FE providers may have to fulfil a new set of criteria in order to be approved by the government as fit to work with employers on delivering apprenticeships, FE Week has found.
In the coming months, the government will hold a consultation with providers about the requirements of the Skills Funding Agency’s (SFA) register of training organisations (ROTO), which providers can only access if they pass a set of capacity and capability questions.
This will include a discussion of how new criteria will be applied going forward, according to Keith Smith, newly-appointed director for levy implementation at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), and director of funding and programmes at the SFA.
Mr Smith told a packed audience at FE Week’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference 2016: “We’re going to have to revisit [ROTO], because one thing that employers are telling us really clearly is, we need to know bits of information about the providers … we actually want to get some confidence that these providers are going to deliver a certain set of services to us.
From left: Graham Taylor, principal, New College Swindon; Stewart Segal, chief executive, AELP; Emily Maitlis, broadcaster and host; Peter Lauener, chief executive, SFA and EFA; Sue Pember, director of policy and external relations, HOLEX
“What we’re going to be doing over the end of spring/early summer time is we’re going to have to have a big debate about this; we’re going to have to have a consultation with you about the requirements in the register and how we actually apply potentially new criteria going forward.”
Outlining what this would mean for providers in the future, he added: “I’m no longer the middle man … This new system, this new service will give capability for your employers to deal with that front-end decision making, will provide them with capability to transact on that, so they then can understand and select a provider from you guys to actually do the work.”
This issue of new criteria for training providers came up again at the conference, in a later panel discussion (pictured) among leaders from the FE sector.
Peter Lauener, chief executive of the SFA and Education Funding Agency, also said that ROTO needed to be looked at again.
“We need to look again at that, it’s designed to fairly basic levels, and proportionate levels, a set of tests, but we will have to review that again,” he said.
He compared the situation to the previously used individual learner accounts (ILAs), a scheme that was announced in the 1997 Labour Party manifesto to support adult education with a system of tax incentives from employers, as well as cash contribution to individuals.
Launched in 2000 in the form of financial reimbursements to educational course providers for the cost of the ILA incentives, the programme was abandoned in October 2001 because of evidence of mis-selling.
Mr Lauener said: “One of the problems with that is that was that it was open to all providers, 8,910 signed up to that, around 6,000 took part and there were some pretty bad apples in that mix.
“We’re very alive to those issues, we’ll be developing proposals to make sure that any provider that is available for an employer to use meets the right standards.”
Stewart Segal, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), said: “Employers do need to have a choice, and by the way I think they have a huge choice in the current system.
“I picked up from Keith that there is a new set of criteria … that needs to be carefully managed over a period.
“It would be crazy if you switched [ROTO] on overnight, but employers do need to have the choice of going with the provider that they need — and they need to pass a requirement, and set of criteria that we believe is reasonable, is transparent and open.”
Ofsted looks set to consult with FE providers on removing separate graded judgments on the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, FE Week can exclusively reveal.
The consultation plan was revealed in a Department for Education white paper, called Education, Excellence, Everywhere, published on March 17 that indicated it would only apply to schools.
But FE Week quizzed chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw (pictured far right) about this later that morning at our Annual Apprenticeship Conference in Birmingham, and he indicated it would apply to all providers falling under the common inspection framework (CIF) including those from FE.
A DfE spokesperson subsequently said this was the department’s intention.
Nicky Morgan
Sir Michael was asked by FE Week if the plans to be consulted on would involve separate graded judgments for teaching, learning and assessment being removed for FE as well as schools.
He replied: “We would have to have the consultation, but whenever we have changed something for schools it has usually had an impact on FE.”
He added: “Outcomes are outcomes and outcomes are usually good if the quality of teaching is good.
“It is very rare that you get outcomes that are bad and teaching that is good, so I’m not against [removing the graded judgments].”
Sir Michael also said that in the course of a day-long inspection “we don’t see every lesson and we don’t see every area of the curriculum but we get a sense of what is going on in classes”.
“What we are going to do in future inspections is look at the quality of leading, look at the culture, behaviour.”
The white paper said: “Ofsted will consult on removing the separate graded judgments on the quality of teaching, learning and assessment to help clarify that the focus of inspection is on outcomes and to reduce burdens on schools and teachers.”
But a DfE spokesperson then told FE Week: “The intention is that this proposal will cover the entire CIF. My understanding is that includes FE providers in general.”
Speaking about the plans, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan (pictured) said: “This white paper proposes that Ofsted will consult on removing its judgment for quality of teaching — because we know it both drives workload and because, and I’ll repeat it again, it’s outcomes that matter.
“If pupils are achieving well and making sufficient progress they are being taught well, end of story.”
Controversy has raged for years over the value of lesson inspections.
FE Week reported widespread sector support for Ofsted’s decision to scrap graded lesson observations in May last year.
Stewart Segal, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive, said at the time: “On balance we think that not grading individual lesson observations is the right thing to do.”
He stressed that: “Even if individual lessons are not explicitly graded it must be very transparent as to what inspectors are looking for in the delivery of teaching and assessment.”
Main pic: Nick Linford, interim editor speaking with Sir Michael Wilshaw
The chair of a group of influential MPs has slammed the government’s progress on apprenticeship reform, saying he doesn’t see a “hope in hell” of the target for 3m new apprenticeships by 2020 being achieved.
Speaking from the stage at FE Week’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference 2016, Iain Wright (pictured), chair of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, said he had moved from feeling concerned about the situation, to being alarmed by the government’s slow progress after George Osborne failed to finesse the details in his budget.
“I don’t think we’ve got a hope in hell of achieving that 3m target,” he said.
“I really worry about this and think we are getting to the stage where we really need to question the minister [Nick Boles],” he said.
Iain Wright
Mr Wright’s speech was applauded by the audience at the Birmingham International Convention Centre as he told host Emily Maitlis of his concerns, raising the apprenticeship levy as a key area where the government’s plans lacked clarity.
“I’m particularly worried that 98% of employers who are going to pay the levy — how are they going access skills funding?
“I have heard that it was all going to get sorted in the budget … the word apprenticeships didn’t come from [George Osborne’s] lips.”
He also criticised the government’s plans to make further announcements on the levy later in the year.
“Further work will be outlined in April and further details in June. They are making this up as they go along! They have announced the policy and now are frantically thinking: ‘How on earth are we going to do this?’” he said.
Mr Wright said he thought the levy could end up being delayed from its planned start date in April next year.
“We want him to achieve the 3m, we want to see an improved skills workforce, but given these huge delays and the massive uncertainties that he hasn’t been able to answer — are you going to delay delivery until April 2018 in order to make sure that this isn’t botched, that it is put in correctly?” he asked.
Mr Wright echoed earlier comments made by Shadow Skills Minister Gordon Marsden, who said that “the devil is in the detail” when it comes to the developments in apprenticeship policy.
“There’s absolutely no detail, frighteningly so close to the implementation date,” he added.
“The government really needs to think what it means. To pause, reflect, and get this right.”
The old adage when you’re in a hole first stop digging before you find a way out couldn’t be more true so far as apprenticeship reform is concerned – at least that’s the view of Graham Hasting-Evans.
Following the publication of the Enterprise Bill at the end of February, I believe the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) might just be the way to rekindle enthusiasm for Trailblazers – solving the issues and anxieties surrounding apprenticeships. Let me explain…
The government started reforming apprenticeships more than three years ago but the blunt truth is, thus far, insufficient progress has been made.
Its aim is to improve the quality of apprenticeships with fundamental reforms so that skills and productivity within the economy will increase.
But while some excellent work has been carried out by the Employer Groups – working together to design world-class apprenticeship standards and assessment approaches – we need to consider the actual rate of progress.
Currently there are 1,700 job roles in the existing apprenticeship frameworks – excluding degree apprenticeships and sectors which do not traditionally have apprentices.
The best estimate of the total number of reformed apprenticeship standards which are going to be needed across the economy, based upon the government’s current approach, is likely to be 2,000 to 2,500.
But although Trailblazers have been around since October 2013, (when they were formally announced) the present rate to complete to the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) ‘ready for delivery’ status is just 38 per year – that means it could take several decades to complete all the reformed apprenticeship standards and assessment plans.
Little wonder then people engaged in the Trailblazer process say not enough progress is being made
Little wonder then people engaged in the Trailblazer process say not enough progress is being made.
To increase the number of standards and assessment plans ready for delivery the present Trailblazer process will need to be reformed with a robust operational system put in place, led by employers.
It seems SASE (Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for England) apprenticeships are going to be around for some time, bridging the gap.
So what are the major risks facing the apprenticeship reform programme in achieving 3m ‘high quality’ apprenticeships? Well, personally I think they include:
A lack of a detailed and coherent design for the ‘new world’ of reformed apprenticeships, underpinned by a detailed implementation programme;
Also insufficient progress. Some Trailblazers have been two years in development and are still not complete;
The scale of the increased and complex administrative burden also appears to be designed into the new arrangements by government.
It could see employers, particularly SMEs, deciding not to engage with Trailblazer apprenticeships or apprenticeships at all. On some Trailblazer groups employers are already drifting away saying ‘it’s in the too hard box’.
Also of concern is the potential reduction in the numbers of adults undertaking apprenticeships – 40 per cent of apprenticeships over the last five years have been over 25.
Then there are inconsistencies in approach between various standards and their assessment plans – as well as apparent duplications and overlaps in the standards being developed by different industry groups.
Also, the omission from the design of a ‘Skills and Training Plan’ which sets out clearly how skills will be developed in the work-place, the role of work-place learning, mentoring and the type of formal training
The governance structures, in the form of the IfA and the Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS), have only recently been tabled. It will be a considerable challenge to get these fully operational.
Inefficient clarity or transparency on the full extent of the roles for these new governance organisations and inadequate communication to the organisations key to a successful implementation of the reforms, i.e. the several hundred thousand employers, including SMEs, training providers and AAOs/AOs is another issue.
So what needs to be done? The 10 point plan below might be the answer. I think we should:
Complete the detailed design of the new apprenticeship reforms and system – including creating a firm understanding of how many apprenticeship standards are both required and desirable across the economy;
Finalise and publish the details of a streamlined business process which can be used by SMEs and others as well as the details of the new DAS portal;
Establish a realistic and robust implementation plan, with all the support risks, issues and governance structures;
Complete the detailed design of the functions and structure for the IfA and make these public – this should ensure there is proper provision for the potential additional functions of the IfA;
Resource the IfA. This would not only increase the production of apprenticeship standards and assessment plans but also ensure it can discharge all of its functions;
Unfreeze the existing SASE apprenticeships allowing a staged transition to the new arrangement;
Use industry sub-committees in IfA to establish a definite list of apprenticeship standards needed in each sector and undertake an analysis of cross-sector roles to cut duplications. In doing this the sub-committees should consider the core skills for broad apprenticeships as an entry to sectors as well as a pathways approach to developing specialism. By doing this we believe the number of apprenticeship standards eventually required could be reduced to a more manageable number;
Compare the definite list with the SASE list and so identify which standards could be produced by a ‘fast-track’ upgrade of existing apprenticeships;
Prioritise development of reformed apprenticeship standards based upon potential apprenticeship numbers and relative ease of ‘fast-tracking’;
And finally stablish and implement a communication plan for possible apprenticeships, parent, schools, career advisers, employers, training providers, AAOs/AOs and other stakeholders
When you are in a hole the first thing to do is stop digging before you find a way out. I think the formation of an IfA could be used as the mechanism for implementing the actions now needed.
Steve Woolcock, Barnardo’s head of employment training and skills, talks about how best to support vulnerable young people into work.
A perfect storm of rising tuition fees and low pay for graduates has led to a rapid rise in applications for apprenticeships, as young people seek an alternative to academic qualifications. Competition to gain an apprenticeship will get even tougher from April 2017 when young people on Universal Credit must ‘earn or learn’ or lose welfare benefits.
The 3m new apprenticeships by 2020 across England promised by the government in the Summer Budget, funded by a new levy on large employers, offer the government a golden opportunity get more disadvantaged young people into work.
But some young people are being denied this opportunity to achieve their true potential. They want to get on in life but too many placements go to people age 25+, some of whom are already in work. Too few placements go to people who are in or are leaving foster care, who would really benefit from an apprenticeship.
Through no fault of their own, children in care face unique challenges. Disruptions at home and school is reflected in the grades they achieve, so they may lack the basic entry criteria for apprenticeships. Care leavers can also experience emotional and mental health issues as a consequence of their experiences, adding an extra barrier to finding sustainable employment.
To level the playing field, when an employer considers whether to take on a disadvantaged young person, their potential to complete the course and do well in it should be considered alongside their entry qualifications.
Our experience of working with employers across the country indicates they want to make apprenticeships accessible for disadvantaged young people. However, many employers struggle to provide the additional support these young people need to thrive.
Barnardo’s apprenticeship programme provides young people with the skills and support they need to achieve great results. Often care leavers don’t have parents to guide them, so our project workers and trainers help with all aspects of entering the work place. This includes basics like turning up to work on time, and organising their day to day life, including accommodation. This extra help reduces the likelihood that they will drop out.
It is unreasonable to expect business to look after young people without a little help. So, in future, we’d like to see government make this kind of support more widely available, by using some income from the new apprenticeship levy to set up a support fund for disadvantaged young people.
The support fund could be used to offer employers an incentive to encourage them to take on vulnerable young people and offer the extra guidance they need. By making it easier for employers to take on a disadvantaged young person, the support fund would level the playing field for those with the hardest start in life.
For some young people, just getting your foot in the door can be a real challenge. Government, business and the third sector need to work together to ensure the most vulnerable aren’t locked out of the job market.
Steve Woolcock is Barnardo’s head of employment training and skills
Only companies that are paying the apprenticeship levy will have access to the new funding system when it is launched in April 2017, the co-chair of the government’s Apprenticeship Delivery Board has revealed.
Nadhim Zahawi (pictured above) dropped the bombshell this afternoon at FE Week’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference, in Birmingham.
“The core offering that we will be launching in April 2017 will effectively be delivering the levy for the two per cent levy payers, while maintaining stability in the rest of the system,” Mr Zahawi, who is also the Prime Minister’s apprenticeship adviser, said.
“What you want is a core offering and make sure it worked and delivered for those companies who are paying the levy, and then it’ll start to migrate to the rest over a period of time,” he continued.
Sue Husband, the director of apprenticeships and delivery service at the Skills Funding Agency, also confirmed that “non-levy paying companies will still have access to government funding” once the levy has been launched.
Sue Husband
“The digital apprenticeship service in the long-term will absolutely be the place where all businesses will be able to access funds for apprenticeship training in the future,” she continued.
“To put people’s minds at ease in terms of SMEs, they will still have access to funding for apprenticeships,” she concluded.
Mr Zahawi added that they would be running a “virtual reality type pilot” with levy-paying employers, to ensure that it was ready in time for April 2017.
“I am very confident that we will deliver the system that will deliver for the levy payers,” he continued.
“It will absolutely work,” he said.
More information about the levy implementation will be available from April, Ms Husband said.
The news comes the day after the chancellor announced as part of the budget that levy payers would receive a 10 per cent top-up on their monthly levy contributions.
The University and College Union (UCU) has spoken out to say it is “unacceptable” that college principals are receiving salaries of over £200,000, at a time when the sector is engaged in an ongoing row over pay.
A spokesperson for UCU said the salaries, which included a figure of £331,000 in 2014/15 for Sunaina Mann (pictured above), principal and chief executive officer (CEO) of the North East Surrey College of Technology (Nescot) Group, show that principals are “out of touch”.
“These figures show that too many principals are completely out of touch when it comes to pay,” she said.
“It’s clearly unacceptable for college leaders to enjoy bumper six-figure salaries while staff pay is being held down and skills budgets continue to be squeezed.”
Ms Mann topped the list of highest earning college principals with the £331,000 she received for 2014/15 — more than doubling her wage for the previous year, according to data made available by the Skills Finding Agency (SFA) on March 10.
This was an increase of 120 per cent on her salary of £150,000 for 2013/14.
It comes in the third year of Nescot’s involvement in the Saudi Arabian Colleges of Excellence programme. In September 2013, Nescot set up a female college in Jeddah (pictured right) as part of the scheme, which promotes technical and vocational education in the region.
A spokesperson for Nescot said: “Sunaina Mann is the principal and CEO of the Nescot Group, which includes Nescot and the Jeddah College of Excellence.”
She added that Ms Mann’s complete salary in 2014/5 was £363,000.
When asked to comment on the salary increase, the spokesperson said there was no further comment.
The figures come at a time when unions representing FE workers are engaged in an ongoing row over pay, in response to the Association of Colleges offer of a zero per cent pay rise for 2015/16.
In February, around 200 colleges were hit with joint strike action, as members of the UCU and Unison walked out and joined picket lines as part of the pay dispute.
According to the SFA data, six other FE providers also paid their principals or CEOs a salary of £200,000 or above in the last academic year.
The second highest salary went to the principal and CEO of Birmingham Metropolitan College, at £298,000, though this was a decrease of ten per cent on the salary payments for the role in 2013/14, according to the SFA data.
Dame Asha Khemka’s salary as principal and CEO of Vision West Nottinghamshire College was the third highest for the last academic year, at £245,000, a seven per cent increase on her salary of £229,000 for 2013/14.
The other colleges that paid out £200,000 or over for the role of principal in 2014/15 were the Newcastle College Group, Salford City College, North Hertfordshire College, Stockport College and Cornwall College Group.
Salford City College and North Hertfordshire College both reported that their rate of pay for the position was partly down to employing two principals during the year as part of a hand-over period.
See below for the full responses from the colleges:
Nescot
A spokesperson for Nescot (pictured left) said: “Sunaina Mann is the Principal and CEO of the Nescot Group, which includes Nescot and the Jeddah College of Excellence. Her salary in 2014/5 was £363,000.
Birmingham Metropolitan College
A spokesperson said: “Birmingham Metropolitan College (BMet) can confirm that in 2014/15 its principal and chief executive, Andrew Cleaves received a salary of £260,000. The college also made a pension contribution to the Local Government Pension scheme of £38,000.”
Steve Hollis, Chair of BMet’s Corporation said: “The salary paid reflects the high calibre skills needed to run a complex multimillion pound organisation in an increasingly competitive environment.
“The chief executive is managing a number of complex challenges and a financial position that had deteriorated prior to Andrew’s appointment.
“When we appointed Andrew, we recognised we needed a leader with strong commercial acumen and a track record leading a complex change management programmes.
“Andrew has led the college in developing a recovery plan that has the endorsement of its funders and regulators and which provides it with the foundations for growth.”
West Nottinghamshire College
Nevil Croston, chair of governors at West Nottinghamshire College, said: “Dame Asha is one of the most prominent and exceptional principals within the Further Education sector.
“She has led West Nottinghamshire College to be at the forefront of the Government’s apprenticeship agenda and has been instrumental in delivering a £50m redevelopment of the college’s estate that has delivered world-class facilities for our communities.
“In 2014/15 the college delivered a significant financial surplus at a time when many colleges were in financial difficulty.
“In addition, Dame Asha undertakes a significant role regionally, nationally and internationally that furthers the interests of the sector as a whole.
“Most recently she has led the skills proposition for the Midlands Engine; a Government-backed project aiming to boost the UK economy by £34bn over the next 15 years.
“As a leader of a multi-million pound business with a significant profile, the board believes that the salary that she is paid is commensurate with her responsibilities and achievements.”
NCG
A spokesperson said: “The salary figures quoted by the SFA are for the chief executive of NCG, Joe Docherty and not the Principal of Newcastle College.
“NCG is not a single further education college, but one of the UK’s largest education and training organisation’s with a turnover of £178m in the year 14/15 from a variety of public sector bodies and commercial income.
“The chief executive heads a large, complex organisation with more than 3,000 employees in four colleges and two training organisations which work across the UK at more than 70 locations.
“This is not a traditional FE college principal’s role, and comparable organisations in the private sector which we often compete against for many of our contracts, would pay considerably more.”
Salford City College
A spokesperson said: “In 2015, for part of the year we had two principals in post to facilitate a hand-over period, which we believe is common in the sector.
“In money terms, the former principal’s total was £188,000 compared to £173,000 the previous year.
“Neither principal received a salary exceeding £200,000 and the £212,000 that you present is a combination of two post holders in year.”
North Hertfordshire College
A NHC spokesperson said: “We appointed a new chief executive in March 2015. In making that appointment we offered a package that enabled us to attract candidates with the vision and expertise required to steer the institution toward a vibrant, sustainable, future.
“The salary in the SFA summary of college’s accounts reflects that package and the fact that we employed both our current and previous chief executives for an overlapping period.”
Stockport College
A spokesperson said: “The salary data is for financial year 2014-15. The total cost indicated is in respect of an interim principal who was engaged on a short term basis which was extended while the College Corporation engaged in the process of finding a permanent principal. This is not reflective of the current salary of the new principal.”
Cornwall College Group
A spokesperson said: “The Cornwall College Group is the fifth largest FE college in the country, one of the biggest providers of apprenticeships, with eight sites, each vital to their local communities, together with significant outreach provision, stretching from Exeter to Falmouth.
“The principal’s salary was set on appointment in August 2013 and has seen no increase since this time. The principal was selected by a panel made up of members of our Board, with a focus on finding the right calibre of individual during a challenging time for FE.
“The principal’s strategic vision has transformed the college in the past two years, ensuring that it is fit for the future. Our recent Ofsted inspection graded us as ‘Good’ in all categories, citing the college as ‘a catalyst for raising the skills of the local workforce’.”
Top ten highest salaries for college leaders in 2014/15. *Salford City College salary was split between two principals in post at the time, during a handover period
A new white paper unveiled this morning by Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has spelled out her vision for the next five years.
The report set wide ranging ambitions for schools and 16 to 19 providers, including closer tracking of English and maths progress, an expansion of University Technical Colleges (UTCs), more curriculum stability, better careers advice and improved provision for students with special needs.
It said: “For 16-19 providers, we will introduce new headline performance measures from this year.
“These will look at the progress (including specifically in English and maths for students who have not already achieved a good pass at GCSE), attainment and retention of students.
“We are also working with HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions to improve the data we publish on students’ destinations after leaving education.
“This will show how well schools and colleges set pupils up to succeed and whether they are guiding them to make the right choices.”
There was also clear indication that the government plans to push ahead with the much maligned UTC programme.
The paper, called Education, Excellence, Everywhere, said: “We will build on the success of the free school programme to open 500 new schools by 2020.
“These 500 new free schools and UTCs will contribute to achieving educational excellence everywhere by meeting the need for more school places in areas of basic need and ensuring our school system offers greater choice, innovation and competition in areas where educational standards are currently lower than they should be.”
Assurances were also given about future curriculum stability.
It said: “In the last parliament, we introduced a new, more ambitious national curriculum and reformed qualifications and assessment standards; this parliament, our reform programme is well underway.
“Once these changes are complete, our aim is to give schools and colleges as much curriculum stability as possible to deliver these ambitious reforms.”
It also mentioned supporting the Careers and Enterprise Company to improve careers advice, informing students about “the opportunities offered by the world of work”.
The paper said that “later this year, we [DfE] will publish a strategy for improved careers provision for young people, setting the direction for work to transform the quality of the careers education, advice and guidance offered to young people, including further funding for The Careers & Enterprise Company to continue the excellent work it has started [since its launch last year].”
“It has already launched a nationwide enterprise adviser network, a £5m careers and enterprise fund and published a toolkit based on evidence of what works,” the report added.
It also committed to investing in special education needs disabilities (SEND) provision.
The paper said: “In 2016/17, we will invest in supporting professionals in schools and colleges to achieve better outcomes for pupils with SEND, including ensuring they have access to training and support on specific impairments such as autism or dyslexia.”
The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has announced that it will fully fund all “high quality” 16 to 18 apprenticeships from August 2015 to March 2016.
The announcement, which also covered traineeships, was made on the agency’s website this afternoon.
It said: “We will fully fund all high-quality 16 to 18 apprenticeship and SFA-funded 16 to 18 traineeship delivery from August 2015 to March 2016.
“We have based this on your individualised learner record (ILR) R07 data collection returns up to March 4. This is in addition to £25m growth awarded through performance-management point 1.
It added: “We will continue to review the funding position through to performance-management point two, which launches this month.
“Shortly, we will set out further information on the process for requesting growth. This is in line with the timings set out in our operational performance management rules 2015 to 2016.
“For further information, please contact your central delivery service adviser.”
It comes after FE Week exclusively reported this morning that extra money looked set to be made available for 16 to 18 apprenticeships following today’s budget announcement.
The article correctly reported it was unlikely Mr Osborne would announce the 16 to 18 apprenticeships increase to MPs, but it would be confirmed via a subsequent SFA bulletin.
