CMI Condemns Government Defunding of Management Apprenticeships

The Chartered Management Institute has condemned the government's decision to remove levy funding from management and leadership apprenticeships under the reformed Growth and Skills Levy, calling it a "critical setback" for UK productivity efforts.

The announcement confirmed that a range of Level 3 to Level 6 management apprenticeship standards — including the widely used Team Leader and Operations Manager qualifications — will no longer be funded from September 2026. The decision follows a Government package focused on redirecting apprenticeship funding toward younger workers and new modular units in areas including AI leadership and engineering trades.

Petra Wilton, Director of Policy and External Affairs at the CMI, said ministers' decision would be a critical setback to efforts to address the UK's lagging productivity. She argued that management apprenticeships were not a luxury but a lifeline for businesses and public sector organisations looking to use their levy funds to drive up performance. An analysis from the Oxford Economics consultancy had calculated that management apprenticeships added £120 million to UK GDP in a single year.

A petition launched by the CMI in January 2026 attracted more than 5,000 signatories from employers, training providers and apprentices. The institute said it was deeply disappointed that the voice of those who signed the petition appeared to have been ignored. The CMI also noted a lack of transparency around what impact assessments, if any, were carried out before the policy change was finalised.