Apprenticeship funding hitting the headlines – APM in the Financial Times

Further to APM issuing a statement late last year regarding the government’s proposed cut to the Level 4 Associate Project Manager Apprenticeship from £9,000 to £6,000, we were this week approached by Financial Times journalist Jonathan Moules.

Johnathan had heard that this cut in funding had forced the Cabinet Office to place a freeze on their own apprenticeship programme and was keen to seek a comment from APM.

In our reply we reiterated our concerns that the proposed cut would likely lead to an end of high-quality Project Management Level 4 Apprenticeships, with no providers able to deliver, resulting in the end of a high-quality offering for individuals wanting to take their first step onto the project management career ladder.

We also expressed that while we hoped things might change, and that the situation is still an evolving picture, with so many providers and employers faced with a substantial funding cut this news regarding the Cabinet Office was perhaps inevitable.

David Thomson Head of External Affairs advised the FT that we remained hopeful there could be some who did find a way to provide a high-quality offering at a reduced price, but that we felt less confident that this would be sufficient to provide the number of apprenticeships required for the UK’s economic future. Inevitably the conversation also turned to Brexit, suggesting a potential increased demand for project professionals that flies in the face of this cut in funding.

All together this news piece represents a great example of APM advocating for the profession in the public interest and ensuring we are well placed to offer relevant insights on policy and practice in the project profession.

If you have an account with the FT you can read the full news story here but for copyright reasons we cannot share a copy with you.