According to an FE Week survey of providers the 20-per-cent off-the-job training rule is the biggest barrier to apprenticeship recruitment. In spite of this the skills minister has insisted once more that it is a “protected characteristic” and won’t be changing as “Twenty per cent is really important, because an apprenticeship is about earning while you’re learning, so if you don’t have time off from the job you’re not learning anything.” For more see here.
