The government has announced the second wave of apprenticeship frameworks that will be closed to new starts, with of total of 60 facing termination in December.
The announcement was made by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) on the gov.uk website today, indicating that frameworks will be shut down towards the end of the year.
It said: “We have now published a second batch of 60 apprenticeship frameworks that we will withdraw for new starts from December 1, 2016.
“These frameworks had a low number of reported starts in the 2014 to 2015 and the 2015 to 2016 funding years or have provision covered by developing apprenticeship standards.”
The number of apprenticeship frameworks to be removed has jumped considerably from the first batch of just seven scheduled to be switched off in June.
The second group to be removed includes subjects such as banking, ceramics manufacturing, fundraising and public relations (find a full list below).
The SFA release included a comment that confirmed the change “will not affect those apprentices currently completing their apprenticeship on these frameworks”.
On March 2, FE Week reported that the government had announced the first seven apprenticeship frameworks to be closed to new starts from June 1, 2016.
This included frameworks in blacksmithing, engineering and manufacturing technologies, campaigning business administration and law, energy assessment and advice, retail and commercial enterprise.
The closures were again attributed to a lack of starts in these areas between 2014 and 2016.
In December last year, FE Week reported that the government had scrapped plans to stop funding all apprenticeship frameworks after 2017/18.
The cut-off, that would ensure providers were only delivering new apprenticeship standards come 2018/19, was first announced in October 2013.
But it was revealed in the government’s 2020 vision document, published on December 7, that the 2017/18 end of frameworks has now been dropped.
According to the document, the government’s “aim was for all new apprenticeship starts to be on standards from 2017/18” instead of existing apprenticeship frameworks.
However, it added: “We think the recent announcement of the apprenticeship levy warrants giving employers longer to consider which occupations they will require apprenticeships for.
“To allow for this, we envisage a migration from apprenticeship frameworks to standards over the course of the Parliament, with as much of this to take place by 2017/18 as possible.”
Here’s the full list published today:
Framework Code Franmewok Name
627 Advanced Diagnostics and Management Principles
586 Advertising and Marketing Communications
598 Animal Technology
639 Automotive Clay Modelling
590 Banking
452 Bookkeeping
610 Broadcast Production
554 Building Energy Management Systems
581 Business Innovation and Growth
469 Ceramics Manufacturing
546 Combined Manufacturing Processes
415 Commercial Moving
619 Contact Centre Operations Management
493 Costume and Wardrobe
621 Craft and Technical Roles in Film and Television
624 Creative Craft Practitioner
614 Criminal Investigation
409 Emergency Fire Service Operations
564 Engineering Construction
604 Engineering Environmental Technologies
552 Enterprise
607 Explosives Storage and Maintenance
577 Express Logistics
553 Extractives and Mineral Processing Occupations
585 Fashion and Textiles:Technical
530 Fencing
568 Fish Husbandry and Fish Management
557 Fundraising
635 Furniture, Furnishings and Interiors Manufacturing
567 Health Informatics
470 Health Pathology Support
611 Information Security
589 Insurance
603 Intelligence Analysis
622 Interactive Design and Development
629 Jewellery Manufacturing, Silversmithing and Allied Trades
592 Learning Support
601 Legal Advice
450 Libraries, Archives, Records and Information Management Services
549 Local Taxation and Benefits
571 Locksmithing
411 Mail and Package Distribution
597 Metal Processing and Allied Operations
593 Mineral Products Technology
606 Multi-skilled Vehicle Collision Repair
496 Music Business
426 Nuclear Working
451 Payroll
424 Polymer Processing Operations
638 Procurement
503 Production of Coatings
615 Professional Aviation Pilot Practice
572 Public Relations
623 Rail Engineering Overhead Line Construction
608 Retail Management
609 Sound Recording, Engineering and Studio Facilities
510 Spa Therapy
618 Sustainable Resource Operations and Management
558 Volunteer Management
576 Wood and Timber Processing and Merchants Industry
Dear FE Week,
What is a Franmewok? sounds like something from Star Wars