The government has announced that employers will now be able to decide whether adult learners over the age of 19 will need to complete a level 2 English and maths qualification (equivalent to GCSE) in order to pass their apprenticeship. This comes into effect immediately (in contrast to changes to apprenticeship length, which start in August 2025). The full, granular detail of this policy has yet to be announced.
NHS England will dedicate time to this at their upcoming network meeting on Wednesday 26th February 2025 between 10:00am – 11:30am. Meeting link and agenda will be circulated next week.
It is important to note that the NHS England suite of funded support is NOT affected by this change. Self-study through bksb (basic key skills builder), exams through Open Awards, support for numeracy confidence through National Numeracy and all other areas of support including ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) and digital literacy will be available until at least March 2027.
Furthermore, whilst NHS England welcome this flexibility in policy, numeracy literacy and digital skills are still very important to the NHS. Being confident in this skill set is essential to deliver safe, quality patient care. It is also crucial to support progression for those staff that will still require functional skills to progress in their careers. Many employers will still require a functional skills qualification for registered and equivalent roles, irrespective of government policy.
Find out more details about the government announcement here.