Oil and gas business leaders have demanded to know how the Scottish Government plans to spend the £220million a year that will start to be collected from large employers next year.
Directors of skills body Opito and the trade association for the subsea sector have warned the levy will fall harder on the oil and gas industry than other sectors and puts even more jobs at risk.
The call comes after the UK government said Scotland would receive £221million in 2017/18 as its devolved share of the apprenticeship levy, which is expected to raise £3billion from UK employers when comes into force in April.
The Scottish Government, which does not support the levy, has branded the Conservative government proposal as a “tax on employers” that has been “pushed through the back door” without consultation.
But while the UK government has set out plans for how businesses in England and Wales will be able to benefit from the funds collected by HMRC, the Scottish Government has not done so.
Yesterday, employment minister Jamie Hepburn said that “funding for apprenticeships and wider skills” will be set out as part of the Scottish budget “in due course”. He added that the government has also set up a Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board to discuss the outcome of the consultation it undertook on the levy scheme in the summer.
But Opito is calling for “immediate” clarity on how the money will be redistributed. Meanwhile, Subsea UK chief executive Neil Gordon said his members were “frustrated” at the lack of information.
Mr McDonald said: “With less than 2% of companies across the UK liable for this levy, the size of companies in oil and gas means that our industry is likely to be disproportionately affected by its introduction.
“In the current and very challenging climate for the oil and gas industry, we have always maintained that this is the wrong tax, coming at the wrong time. However, it will come into force next Spring and employers rightly need to know what’s happening.”
He added: “We are seeking assurance that the money raised will be ring-fenced for new learning and training infrastructure and initiatives and not off-set to fund existing programmes or other Government supported schemes which are already in place.”
Mr Gordon said: “Due to the lack of information from the Scottish Government, this is being seen by many as an additional tax on bottom line costs to our industry which could lead to companies looking at cutting costs in areas of their business to find the cash for the levy.
“At a time when the lower oil price has resulted in thousands of job losses, this could put more jobs at risk, thereby negating the whole objective of the scheme which is to create jobs and opportunities.
“We really need to hold the Scottish Government to account on this. They’ve had plenty of time to consider this issue and they can’t just fall back on blaming Westminster. They need to tell employers how this will be managed so that companies can plan their budgets accordingly.”
Minister Mr Hepburn said: “We understand that for employers, paying this levy is new and they want to see how those funds are being used.
“We already support people into employment through our range of programmes including MA, skills, training, employability and work experience through private, public and third sector. The levy funds will continue to support that work.”
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