The controversial payment model for the government’s flagship apprenticeship units may change for some of the short courses after providers warned that the structure could destabilise delivery. Speaking at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ national conference today, DWP work-based skills director Kate Ridley-Pepper revealed officials are already exploring alternatives to the 30/70 payment split for larger apprenticeship units. It comes months after FE Week reported provider concerns that the apprenticeship unit funding model is stacked against them and was putting off some providers from getting involved. Under the current arrangements, providers receive 30 per cent of funding at the start of delivery and the remaining 70 per cent on completion. It means a provider that delivers 90 per cent of planned hours when a learner drops out risks receiving just 30 per cent of the funding. Ridley-Pepper said early feedback from providers had highlighted problems with the model for longer units. “As promised, we are committed to undertaking a period of test and learn to make sure that those apprenticeship units give employers what they need and that the design works for providers. That work is underway and will be completed in the next few weeks,” she said. “Early learning has already told us one important thing that we were looking into, which is linked to the payment model.” The government had expected “high levels of retention and achievement” and therefore wanted “a payment model that gets the money to providers in a sensible way with as little admin burden as possible, because obviously additional milestones mean extra audit”. Feedback from providers suggested the model was working for shorter units but not longer units, she added. “Feedback is telling us that this 30/70 payment model has worked well once a program is up and running, however, it’s not perfect. “It works for smaller units of up to 60 to 70 hours, where funding is likely to be drawn down over one or two paper cycles, but it won’t work as well for larger units, such as the modular building, which has got 140 hours of content.” Ridley-Pepper signalled that changes are actively being considered. “So we’re already exploring options to make some changes for those larger units, and we’ll keep you posted with progress on those.” Ministers to receive proposals before summer ends Asked when the sector could expect a decision on potential changes, Ridley-Pepper suggested recommendations would reach ministers within weeks. “It’s very sort of live information. We’ll be giving that to ministers before they finish for the summer, so hopefully that will be relatively soon.” She declined to speculate on what a revised payment profile might look like, indicating providers would play a key role in shaping any changes. “I think we’ll wait and see what providers recommend, really”, she said, adding that the more payment moments there are, the more audit there is and therefore more paperwork and bureaucracy. Positive early feedback and more to come The government launched the first ten apprenticeship units at the end of April as part of its drive to offer employers more flexible training options alongside full apprenticeships. This is the first time that non-apprenticeship training can be funded through the levy. Ridley-Pepper told delegates the units in artificial intelligence and mechanical fitting had generated encouraging responses from providers. “The first of these in key industrial strategy priority areas are now well underway, and early feedback from the providers who delivered the first cohorts in AI and in mechanical fitting has been incredibly positive.” Ridley-Pepper also confirmed that more apprenticeship units will be coming, but stopped short of saying what sectors they would be in or when this would happen, as this is a job for Skills England.