Education, Children and Young People Committee
Uk Hospitality follow up information from Committee meeting 8 December 2021
UK Hospitality Scotland follow up information from Committee meeting 8th December 2021 on Skills alignment and business needs.
UK Hospitality Scotland
Stephen Kerr MSP Convener
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Dear Convener
I am following up my commitment to provide additional feedback and thoughts on potential changes to the Apprenticeship Levy, as discussed with the Committee on 8 December 2021.
By way of scene-setting, across Scotland, the hospitality industry supports many initiatives to create awareness of career opportunities and develop skills. This includes a specific and highly successful two-year Apprenticeship in Hospitality which is designed and supported by a number of leading firms in the sector. As the sector hopefully moves closer to recovery it will continue to support the skills and employability activities of bodies such as Skills Development Scotland.
Specifically, on the Apprenticeship Levy, feedback from members and the UKHospitality HR Group - which comprises HR leads from across our membership base - covers the following three key points, which will be of assistance to the Committee.
Members certainly believe there is a need for greater transparency around payments and expenditure. This would assist firms in better understanding how the system is working, what’s being funded by government and how their contributions are being spent.
Businesses would also welcome the opportunity to use the levy for wider training purposes. Upskilling and continuous professional development of our workforce is a priority which, amongst other business benefits, helps in retaining workers and assisting younger employees, in particular, with their career progression and aspirations.
Overall, there is a need for greater dialogue with government to discuss the future development of the levy and how it must evolve to meet the needs of our sector, as businesses operate in a changed landscape. In addition to the points above this discussion should cover duration of apprenticeships and the variety of training courses available.
I hope this additional information and these points are of assistance.
Yours sincerely
Leon Thompson
Executive Director UKHospitality Scotland