Maths and English test pass requirements for apprentices set to be scrapped in bid to boost home-grown talent
Maths and English test pass requirements for apprentices set to be scrapped in bid to boost home-grown talent
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MATHS and English test pass requirements for apprentices will be scrapped under plans to boost home-grown talent and slash immigration. The move will give bosses the flexibility to sign off a trainee’s qualification if it is clear they can do the job but struggle academically. Ministers are understood to be considering the change, with hopes it will help wean the economy off overseas labour. A poll of bosses, who, like TV’s Lord Alan Sugar, take on apprentices, found 71 per cent backed the idea.
![[Alan Sugar pointing.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/lord-sugar-alan-sugar-apprentice-966308439_f02183.jpg?strip=all&quality=100&w=721)
Institute of Directors spokesman Alex Hall-Chen said: “Flexibility would encourage more employers to offer apprenticeships.”. Mike Worley, of apprenticeships provider HIT Training, added: “Does passing an exam make someone a better chef or care worker?. "In my experience, it does not.”. At present, trainees who do not make the grades at GCSE must pass level 1 numeracy and literacy tests. The Department for Education said: “We recognise employers want more flexibility and are looking into what improvements can be made.”.
![[a man wearing a hard hat and orange vest is working on a brick wall]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/NINTCHDBPICT000951058628.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
