Member's statement: Skills Shortage: Apprenticeship Levy
Member's statement by Ms Kate Nicholl on .
- MLA
- Ms Kate Nicholl
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 14 January 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Skills Shortage: Apprenticeship Levy
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4736173
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The skills shortages that we face in Northern Ireland are one of the most significant blocks to our future economic growth. We have serious vacancy levels, and, according to the Audit Office, more than one in three of those vacancies is attributable to the skills gap. It estimates that that results in a loss of over £700 million gross value added every year. We cannot afford to ignore that substantial economic impact. One UK Government initiative aimed at addressing those issues is the apprenticeship levy. However, that initiative does not work for us here. The levy requires many employers to contribute 0·5% of their payroll to apprenticeship funding. As stated by the Institute of Directors in 2023, Northern Ireland businesses contribute around £60 million as a result of that levy. Despite contributing, Northern Ireland does not directly receive funding from it. This is a critical issue that needs to be addressed. We must be more creative and innovative in how we get the right skills into our economy to support further growth. Devolution of the apprenticeship levy would allow us to reinvest that funding much more directly into skills redevelopment, addressing those gaps in a way that could be adapted to our local needs and priorities. In particular, we could focus on the skills required to support and expand the green economy. There is no green growth without green skills, and the ability to adapt and tailor investment locally would allow us to develop the skills that we need in our economy and to contribute to our net zero obligation. Growing our skills base has the potential not just to unlock job opportunities but to transform living standards, boost the economy and increase employment. The devolution of the apprenticeship levy could therefore be critical in helping us to deliver economic growth and support people into work. I will write to the Economy Minister and the UK Government on this issue in the coming days and will continue to work alongside my colleague Sorcha Eastwood MP in Westminster to deliver a fairer, more effective model to support skills development in Northern Ireland.
351 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.96).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.96 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.90 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.10 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:47 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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