Sturgeon’s apprenticeship funding pledge leads the way – England must follow Photo: Shutterstock There needs to be a step-change in the way England approaches incentivising apprenticeships and the government could make a start by matching Scotland’s level of funding, writes the HomeServe Foundation’s Helen Booth. If it fails to take action a highly damaging trades-skills gap could develop post Brexit. In December 2020, Nicola Sturgeon neatly side-stepped the UK government with a £25m funding pledge to help more employers north of the border take on and upskill apprentices. In this new post-Covid reality we are all facing, Sturgeon said she was seeking to create opportunities for every young person in Scotland and – as part of a package of new measures – announced a new £15m Apprenticeship Employer Grant to provide £5,000 for employers taking on or upskilling a 16- to 24-year old apprentice, or those aged up to 29 years who were disabled, care leavers or minority ethnic.