictably, this has not gone down with the professional bodies that are set to lose out.

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) said that the decision put the future pipeline of planners at risk; the Royal Institute of British Architects said that it would reduce access to the architecture profession.

The RTPI said that the policy switch would cut funding for around 200 planning apprentices who join the apprenticeship scheme each year – at a time when the government is trying to hire 300 new planners.

Currently, more than 800 apprentices are on the planning programme and 189 have achieved chartered town planner status through this route.

Many universities report that all of their chartered town planner L7 apprentices since 2019 have been over the age of 21 on entry, the RTPI said, so the change in funding eligibility threatened to undermine an established and increasingly popular route into the profession.

RTPI chief executive Victoria Hills said: “This apprenticeship was developed to provide an alternative route for people to gain entry into the profession, and has provided employers with a pipeline of talent into what we know is an under-resourced profession. We are extremely disappointed with this decision, which will be counterproductive to the government’s growth strategy.

“The RTPI and its members made robust representations to the government to maintain what has been a successful route into the profession. Given the severe resourcing issues currently being experienced by local authority planning departments, no legislative proposals will achieve the government’s growth ambition without a resolution to capacity constraints.

“We have therefore proposed a comprehensive three-point resourcing plan to be published alongside the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. This includes a transparent whole-system audit, a holistic approach to skills development across the country, and funding to facilitate a capacity-building programme.”

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) feels much the same.

RIBA president Muyiwa Oki said: “While we welcome the emphasis on wider skills development, the decision to refocus funding away from Level 7 apprenticeships is a misguided and backwards step that will reduce access to a flexible, accessible, and inclusive route into the architecture profession. 

 “This arbitrary age cut off will negatively impact the number of architecture apprentices, at both Level 7 and likely Level 6, and will ultimately have the opposite effect of the government’s intention – to get more young people into apprenticeships.  

“We’ve worked closely with the government and parliamentarians to promote the value of Level 7 architecture apprenticeships. But our work is not over, we continue to advocate for architecture apprenticeships and the value they bring to the profession and society.”

Got a story? Email [email protected]