<– Use the green share button to send this article to your customers
A. Previously, all apprentices in England were required to pass level 2 functional skills courses in maths and English courses (equivalent to GCSE) to complete their apprenticeship, where they did not already hold an equivalent qualification.
However, on 11 February 2025 the government announced that effective immediately this was no longer the case for both new starters and existing apprentices who were already undertaking these courses and aged 19 and over. The requirement remains in place for apprentices aged 16 to 18.
Not all of your client’s apprentices are necessarily going to be affected by this change, as some of them may have already passed one of these courses or they may have already held this qualification or an equivalent prior to starting the apprentice. For them, nothing has changed, and they should continue as they are.
For those this does impact, this does not mean they can now just leave these courses without discussing it first. Where they are already undertaking one of these courses, it should be in their training plan and part of the agreement they have with your client. It’s up to your client to decide if they want their current apprentices to carry on with these courses or release them from them, and if they want to require new starters to undertake them regardless of the government’s decision to make them non-compulsory.
Whether your client wants their apprentices to continue with courses in maths and English will depend on the nature of the work their apprentices are doing and the need for these skills within the business. Your client has control over what they want their apprentices to achieve during the apprenticeship, in line with the specified apprenticeship standard, and so the decision is one for them to make.
It may be that your client has other skills it sees as more valuable that it would prefer its adult apprentices, now and in the future, to develop. This could be via alternative courses, using the time that has been released now that the apprentice is not studying a level 2 course, or within their day-to-day work.
Alternatively, your client may decide this time can be better used utilised by their affected employees in carrying out their work. Your client will therefore gain more time when the apprentice is working on their main tasks and responsibilities.
