PhD-level apprenticeships will not be funded by the education skills and funding agency (ESFA), the apprenticeships and skills minister has confirmed.

In a letter to Jennifer Coupland, the chief executive of the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), Gillian Keegan says she does not believe that “using levy funds for Level 8 apprenticeships, which could result in a PhD, provides value for money, nor are they in the spirit of our reformed apprenticeships system.”

Ms Keegan adds Ms Coupland “will wish to consider” whether or not to continue to invest resources in the development of apprenticeships at this level. 

She adds: “I know that the employers currently developing Level 8 apprenticeships were informed in the summer of 2019 that funding for these standards could not be guaranteed, due to the need to ensure that we are meeting the needs of employers and apprentices at all levels in a way that is financially sustainable and delivers good value for money.”

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The IfATE’s online list of apprenticeship standards currently lists two at level 8 as in development: one for a clinical academic professional and one for a nuclear technical specialist.

In a statement accompanying her letter, Ms Keegan said:“Apprenticeships will continue to play a key role delivering the skilled workforce employers and our economy need post Covid-19, so it is vital we ensure more people and business can benefit from them.

“We have decided not to fund any Level 8 apprenticeships, as we do not believe this represents good value for money. We want Levy funds to be used to help more people to get on the path to a rewarding career and to support employers, especially small and medium sized businesses, to take on new apprentices.”

A spokesperson for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education said: “We accept the decision and will not support the development of level 8 standards at this time.

“We would like to thank the trailblazers for their hard work on the proposals. The Institute has been as upfront and informative as possible with them on the funding issue. We requested policy guidance from the DfE and it is appropriate that this has now been issued by the secretary of state.”

The letter in full