Rule change could price assessors out of running apprenticeship exams

It might not be financially viable for awarding bodies to run end-point assessment exams, after it emerged that they will be forced to base their costs on deals negotiated with employers without their say-so.

New rules coming into force in May will set the cost of final apprenticeship exams at a fifth of the overall training costs agreed between an employer and a training provider – moving away from previous guidelines which set the charge at no more than 20 per cent of the funding-band maximum for that standard.

Assessors fear that this means they will lose money if employers drive hard bargains on deals with providers.

A draft copy of the handbook for apprentice assessment organisations, seen by FE Week, makes it clear that the change is designed to drive down overall costs.

It says: “The published rules confirm that the 20 per cent is of the total agreed price, not 20 per cent of the funding-band maximum.

“We agreed this because if the agreed price is less than the funding-band maximum, it ensures that the assessment costs are proportionately lower as well.”

Awarding organisations can only provide their services for a fair price

Stephen Wright, the chief executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, issued a stark warning about the impact of the new rule.

“Like every other organisation, awarding organisations can only provide their services for a fair price,” he said.

“If the percentage of the price between the trainer and the employer is too low to deliver a valid assessment, then awarding organisations will simply not offer end-point assessments, which will undermine the whole system.”

Graham Hasting-Evans, the managing director of NOCN, a major awarding body, said that awarding organisations need control of the exam charges, to make sure they cover their costs and are able to make some profit.

He stressed that apprenticeship exam costs “are driven by the employer group’s specification for testing as set out in the assessment plan, and have nothing at all to do with the training costs”.

Details of what should be included in an apprentice’s final exam are set out by the employer groups developing a standard, and are outlined in the assessment plan.

Exam costs… have nothing to do with the training costs

Some of these can be highly detailed, and therefore have high costs attached to them. For example, the gas network team leader assessment plan estimates the final exam to cost £3,808.

But the standard has a funding-band maximum of £9,000 and the agreed price may be lower than that.

As the assessment costs are not related to the cost of training, the cost of delivering these exams to the specification set out in the assessment plan is unlikely to change regardless of the negotiated price for the apprenticeship.

Mr Hasting-Evans said that one way the government could reduce the cost of apprenticeship exams was to “review all the specifications with a view to improving efficiency and reducing costs”.

FE Week understands that a number of assessment organisations are reporting difficulties in recruiting assessors at payment rates that would allow them to break even.

The government has already started struggling to persuade organisations to sign up to deliver apprenticeship final exams.

By the end of January just over half – 81 out of 159 – standards approved for delivery had at least one assessment organisation in place.

But the proportion of learners on standards without an approved assessment organisation has been dropping rapidly, from 42 per cent in July to 18 per cent in October.

The Department for Education declined to comment either on the rule change or on the concerns raised by Mr Hasting-Evans and Mr Wright.

Colleges welcome new apprenticeship subcontracting rules

Colleges are using the new subcontracting rules to regain some of the ground lost to independent training providers accused of nicking their lunch, FE Week can reveal.

Just a third of apprenticeship funding is currently allocated to colleges – and a significant proportion of that is actually delivered by independent training providers acting as subcontractors.

The problem has become so severe that the former skills minister Nick Boles warned colleges in 2015 that they should not let ITPs “nick your lunch” over apprenticeships.

But new rules coming into force in May mean that lead providers will soon need to “directly deliver” at least some of the training or assessment of each apprenticeship programme – and the government stresses that this must “not be a token amount”.

The change is being seen as “an enormous opportunity to expand apprenticeship provision”, according to Andrew Martin, the deputy principal of West Nottinghamshire College, which has the largest apprenticeship allocation from the Skills Funding Agency of any college.

Why on earth are you letting these guys [ITPs] nick your lunch?

The college subcontracted 82.4 per cent of its apprenticeship provision in 2015/16, which earned it £3.2 million in topslicing fees from provision worth £15.5 million.

However, he added that “new delivery models are already emerging” which “will still require a sub-contracting relationship”.

The rules state that “the volume of training and/or on-programme assessment that you directly deliver for each employer must have some substance and must not be a token amount to satisfy this rule.”

All subcontracting arrangements must now be agreed with the employer before the start of an apprenticeship programme.

As previously reported by FE Week, the proportion of all apprenticeship funding allocated to colleges dropped from 37 per cent in 2015/16 to 32 per cent in 2016/17 – despite Mr Boles’ challenge for colleges to double their share of apprenticeships.

Speaking at the Association of Colleges annual conference in November 2015, he urged colleges to move from delivering one third of all apprenticeships to two thirds.

“As your friend, I have to ask you this, why on earth are you letting these guys [ITPs] nick your lunch?” he asked.

A Freedom of Information request published by the AELP in June 2016 revealed the scale of apprenticeship subcontracting by colleges.

The FOI, based on SFA data, showed that 40 per cent (62,240 out of 157,290) of all apprenticeship starts contracted through FE colleges in 2014/15 were actually delivered by ITPs as subcontractors.

All lead providers are required to publish a list of subcontractors, the value of any subcontract, and the management fees retained they have retained.

A top-slice fee of around 15 to 20 per cent of the contract value is typical for many lead providers – income that is now at risk due to the new rules.

But Teresa Frith, senior skills policy manager at the AoC, said the new rule would not stop colleges from subcontracting.

“What it will do is stop those main and subcontractors who see apprenticeships as an income stream, with little serious thought given to providing quality education and training,” she said.

The needs of the apprentice and the employer must be the priority for both the provider and the subcontractor

“The needs of the apprentice and the employer must be the priority for both the provider and the subcontractor.”

Eastleigh College principal Jan Edrich said she “welcomes the opportunity to deliver some provision directly to apprentices”.

The college subcontracted 80 per cent of its apprenticeship provision in 2015/16.

A spokesperson for Hull College, another major subcontractor, said it was also looking to continue to farm out part of its provision.

The college is “working closely with partners to ensure any future delivery within a partnership model meets the criteria clearly set out by the SFA”, according to its spokesperson.

And a representative for Central College Nottingham said it had “developed a five-year plan going forward to reduce our subcontracting activity and work with partners in other ways”.

FE Week has repeatedly reported on the issue of subcontracting – and the large management fees charged by lead providers – since our first edition in 2011.

One of the worst offenders is Sheffield-based provider Learndirect, which retained almost £20 million in management fees from its 64 subcontractors in 2015/16 – amounting to 36 per cent of its £55.3 million SFA funding.

A Learndirect spokesperson said: “We expect our engagement with subcontractors to reduce as our primary approach is to directly deliver apprenticeship services to these employers.”

 

West Nottinghamshire College: New delivery models

The impact of the new subcontracting rule is likely to be felt most keenly at West Nottinghamshire College.

It has the largest apprenticeship allocation from the SFA of any college – but the majority of its provision is delivered by subcontractors.

According to figures published on its website, the college subcontracted provision worth more than £15 million in 2015/16 – representing 82.4 per cent of its apprenticeship provision.

These deals earned the college £3.2 million in management fees.

Andrew Martin, its deputy principal, acknowledged that the new rules would “reduce the value of subcontracted provision over the course of the 2017/18 year and beyond, as many high-quality training providers who previously subcontracted choose to work directly with employers”.

He pointed out that “new delivery models are already emerging”, and that these would “still require a subcontracting relationship” with “training providers and colleges working in partnership to best meet employers needs for quality apprenticeship delivery”.

He added: “We see the reforms as an enormous opportunity to expand apprenticeship provision through West Nottinghamshire College to improve workforce skills, whether this is through traditional direct delivery or by working together with our outstanding range of training-provider partners.”

 

Eastleigh College: Welcoming the opportunity

Eastleigh College has the second largest adult apprenticeship allocation of any college – but also subcontracts the majority of this provision.

It has an adult apprenticeships allocation of £11.5 million and a 16-to-18 apprenticeships and traineeships allocation of £1.8 million for 2016/17.

Eastleigh’s published subcontracting fees for 2015/16 show that it subcontracted provision worth £15 million, retaining management fees of £3.4 million – although it’s not clear how much of this was for apprenticeships.

A spokesperson told FE Week that 80 per cent of its apprenticeship provision for that year was delivered by subcontractors.

Its principal Jan Edrich said the college “welcomes the opportunity to deliver some provision directly to apprentices within its subcontracting arrangements”.

She indicated that the college still saw subcontracting as part of its apprenticeships programme.

“The college has had a strong partnership relationship with its subcontractors for many, many years and sees the new requirement as a further way of enhancing the way it works with them,” she said.

“The apprenticeship programmes being developed to meet the new requirement bring together the strengths of each partner for the benefit of the learner.”

 

Learndirect: Engagement with subcontractors to fall

Learndirect – which keeps hitting FE Week headlines due to its soaring top-slicing fees – has said it will deliver more apprenticeships itself.

Latest figures published in November showed it retained almost £20 million (around 36 per cent) in subcontracting management fees from total funding worth £55 million.

The provider has now said it expects “our engagement with subcontractors to reduce as our primary approach is to directly deliver apprenticeship services to these employers, but recognise that should the partnership require it we will explore other delivery options, which could include an element of subcontracting”.

 

FE Week launches #SaveOurAdultEducation campaign

FE Week is calling on the government to make three key policy changes to #SaveOurAdultEducation as part of a massive new campaign.

First of all, we want to introduce FE maintenance grant loans for adult learners, which would make retraining possible for many more older people, by helping cover their living costs while studying, something that is already available to mature students in higher education.

The government has currently left the sector in limbo on the issue.

FE Week revealed before Christmas that the Department for Education had indefinitely delayed a decision on whether to extend maintenance loans to FE.

Shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden, who will be speaking at the campaign’s parliamentary launch on February 27, alongside the minister himself Robert Halfon, said that extending maintenance loans would be a major step “towards achieving parity of esteem and treatment for adult FE learners”.

The campaign also wants the government to consult on a proper adult education strategy, one that does not disappear under the political weight of apprenticeships and devolution.

We need a lifelong adult education strategy

Another speaker at Monday’s launch, Sue Pember, who is a former top skills civil servant and now leads local authority community learning membership body HOLEX, said: “This is a very timely campaign that should be supported by all who care about adult education. We need a lifelong adult education strategy.”

The third and final demand is to write off advanced learning loans debt, which leaves blameless adult learners unable to complete their course if their training provider goes bust.

This problem is particularly timely, after FE Week last month revealed that the Skills Funding Agency was investigating the demise of John Frank Training.

The provider went into liquidation on November 30, leaving no assets, despite recording a profit of £1.3 million in the first half of 2016.

The collapse meant that hundreds of students who had taken out FE loans to train with the London-based provider were left with hefty debts but no course.

One of these, Asim Shaheen, 49, who was unable to complete a level three hospitality and catering course which he had funded with a loan for over £8,000, told FE Week: “It’s all wrong. My loan should be squashed, if I haven’t got any qualifications to show for it. I’ve been left completely in the lurch.”

It’s more important than ever that this issue of adult training is grasped

David Lammy, an MP who was minister for skills in 2007 and 2008, and who has recently called for a return to widespread “night schools”, has thrown his weight behind #SaveOurAdultEducation.

According to government figures, there are around 1.5 million fewer adults aged 19 or over participating in FE, than there were during Mr Lammy’s stint as minister, when the figure stood at 3.75 million.

“It’s more important than ever that this issue of adult training is grasped,” he told FE Week. Reflecting on the loans issue, he added: “We have got to find a way to give adults the funds to train and retrain throughout their working lives – to a large extent at night schools – both through subsidies and loans where needed.”

Mr Halfon has committed to boosting retraining opportunities for people already in work, in a written response to a letter signed by 60 MPs that backed growing calls to widen the focus of FE policy away from apprenticeships and younger learners.

The letter, sent in mid-January, whose signatories included shadow education secretary Angela Rayner and Mr Lammy, warned that a rethink on retraining for older people was needed to bridge a “gaping skills gap”.

Mr Halfon said in response: “I fully recognise the points your letter makes about the need to address those skills shortages, creating new opportunities in particular for those people who are already in the workforce.

“That is a key theme of our developing industrial strategy.”

The industrial strategy released on January 23 acknowledged a “growing challenge” with training for older people, and committed to exploring “ambitious new approaches to encouraging lifelong learning”.

BREAKING: London area review reports and recommendations published

This afternoon the Department for Education published the reports and recommendations for the four London reviews in the area reviews process.

London was split into four sub-reviews, two of which were originally part of wave two, but were put back to coordinate with the other two reviews in wave three.

Download links below:

West London FE area review report – wave 2

Central London FE area review report – wave 2

East and South East London FE area review report – wave 3

South London FE area review report – wave 3

It comes after the government published 13 wave one and two area review reports and recommendations in November, and five wave three reports and recommendations last month as reported first by FE Week.

Wave four of the reviews began in September, while wave five kicked off in November. The whole process is due to have completed by the end of March.

More to follow.

Ideal Home Show hires student designers for the first time in its history

For the first time in its history, the Ideal Home Show will have students designing the interiors of its display homes. Samantha King reports

The Ideal Home Show is a key date in the calendar for homeowners looking to spice up their living space, or find out about the latest trends and innovations in the interior design world. 

Attracting around 280,000 people every year, the show has hosted many of the UK’s best designers, but this year, the display homes – the focal points of the show – will be designed by students from Chichester college.

Judges peruse the student’s wallpaper choices

A team of art and design students from the West Sussex college will become interior designers, planning how to decorate the two fully-built houses and the three-storey apartment building that will feature in this year’s showcase. The same job has previously been done by the likes of architect George Clarke and the established interior designer Linda Barker.

The apartment building will house three separate flats, which the students will design to reflect the stories of their residents – from a young family to an older couple who are downsizing in retirement.

Julie Kapsalis, vice-principal at Chichester College, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to showcase their tremendous talents on a huge stage, where hundreds of thousands of people will see what they can do.

“It is a huge challenge – like nothing we’ve done before – but I know we will all be blown away by what our students will be presenting when the show opens in March.”

Hundreds of thousands of people will see what they can do

This year’s show already has a confirmed line-up of celebrity guests, including inspirational speaker Katie Piper, interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and financial journalist Martin Lewis. 

The show was originally founded by the Daily Mail in 1908 as a publicity tool for the newspaper, before being taken over in 2008 by events and publishing company Media 10, which publishes a range of home design titles, including Grand Designs and Good Homes magazine.

Isobel McKenzie-Price, the former editor of Ideal Home Magazine who is now the creative content editor at Media 10, said: “The Ideal Home Show has always showcased the latest ideas and trends in homes, so we’re thrilled to be working with the next generation of British interior design talent.

“The Chichester students have approached this project from a contemporary design perspective, bringing in fresh ideas and innovative ways to use space creatively that challenge traditional thinking. 

Students await feedback on their designs

“They’ll get to bring their ideas to life in real spaces for the Ideal Home visitors to experience for themselves.

The students have begun designing their concepts for the homes, which were presented to the organisers of the show – Barclays and Media 10 – in January, with the final designs due to be selected this month.

The show opens on Friday 24 March and will run until Sunday 9 April at Olympia, London.

 

Main photo: Judges look over student designs

Aspiring officer accepted to Sandhurst military academy

A Darlington College student has become the first in its history to secure a place at Sandhurst, the prestigious Royal Military Academy.

Seventeen-year-old Chloe Dent, who studies level three uniformed public services at the County Durham-based college, secured an unconditional offer at the world-famous academy after she completes her studies.

Chloe, who wants to be an officer in the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps, will begin her 42-week officer training in March next year and upon completion, will graduate as a second lieutenant.

She said: “I have really enjoyed the course at Darlington College; the tutors are so supportive. They helped me realise that I could get into Sandhurst and I’m thrilled to have made it.”

The future officer was also recently recognised for her efforts on her course at the college’s annual awards ceremony, where she received the ‘student of the year’ accolade.

Her tutor Gary Paxton added: “She thoroughly deserves her success as she is a brilliant student, with a positive attitude and high degree of enthusiasm. 

“I look forward to her completing her training when I will be very happy to salute her on her achievement.”

 

Main photo: Chloe with her tutor Gary 

Campus travel agency makes arrangements for global opera star

Travel and tourism students at a Derbyshire college travel agency are helping an international opera star tour the globe.

Chesterfield College’s on-site travel agency Explore first helped local opera singer Carly Paoli make arrangements for a tour three years ago, and have been approached again to help the now-global star tour with her band of musicians.

The mezzo-soprano singer from Mansfield has performed with the likes of Italian megastar Andrea Bocelli, and even shared a stage with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler. 

Carly Paoli

Travel and tourism students have been working alongside managers at the agency to organise the travel plans, gaining experience in dealing with tailor-made travel arrangements.

Carly’s mum, Tina Hopkinson, who is an ex-travel agent herself, said: “My requests aren’t always straightforward and finding a travel agency that understands the demands is really important. It feels good to know we are helping the next generation of travel experts get some experience, too.”

Carolyn Paisley, travel manager at Explore, said: “Working with clients who have more unusual and complicated travel requirements gives students a chance to test different skills. 

“It’s also really exciting to know that we are playing a part in helping Carly take her amazing talent to a global audience.”

 

Main photo: Chesterfield college Travel and Tourism students with Carolyn Paisley, Travel Manager at Explore

Students take to the airwaves to debate the future of nursing

Health and social care students from Salford City College recently appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to debate whether nurses should train for free.

The four students, all on studying at level three, Olivia, Godwin, Hussain and Eunice, visited the BBC’s Quay House at MediaCityUK for the broadcast, and were joined by Janet Davies, the chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing.

BBC presenters Sam Walker and Jason Mohammad asked the students why they wanted to pursue a nursing career, and whether the abolishment of bursaries would affect their decision.

While the students were somewhat unsure how the changes would affect them, fellow guest Steve West from Universities UK assured them there was still support
funding available for nursing degrees,
telling them “don’t lose that passion and let your dreams fly away because you think you can’t afford it.”

The debate followed reports appearing across the national press that there had been a 23 per cent drop in applications to university nursing courses.

Olivia said: “It was amazing to have the opportunity to go on national radio and have our say about things that affect us. 

“I was really nervous about the show being live but afterwards I felt really confident and it’s good to do things that push you outside your comfort zone.”

 

Main photo: (L-R) Hussain, Olivia, Eunice, Godwin

Movers and Shakers: Edition 200

Your weekly guide to who’s new, and who’s leaving.

Michelle Swithenbank has been appointed deputy chief executive of Hull College Group.

Based in Yorkshire, the college has an enrolment of around 28,000 students, making it one of the largest colleges of its kind.

She will take up the role from her previous position as interim vice principal at the Grimsby Institute Group, where she oversaw multiple faculties.

Beginning her career as a full-time nurse in the NHS and private sector, she moved into further education following an opportunity to work in curriculum development of overseas nursing programmes.

Her first FE role was as a lecturer at Hereford college of technology (now Herefordshire and Ludlow college), before going on to hold roles as head of school at City of Wolverhampton college in 2014 and interim associate principal at the Grimsby Institute.

Ms Swithenbank said of her new role: “I am very excited to join Hull College Group at a time when the city of Hull is undergoing such amazing cultural transformation. Hull College Group’s campuses are well placed in the heart of each area and house an incredibly diverse range of talented staff and students.”

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Niko Phillips has been appointed group director of international at Activate Learning, an education and training group based in Oxford, which runs schools, FE colleges and work-based training. It also delivers international study programmes. 

Activate Learning currently comprises three UK FE colleges, four schools, two apprenticeship and training providers and four colleges in Saudi Arabia.

Mr Phillips will take up the role from his current position as group operations director for the BSC Group of schools, where he oversaw areas such as safeguarding and developing the use of technology in schools. 

He brings a total of 16 years’ experience working internationally as a teacher, trainer, academic director and school leader to the role, which will see him develop Activate Learning’s international presence.

Speaking of his new role, he said: “I am very excited to be taking up this role. Activate Learning’s growing reputation means that we have an unrivalled opportunity to transform lives through learning in an international arena.”

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The former head of policy at OCR, Gemma Gathercole, has joined Lsect – the publisher of FE Week – as our head of funding and assessment.

Lsect was established in 2010 and publishes two weekly newspapers, FE Week and FE Week, alongside putting on regular training events for those working in the further education sector. 

Ms Gathercole had worked at awarding body OCR for more than 11 years, holding various roles including funding strategist, development manager, and her most recent position as head of policy for FE and funding.

In her new role she will be responsible for the consultancy and training side of the business, working closely with founder and FE Week editor, Nick Linford. She’ll also write opinion pieces for both newspapers, alongside providing editorial advice.

Speaking of her decision to join the Lsect team, she said: “It was really important to me to do something in this sector because I absolutely love working in FE.

“I’ll do my bit to make sure that, although there’s massive change, we can have a sector that’s prepared and supporting apprentices in making their next steps in their careers.”

 

If you want to let us know of any new faces at the top of your college, training provider or awarding organisation please let us know by emailing news@feweek.co.uk