The government will fully fund apprenticeships for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with a £60m investment in up to 20,000 training places, Rishi Sunak will announce.
The Prime Minister is set to unveil the plan for businesses in his first economic speech since the Spring Budget at the Business Connect conference in Warwickshire.
A major package of reforms will see Brexit red tape slashed in a bid to save up to £150m a year for small firms and a new taskforce to boost private investment in female founders, with the aim of creating a bespoke funding pot for women-led businesses to access capital.
It will be led by entrepreneur Debbie Wosskow and Barclay’s head of business banking Hannah Bernard, who said they were “passionate” about leading “meaningful change”.
Sunak is expected to say: “Taken together, these measures will unlock a tidal wave of opportunity and make a real difference to businesses and entrepreneurs across the country.”
From April 1, small businesses can get their apprenticeships fully funded by the government for trainees aged up to 21, cutting costs for firms and supporting higher education providers.
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The government will also increase the amount of funding firms paying the apprenticeship levy can pass onto other businesses from 25 per cent to 50 per cent, in a boost for SMEs.
As of December 2023, 530 employers including ASDA, HomeServe and BT Group have pledged to transfer over £35m to firms of all sizes since September 2021, No10 said.
The Prime Minister will add: “Growing up in my mum’s pharmacy, I know first-hand how important small businesses are.
“Not just for the economy, but as a driver for innovation and aspiration, and as the key to building a society where hard work is always recognised and rewarded.”
It comes after it was revealed import tariffs on goods including chemicals, flowers, and fruit juice will be suspended for two years, ahead of Monday’s Business Connect conference.
While business secretary Kemi Badenoch is set to unveil a £660m ‘northern powerhouse investment fund’, at the gathering where Sunak and ministers are set to mingle with bosses.
The temporary withdrawal of duties on over 120 products is set to come into force on April 11 and remain in place until June 2026, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said.
Over 150 SMEs are expected to attend the conference, according to No10, which is the third since its launch last year.
Other measures will see the government deregulate in a bid to simplify SMEs’ financial and non-financial reporting by increasing the number of firms which qualify as a small business.
EU requirements are also being removed, while firms can share digitised annual reports, not paper copies. The measures are collectively expected to save firms one million hours a year.
Consultations will also be held on exempting SMEs from strategic reports, and raising the employee threshold from 250 to 500 workers, which could make 1,000 more firms SMEs.
Badenoch added: “Almost every job in the UK is owed to what is, or what previously was, an SME. They are the engines of economic growth for this country.”
Martin McTague, from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said he welcomed the announcements, calling the news on apprenticeships a “positive way” to bolster take up.
And Muniya Barua, deputy CEO of BusinessLDN, added: “Apprenticeship take-up has dropped significantly in London since the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in 2017.
“The government should now go further to increase flexibility by extending the deadline for employers to spend levy funds and allow the funds to be spent on pre-employment training.”
Labour’s shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said that “small business leaders tell us it is getting harder and harder to run a successful business”.
He added: “All this ongoing Conservative chaos comes with a cost as under the Tories we have a seen a record high in the number of businesses having to close their doors for good.
“Labour is proud to back our small businesses and our plan is a serious blueprint to create the long-term environment businesses across the country are crying out for.”