Overview

This bill mandates that public contracts exceeding £1 million in England and Wales must include provisions for apprenticeships and skills training for the contractor's workforce. It aims to boost skills and apprenticeship opportunities through public procurement.

Description

The Apprenticeships and Skills (Public Procurement Contracts) Bill requires public authorities to incorporate apprenticeship and skills training commitments into contracts valued over £1 million. This includes:

• Apprenticeship Requirements: Public authorities must consider government guidelines when awarding contracts, potentially mandating a minimum percentage of advanced apprentices within the contractor's workforce and including provisions for Apprenticeship Training Agencies.
• Skills Training Provision: Contracts must necessitate continuous skills training for all workforce members (full-time, part-time, casual, directly employed, and subcontracted), totaling at least one hour per week per employee, using nationally accredited schemes, and representing at least 1% of the total contract value.
• Advertisement of Vacancies: Contractors must advertise all job vacancies in local and neighboring job centers, highlighting training opportunities.

The bill defines "public authority" broadly and includes local authorities. The act will come into force 12 months after its passing and applies to England and Wales.

Government Spending

The bill doesn't directly involve government spending increases. The intended effect is to leverage existing public procurement budgets to incentivize skills training and apprenticeships without specifying additional funding.

Groups Affected

• Public Authorities: They will need to incorporate the bill's requirements into their procurement processes.
• Contractors bidding for public contracts (over £1 million): They will be required to commit to providing apprenticeships and skills training as part of their bids. This may increase their costs and require changes to their workforce training policies.
• Apprentices and the workforce of contractors: They will benefit from increased training opportunities.
• Apprenticeship Training Agencies: They could see increased demand for their services.

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