M&S has become the latest retailer to call on the government to overhaul its “difficult” apprenticeship levy rules in next month’s budget.
Group director of human resources Sarah Findlater, who is responsible for the hiring and training of M&S’ 64,000 staff, said the current scheme was “too difficult to access, so millions of pounds are going unspent”.
She called on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt “to reform the levy and make it more flexible and simpler for employers to access this fund so we can create even more apprenticeships and valuable career development opportunities”.
Findlater told The Times that M&S, which has 200 apprenticeships, would like to undertake more but is being constrained from doing so.
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The scheme, introduced in 2017, requires employers with an annual payroll bill of more than £3m to pay 0.5% of costs into a fund for training, which they can then claim on to meet some of their own apprenticeship costs.
However, retail bosses of chains including Tesco, Superdrug and Co-op have labelled the levy as unworkable.
Superdrug CEO Peter Macnab said that a change in the system would “allow businesses to support and upskill more people and help to secure the countries’ future workforce”.
The health and beauty retailer plans to employ 500 apprentices this year, alongside its sister company Savers.
Chancellor Hunt is also understood to be looking into reversing the decision to scrap tax-free shopping for international visitors.
He has asked the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to “examine the costs and benefits” of the scheme, which Rishi Sunak decided to end in 2020.
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