Apprenticeship funding reforms have been thrust back into the spotlight after government figures indicated the programme was heading for the second consecutive annual drop in the number of starts.

Provisional data shows that in 2013/14 the number of all-age apprenticeship starts was 432,400, a 13 per cent fall from the comparable figures for 2012/13.

Although the number of 16 to 18-year-olds starting apprenticeships rose 5 per cent to 117,800 since last year, the number of 19 to 24-year-olds fell 3 per cent to 156,900.

And the number of 25 + apprenticeships — the largest apprentice age group — tumbled from 222,200 to 157,700, a drop of 29 per cent.

The government figures, published in the Statistical First Release (SFR) on Thursday (October 16), also suggest the number of people starting apprenticeships has dropped for the second year running.

The final figures for 2012/13 showed the first drop in apprenticeship take-up in seven years (from 510,200 to 499,800 — a 2 per cent drop) and if the provisional figures are confirmed in the next SFR (due in January), they would prove the worrying downward trend was continuing — and include level two.

Skills Minister Nick Boles pointed towards the failed FE loans system for apprentices, which applied to learners from the age of 24 and from level three and was dropped in February, as behind the drop and said he “looks forward to numbers bouncing back”.

Nut he has been warned that the hoped-for recovery in numbers remained at risk from proposals currently on his desk to make employers pay towards apprentice training costs.

Stewart Segal, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, told FE Week: “While the increase in starts for under 19s is very encouraging, the mixed news underlines why we need to get the apprenticeship funding reforms right, especially in the context of the two main party leaders’ pledges to massively expand the programme by an extra 200,000 starts a year.

“The Skills Minister at the AELP conference on Wednesday [October 15] told providers he was ‘nervous’ about requiring mandatory cash contributions from employers and the evidence that we and other groups have presented about this proposal’s likely effect on volumes suggest that he is right to take his time about pushing ahead with it.”

Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said: “Although it is good news that there has been a rise in the number of under 19-year-olds starting apprenticeships, it is worrying that there has been drop in the number of over 19s doing so.

“When so many young people are out of work, the government needs to do much more to encourage employers to invest in apprentices.”

Mr Boles, who told this month’s AELP autumn conference of his being “nervous” at the apprenticeship funding reform proposals, said: “I welcome the increased number of 16 to 24-year-old apprentices as well as a marked improvement in the quality of training.”

He added: “Changes in the funding of adult apprenticeships did affect the number of starts between August 2013 and February 2014.

“We have since addressed this and look forward to numbers bouncing back.”

David Hughes, chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, warned the “significant impact” of loans on apprenticeships could “have serious implications for the economy”.

He added the organisation had “concerns” that loans had also affected the uptake of other level three and four courses.

Meanwhile, the number of traineeship starts in the programme’s first year was provisionally put at 10,500.

Mr Boles said the figures were “excellent” and showed traineeships were off to “a strong start”.

Pictured: Nick Boles

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Editor’s comment

On the level

It wasn’t too long ago that FE Week seemed the lone voice drawing public attention to falling numbers of 16 to 18 apprenticeships starts while overall figures rocketed.

Thankfully, that teenage trend appears to have been in arrest since the third quarter of last academic year.
Unfortunately, we are now witnessing falling numbers overall — due to a decline in 19+ starts and, in the main, the 25+ age group.
But what is interesting here, and what the Skills Minister’s apprentice FE loans excuse does not take into account, is that these falls were not limited to levels three and above (those to which FE loans applied).

The failed FE loans experiment most certainly affected 25+ apprentice numbers at these levels — but why also the fall in level two?
These intermediate apprenticeship starts for the 19+ age group fell provisionally by 3 per cent to 200,200 last academic year. It was a 5 per cent fall for 25+ to 104,200.

Could the reason be that there were incorrect assumptions that 24-plus FE loans also applied to level two apprenticeships?
With the quality of advice and guidance again the source of criticism this week (see page seven), it’s a conclusion we might just have to consider while thinking seriously about the wisdom of further funding reforms for apprenticeships.

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5 Comments

  1. Peter Marples

    Surely people must realize a number of things in this data:
    – firstly a number of large businesses have walked away from adult apps including morrisons and BT etc because it is not worth the hassle and the funding has plummeted. the Morrisons numbers alone make a huge dent in the drop
    – secondly, providers now realize you cannot deliver quality Apps to this age group at the funding delivered by the Government, either on a break even or profitable basis
    – thirdly – functional skills for adults is a nightmare and failure to complete through employers not supporting time off the job (read the inspection reports !) mean falling achievement rates and the impact on your own ofsted grade
    – finally, whilst employers are expected to top up the 50% for co-funding, very little of the big ones will make any form of contribution at all and once the technical aspects of the training is over and done, they don’t want to support (again read inspection reports)

    Put simply, a reasoned provider would not go anywhere near 25+ apps if they want to run a profitable and successful business

    Any the Apps reforms will do nothing to address the above issues. It seems the new minister is beginning to see the issues with the proposals presented

  2. Ben john

    Total Apprenticeship numbers have been falling since the peak of 2011.
    There were 510,000 starts in 2011/12
    There were 499,000 starts in 2012/13
    And a provisional 432,000 in 2013/14

    Yes loans for Apprentices were a disaster and yes the move from Frameworks to standards is causing confusion and uncertainty (no new standard starts yet?,,,,) but the main reason is that the FE budget has been reduced and Apprenticeships are part of FE – regardless of what we might think

    Ben

  3. The change from funding to FE loans and then back to funding will have dramatically impacted 24+ Apprenticeships. It takes time to rebuild market demand so I am not surprised that this age group has taken such a tumble. The good news is that 16-18 Apprenticeships are increasing given that we haven’t been long out of a recession which disproportionately hit young people. As we seek to rebuild confidence and numbers it would be unwise to hit employers with a potentially confusing and time consuming change in funding mechanism. Steady as she goes I say – keep change to a minimum.

  4. Andrew Roberts

    Isn’t it amazing, whilst they are talking about ‘take up’ figures falling, here in West Yorkshire, (Kirklees and Calderdale area), we have had more vacancies than we could fill.
    I believe this is due to the ‘poor’ perception of apprenticeships, by parents, schools and careers advisors.

  5. I really don’t understand FE Week. For years you successfully campaigned against abuses of the apprenticeship system when sub standard assessment programmes were called apprenticeships, training providers got rich and the taxpayer got swindled.

    Morrisons was the best example but there were countless others. Last year I told how I’d seen a private provider deliver hundreds of “Customer Service Apprenticeships” to existing staff who had been doing their jobs for years and would continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Their status clearly breached the NAS Apprenticeship Standards of May 2012 (people must be in a new job learning new skills)yet the provider had sailed through their SFA audit.

    If rebadging Train to Gain programmes as apprenticeships is to be stamped out then the number of post 19, and especially post 25, apprenticeships will inevitably fall. And the higher the fall, the better this abuse is being tackled. So you’d have thought that FE Week would be both understanding and celebrating this. But instead you appear mystified and think it’s to do with FE Loans and funding reform – issues you now clearly see as more important than the wholesale abuse of the apprenticeship system