Management is now the third most popular apprenticeship subject, and analysis by FE Week suggests it will rocket to the top spot once the apprenticeship levy kicks in next year.

A huge 83 per cent of all 25+ higher apprenticeship frameworks are currently in management, according to the latest Department for Education data.

And the number of starts for 25+ higher management apprenticeships in the nine months between August 2015 and April 2016 has already exceeded the total for the previous 12 months, with 4,670 compared to 4,660.

This trend is not a new one. The percentage of all apprenticeships in management frameworks has increased rapidly since 2002/03, soaring from around one per cent to over 10 per cent for 2015/16.

The rise has accelerated since 24+ apprenticeships were permitted in 2007/08.

When the apprenticeship levy comes into play next April, close to 20,000 employers will have a levy pot – and for many, the easiest way to make use of this funding will be to place existing employees on management apprenticeships.

 

Apprenticeships and skills minister Robert Halfon has recently singled out the importance of higher and degree apprenticeships as a “ladder” to help employers bring in new talent and to improve social mobility.

But the popularity of management apprenticeships raises a new question: should large sums of government funding, much of it expected to be generated by the forthcoming levy, go on what is effectively upskilling firms’ existing managers.

Mark Dawe, the chief executive of AELP, raised concerns about the trend when FE Week showed him its analysis.

“AELP has been hearing from levy-paying employers for some months that their strategic planning in preparation for the levy includes many more apprenticeships at higher levels, in particular management training,” he said.

“AELP’s concern is the knock-on consequence of not enough levy money being available for non-levy-payers, and those exceeding their levy pot.

AELP’s concern is the knock-on consequence of not enough levy money being available for non-levy-payers, and those exceeding their levy pot

“We have regularly expressed concern about this in our correspondence to ministers, as we believe any restriction on non-levy-payer apprenticeships will have an impact on social justice and productivity.”

In July last year, a new apprenticeship standard for a chartered manager degree was launched, following its development by employers such as Barclays Bank, Sainsbury’s and Virgin Media.

The Open University is just one of the higher education institutions making the most of this new standard.

Its chartered manager degree apprenticeship will cost £22,500 per apprentice, highlighting the opportunity that now for universities – either public or private – to corner this market.

With an upper fee-limit of £9,000 for higher apprenticeships and £27,000 for degree apprenticeships in all sectors, the management standard is set to be a best seller.

According to the CFA Institute, there are 400,000 new managers a year – which would amount to around £3.6bn.

And once the Skills Funding Agency system of allocating funding is removed, there will be no ring-fence for 16-to-18 apprenticeships, meaning that companies could potentially spend their entire levy allowance on training managers aged 25 or more.

Mr Halfon told delegates at this week’s Conservative Party Conference that once the apprenticeship levy is in operation, employers might try to “game the system”, by rebranding existing training in order to claw back as much of their levy contribution as possible.

He said: “I’m not going to deny to you, inevitably there may be some gaming of
the system.

“But I don’t actually believe it will be widespread. If gaming is widespread … then of course we would look at it later on and make sure we stop it as much as possible.”

FE Week took a look at some of the universities that have jumped at the chance to offer management degree apprenticeships (below).

The hunt is on for the first permanent chair of the Institute for Apprenticeships, while potential candidates have been served notice that they should be prepared to adapt to changing ministerial whims.

An online notice posted by the Cabinet Office confirms that the role will involve two days a week work, and pay £56,000 a year, with interviews set to be carried out in November.

It stressed that the chair will be expected to provide strategic leadership and direction on the role and the scope of the IfA, which will have an estimated annual budget of £8m until 2020, before it becomes fully operational next April.

Applicants were also warned that the new leader of the body, which will police apprenticeships, will have to think quickly on their feet.

“The operation of the Institute will need to be flexible enough to accommodate potential future asks from ministers, while retaining focus on existing functions,” the advert said.

“This is a relationship with which the board is likely to be unfamiliar and successful handling of it will be key to the organisation’s success.”

Successful handling of it will be key to the organisation’s success

Appointments are expected to last up to five years, with the possibility of reappointment.

It is understood that the selection panel will be made up of Sir Peter Spencer, a public appointments assessor, Juliet Chua, the director-general of the DfE’s Education

Standards Directorate, and a still-to-be-confirmed third ‘independent’ member.

Any final decision will, however, lie with the education secretary Justine Greening.

According to the advert, the IfA will act as “the ultimate decision-maker on approving apprenticeship standards and assessment plans”, and will have the power to determine maximum funding levels. It also warned that it’s likely the Institute “will be charged with other tasks over time”.

“In particular, Lord Sainsbury published in April 2016 an independent report on technical education and we expect an expanded IfA to be well placed to take forward its recommendations and wider reform to technical education,” it said.

The peer’s recommendations formed the basis of a new skills plan, which will see 20,000 post-16 vocational courses replaced by 15 so-called ‘pathfinder’ routes – covering college-based and employment-based training.

The new chair will work with the current shadow chief executive Peter Lauener “on designing the processes and structure of the institute” a task which will include “the location of the organisation, level and allocation of resource, use of digital technology and mode of operation”.

The government advertised for eight board members, with a salary of up to £15,000 available for each position

The DfE announced last week that Mr Lauener had been installed as the IfA’s shadow chief executive.

He’s doing the job role alongside his existing responsibilities as head of the Skills Funding Agency and the Education Funding Agency.

His appointment came four months after the previous shadow chief executive, Rachel Sandby-Thomas, announced she would be leaving after just two months in the job.

The former Barclays chief executive Anthony Jenkins was also announced as the shadow chair in June, while Nicola Bolton, the former managing director for trade at UK Trade and Investment, was named shadow chief operating officer.

At the time, a government spokesperson said that the remaining board members would be appointed by the end of 2016.

The government advertised for eight board members, with a salary of up to £15,000 available for each position.

The closing date for applications was set for July 20, with interviews scheduled for September.

FE Week understands that the DfE received over 300 applications for the posts, but no announcement has been made appointments.

Industry insiders fear that new apprenticeship college training groups could unfairly distort the market and divert government cash away from frontline education services.

Groups of colleges banding together to set up bodies to help broker joint deals with local employers to encourage them to take on apprentices, prompted Mark Dawe (pictured), the boss of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, to call for more “fairness in the system”.

One such body, the London Apprenticeship Training Group, a collaboration between Barnet and Southgate College, the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London, Hertford Regional College, and Waltham Forest College, was officially launched on Friday (September 30).

It’s a semi-independent shared brokerage service designed to persuade north London firms to take on apprentices from member colleges – but each college will also continue to deliver its own separate Skills Funding Agency contracts.

FE Week understands a number of other colleges have submitted area review transition grant applications in an effort to launch similar apprenticeship brokerage companies.

But Mr Dawe has raised concern about public cash being spent on these college groups.

Where there is additional government money, it should not used to distort an already competitive landscape

He said: “Our only concern is that there is transparency and fairness in the system,” adding “where there is additional government money, it should not used to distort an already competitive landscape between providers.

“Such funding should be made available to all government funded providers, not just a small subset.”

The LATG promises to “identify the right training provider, the right course and the right candidate”, effectively acting as a broker between the employer and the Digital Apprenticeship Service, which will be fully operational by April 2017.

Andy Forbes, principal of the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London, argued that partnerships like LATG were beneficial.

“Colleges working together will be able to offer an even bigger range of options while at the same time making things much simpler for employers and young people looking for apprenticeships,” he said.

The topic of brokerage last came under scrutiny six months ago, when an FE Week investigation found huge sums of public cash meant for frontline learning was being hived off to brokers.

Brokers typically charge subcontractors up to five per cent commission for matching them to a prime provider.

At the time, a government spokesperson said: “The SFA is reviewing to strengthen their funding agreements to limit the use of brokers.”

In September, FE Week followed up on this comment, but the SFA denied that a formal review of brokers was being carried out.

He said: “We are proposing to stop brokerage organisations being able to apply to the Register [of Apprenticeship Training Providers] and focusing on measures to ensure public funds cannot be used for the costs of intermediaries.”

FE Week approached the SFA to provide a list of institutions to have received funding so far, but it refused to name names.

“We are currently progressing applications for funds from the restructuring facility and the transition grant,” said a spokesperson.

“We intend to publish a full list of allocations after the programme completes.”