Frustration at Skills England’s apprenticeship review slowdown

Just 270 reformed apprenticeship assessment plans (AAPs) have been published, falling well short of Skills England’s August 2026 deadline to review all 700-plus apprenticeship standards.

The government agency admitted it had “adapted the pace of change” after spending the past year pushing the sector to meet what officials acknowledged was an ambitious timetable.

Employers and awarding organisations are understood to be frustrated by a lack of communication from Skills England about the slowdown.

FE Week also understands that Skills England paused full reviews of individual apprenticeships, other than in exceptional cases where there was an urgent need to complete work, address a ministerial priority or respond to priority local needs.

It comes amid a wider review of occupational standards through Skills England’s recently launched “skills for work” programme, raising concerns that apprenticeships awaiting updates to their funding bands and knowledge and skills requirements have been left in limbo.

Finish the job

Reform began last year to replace the end-point assessment model in apprenticeships with new assessment plans that introduce sampling of knowledge and skills, strengthen the role of mandatory qualifications in some standards, and remove the independent assessment of behaviours.

Carmel Grant, Skills England’s deputy director of reform and development, told the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) conference in November that “August is the date by which we’ve been asked to review all the apprenticeship plans in delivery”.

She added: “It is ambitious. It is challenging. We will need to evaluate along the way. Some will go smoothly, and some won’t. We recognise that, but that is the timeline.”

But the deadline passed with just 142 AAPs published and a further 350 in development.

By 22 October, the total published had risen to 270.

In response to the figures, a Skills England spokesperson said: “Skills England is committed to delivering assessment reform so the benefits are realised as early as possible – but we are equally committed to taking the time needed to get this right.

“We have listened to stakeholders’ feedback and adapted the pace of change where appropriate.”

They added that work is progressing on AAPs, and stakeholders would be updated at the “appropriate time”.

Terry Fennell, chief executive of awarding body Food and Drink Qualifications (FDQ), said there had been a “clear sense of collective urgency” around the approvals process, but that progress had “slowed significantly” since August.

He revealed that communication from Skills England, which had been “so proactive earlier in the year”, had “virtually ceased”.

“This is creating uncertainty for FDQ that, like all awarding organisations, are trying to redesign standards and support employers and providers during the transition to apprenticeship assessment 2.0,” he added.

Daniel Green, policy director at FAB, described the original timetable as “ambitious” and called for clearer communication from Skills England, while urging the agency to finish the reviews rather than “leaving the work half-done”.

He told FE Week: “If the pace of progress has eased to allow Skills England to get implementation right, that is a sensible course of action, but this needs to be communicated clearly by Skills England to those involved in delivering the change.

“It’s also important to note that no new apprenticeship assessment has yet been delivered; the challenge now is not designing reform, but delivering it successfully.

“Skills England and other actors must remain firmly on ensuring the changes are landed for the benefit of apprentices and employers rather than leaving the work half-done.  We must avoid the all-too-common temptation to move on before the job is done.”

Employer confidence is critical

The government’s reforms triggered a backlash last year from construction and built environment organisations, which warned that assessment changes risked “dumbing down” apprenticeships and letting unqualified learners pass.

In July, Skills England announced it had agreed to a sector-specific, risk-based approach designed to protect competence in safety-critical jobs following strong employer opposition.

The new methodology uses “risk profiling” to tailor assessment requirements according to the level of occupational risk rather than applying a single model across all construction standards. This approach was extended to all sectors.

Sam Callear, CEO of GTA England, a network of not-for-profit training organisations, said the August deadline “always felt very challenging” and that “maybe government had originally underestimated the extent of employer feeling” and their level of engagement in the reformed AAPs.

He told FE Week: “Thousands of employers have invested many hours in developing occupational standards and assessment plans and, rightly, want any future changes to reflect their requirements.

“Credible employers of apprentices and quality providers do not want the system undermined by the introduction of assessment regimes which do not give an employer confidence in someone’s practical, not just theoretical, ability to be competent and safe in the workplace.”

He added that employers in areas like engineering and manufacturing would value a slowdown in reviews if it meant a “greater level of upfront consideration of the relative risk associated with any given occupation and the creation of an adequate assessment approach to reflect that risk”.

Set your priorities straight

Skills England launched its “skills for work” programme last month, led by the agency’s board chair Phil Smith, to consider how occupational standards and the training they underpin can “better support growth, employers, places and young people”.

A blog announcing the programme said it “isn’t about individual standards – it’s about making sure the system is fit for the future”.

This work has paused revisions of most apprenticeships except for their assessment plan.

Sector leaders argue the work on occupational standards is ill-timed, does not need a root-and-branch review, and should have been conducted before assessment reform began. The priority right now should instead be on completing reviews of individual apprenticeships.

Ruth Evans, chief executive of the Brewing, Food & Beverage Industry Suppliers’ Association (BFBi), said the level 3 drinks dispense technician apprenticeship was among those left in limbo.

The standard has “not been fully reviewed since its introduction in 2019, despite significant changes in technology, working practices and industry requirements”, she told FE Week, and is also “woefully underfunded” with a funding band of £8,000.

Evans added: “It is deeply disappointing that a government which consistently talks about the importance of upskilling school leavers and young people is seemingly unwilling to invest in the specialist skills required by industries such as drinks dispense.

“We can only assume that decisions are being driven by a numbers game, prioritising apprenticeships with high volumes of starts rather than taking a holistic approach to developing the skilled workforce this country needs.”

In June, skills minister Jacqui Smith ordered a review of apprenticeship funding bands and told Skills England to identify which standards have strong take-up from young people and therefore should be first in line for “potential funding uplifts”.

Smith asked for advice on potential funding rate changes by October. No decisions or advice have yet been made public.