Ofqual FE chief Jeremy Benson hailed plans for an apprenticeship levy an “extraordinary concession” by the Treasury and said it would provide “momentum” for the programme’s 3m starts target by 2020.

Mr Benson, Ofqual executive director for vocational qualifications, spoke about the large employer levy at an Education Reform Summit, in London, organised by The Education Foundation, on Thursday (July 9).

He said Skills Minister Nick Boles had managed to get “the chancellor to stand up and say ‘I am going to give the apprenticeships budget lots and lots of money directly from employers [through the levy plan] that can only be spent on apprenticeships’”.

Chancellor George Osborne unveiled the levy in his Budget the day before and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills later told FE Week that consultation would be carried before further details were announced.

Mr Benson told the summit that the Treasury did not like “hypothecated taxes” — which is when they are only used for one purpose, so to fund apprenticeships in this case.

However, he said: “Nick Boles somehow — and he did say it was a quite an extraordinary concession by the Treasury — persuaded them to do that.

“That starts to build a momentum I think behind what is a very, very challenging apprenticeships target, which sits  in the context of the wider need to improve productivity and fund a multitude of ways to get employers engaged and really focusing on skills in the way we need.”

Deputy chief executive of the Association of Colleges Gill Clipson also spoke at the summit about a number of issues facing FE college leaders, as they consider how to cope with, for example, 24 per cent cuts to the adult skills budget next academic year.

She said they were having to “think hard” about “what it is they are offering, how they work with key partners, including local enterprise partnerships and local authorities, and crucially how they work with employers”.

Ms Clipson added that “there is a recognition” that “changes are going to be needed”, which could “lead to greater conversations about higher degrees of specialisms”.

She added that colleges were also having to consider how to maintain the balance, for example, between providing higher level training and “working with the unemployed”.

Deputy chief executive of independent charity Creative and Cultural Skills Catherine Large also told summit delegates about a new national college for creative and cultural industries, in Thurrock, that her charity is helping to develop with a consortium of employers.

She said: “It’s immensely challenging. We are starting to design our curriculum and write our business plans and have a teaching and learning approach that is really fit for purpose.”

It is one of seven national colleges planned by the government across the country, with specialism including manufacturing, nuclear, wind energy, digital skills, rail, and fracking.

“National colleges are introducing new specialist provision at a high level, focused at levels four and five, and will be very focused on what employers want,” she added.

Main pic above, from left: Jeremy Benson, Catherine Large and Gill Clipson

Details of the 2016 FE Week Annual Apprenticeship Conference and Exhibition (AAC) have been finalised — and it’s set to be even bigger and better than the first time around.

Birmingham’s International Convention Centre (ICC), which already hosts the Association of Colleges annual conference, will be home to the second annual AAC for three days from Wednesday, March 16.

The 2015 event attracted more than 600 delegates to Westminster’s Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in March across just two days.

Speakers at the event, hosted by broadcaster and journalist Kirsty Wark, included Skills Minister Nick Boles, Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna and the then-House of Commons Education Select Committee chair Graham Stuart, who used the conference to launch the committee’s report on apprenticeships and traineeships for 16 to 19-year-olds.

But the new venue will mean more variety and a bigger exhibition area, workshops and plenty more besides — not to mention the extra day.

Shane Mann, managing director of FE Week publisher Lsect Ltd, said the 2016 line-up would cement the conference reputation for attracting big, influential names.

He said: “Our inaugural AAC was a resounding success, and we want to build on that with a bigger venue and a bigger and even better programme to match.

“We will once again be getting speakers from across the FE and skills sector and beyond, and enticing the most influential politicians, from both government and opposition, out of the Westminster bubble and onto our stage.

“I am also delighted that our key partners, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers and AAC Headline Sponsors OCR, will again be working with us closely on this year’s event.”

Would-be delegates are being urged to save the date, register their interest here and keep an eye out for further announcements about booking information, speakers and other activities, in FE Week and at feweek.co.uk later this year.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) today restated its concerns over plans for an apprenticeship levy on large businesses as it called for existing reforms to “speed up”.

The CBI and Pearson have published the result of their education and skills survey of 310 companies, which reveals that 81 per cent of respondents felt reforms to apprenticeships were positive and 23 per cent cited the slow pace of reform as a matter of concern.

The survey also showed that “inability to relinquish control” over apprenticeships by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was a source of concern for 23 per cent of respondents, while 38 per cent said making qualification programmes more relevant to businesses would help engage more employers, with 34 per cent citing direct employer control of funding as another catalyst for engagement.

Reforms under way include new apprenticeship standards designed by Trailblazer employer groups and a digital apprenticeship voucher.

There were concerns about delays to funding reform among a quarter of respondents, while almost 30 per cent were worried about bureaucracy and red tape.

And although employers were not quizzed on whether they would support the apprenticeship levy put forward by Chancellor George Osborne in last week’s Budget, the CBI used the release of its survey report to again question whether the measure, while helping to delivering quantity, would benefit the quality of apprenticeships.

The levy proposal had already been mooted by government vocational education adviser Professor Lady Alison Wolf just days before the Budget, drawing opposition from the CBI as well as the Association of Employment and Learning Providers.

Katja Hall (pictured above), CBI deputy director-general, said: “The new levy announced in the budget may guarantee funding for more apprenticeships, but it’s unlikely to equate to higher quality or deliver the skills that industry needs.

“Levies on training already exist in the construction sector where two-thirds of employers are already reporting skills shortages.

“Employers have a critical role in upskilling the workforce, but part of the deal must be for real business control of apprenticeships to meet their needs on the ground.

“The best way to plug the skills gaps and provide quality training is to speed up existing apprenticeships reforms already under way and encourage smaller firms to get involved.”

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the organisation which has for 50 years operated the levy referred to by Ms Hall, said well-designed systems would play a “positive role”, but accepted a levy wasn’t the only solution to quality apprenticeship growth.

Steve Radley, CITB director of policy, told FE Week: “Levies alone won’t deliver quality apprenticeships — it is also critical to have proper forecasting of skills demand and better engagement with training providers to meet employer needs.

“But well-designed levy systems, if they have buy-in from employers, can play a positive role in tackling the skills challenge.”

Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC), said: “It is right that employers make a contribution to the costs of training the national workforce as they benefit from apprenticeships in terms of increased productivity among their employees and from access to a more skilled labour market.

“Levies are one way in which this can be achieved and they are already in use in many other countries.”

A BIS spokesperson said: “The apprenticeship levy puts employers back in the driving seat; they are now in charge of how apprenticeship budgets are spent and they can build the skills base they need for their future success.

“Investing in apprenticeships means young people will have the skills they need, giving them the very best chance to succeed in today’s labour market.”

The Treasury’s productivity plan proposes converting colleges into Institutes of Technology, moving away from the per-qualification funding system for adult learning and further devolution of skills matters to regions. Here, FE Week brings you the sector’s response.

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Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary, Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL)

“It is worrying that the government is suggesting that high-level, sector-specific skills training will be provided by new institutes of technology, presumably in place of FE colleges.

“It is naïve of them to assume that these institutes will be sponsored by employers, given the funding issues there are currently around apprenticeships. With continual cuts to the adult education budget, where will the money come from when employers won’t cough up?

“The government is proposing that it will simplify and streamline the professional and technical education system.

“In doing so it must be mindful that lower-level vocational qualifications are important in motivating young people who have been alienated by much of the national curriculum and the methods of assessing GCSE and other key stage four qualifications.

“Access to these vocational qualifications in FE colleges prevents many young people from becoming a ‘NEET’ statistic (not in education or training).”

 

Chris Jones, chief executive, City & Guilds Group

“It is important that the government takes steps to boost the UK’s productivity. As I wrote to the Chancellor last week, broadening high-quality skills education

and training is a vital piece of the ‘productivity puzzle.’

“In fact, recent research from the Cebr, commissioned by the City & Guilds Group, shows that the annual return on investment for training an apprentice is £10,280 in productivity gains. We welcome increased devolution but we must recognise this will result in difficult decisions over which colleges survive long-term.

“As ever, the devil will be in the detail. I always get worried when I hear government talk about ‘radical change.’

“As our recent report into skills policy showed, we’ve had three decades of constant change in skills and employment policy.

“In order to boost productivity and strengthen the UK’s skills base, we need stable, long-term planning that gives new policies a chance to mature. I am keen to see how core aspects of this plan will be implemented in practice, including the apprenticeship levy.’

 

Martin Doel, chief executive, Association of Colleges

“We are pleased that the government recognises that a strong professional and technical education system is critical to increasing productivity. The government is also right to identify the need for well supported and strong institutions to make this happen.

“Colleges must be at the core of this, whether as Institutes of Technology or in providing high-quality career pathways that are responsive to the local economy. Colleges have and will continue to adapt and we anticipate that they will now be able to evolve in new ways, forging even stronger links with employers, professional bodies and local agencies.

“We look forward to discussing the government’s ambition with them in the months ahead, prioritising the interests of the students, employers and communities that colleges support.

“The plan also suggests a review of validation arrangements but focuses just on degree awarding powers. One component of a professional and technical education system that we can be proud of will be stronger, faster validation arrangements, with institutions working alongside employers. This would help to prevent academic ‘drift’, which as the OECD and others have identified, has been a perennial problem in the English education system.

“We also support the moves to simplify the way that adult further education is funded in the future.”

 

David Hughes, chief executive, National Institute of Adult Continuing Education

“Whilst it is absolutely right that education and skills are a key focus of the Government’s Plan to raise the nation’s productivity, the proposals announced today place too narrow a focus on young people and qualifications.

“Supporting young people with better pathways is critical, but we need to promote a universal culture of lifelong learning that fosters the skills and talents of the entire UK workforce to achieve a truly bold vision for tackling the current low and damaging levels of productivity. Helping more people through high quality apprenticeships will help improve productivity, but that alone is not enough.

“The productivity plan ignores those already in work. Fiona Kendrick, CEO at Nestle set out clearly this week how important it is for her company to support better pathways for young people as well as supporting her existing workers to progress into new roles.

“She is right and most employers now recognise that the basic skills, including digital skills of all workers are holding back improvements in job design, continuous improvement approaches and learning of higher level skills. The productivity plan does not address these challenges enough.

“As a nation we need to get to grips with our ageing population and start to view that as an opportunity rather than a problem. Older workers have all sorts of skills, but they often lack the support and the confidence to be able to learn new skills as the workplace evolves.

“Technological changes and new approaches to work need confident, competent people and that requires a new approach and attitude to learning in the workplace. We look forward to working with the government to help them get this right.”

 

Sir Charlie Mayfield, chair, UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES)

“Improving productivity is challenging and complex but it is essential if we are to maintain business competitiveness, increase wages and raise living standards.

“Competitive advantage will depend on creating the best conditions for businesses to thrive, innovate and move into higher value markets and for employees to be engaged in fulfilling and productive work. This is the real route to prosperity and a fairer society – where everyone benefits from growth.

“Not all sectors in UK are realising their potential in terms of productive growth. As the Treasury’s productivity plan notes, five sectors – financial services, ICT, professional services, wholesale and retail and transportation and storage – represent around 40 per cent of the economy but have accounted for around 65 per cent of the productivity shortfall.

“By addressing productivity on a sector by sector basis, the specific issues dogging these industries can be better identified and addressed.

“Up to 90 per cent of the current workforce will still be in work in the next decade. If we are going to tackle the productivity deficit for the economy as a whole, therefore, there must be a much greater focus on job design, technology and progression for those in work.

“This was our stance in UKCES’s ‘Growth Through People’ statement last year, and creating more and better jobs must be at the heart of productivity growth.”

The fourth annual Brathay Apprenticeship Challenge was the closest fought yet and after a nail-biting race to the finish two teams were crowned joint champions.

Apprentices from Dale Power Solutions and Sellafield shared the victory after the three gruelling days of team building and outdoor challenges.

Second place was also split between the team from Plymouth City Council and the joint team from Pera Training and Emfec (self-titled Perfec), while the Nottingham City Homes team took third place. Also in the final were teams from Redrow Homes South West, HSBC and British Airways.

To get there, the teams had to complete a project in their community, as well as raising awareness of apprenticeships.

Once at the final, held at youth charity Brathay’s headquarters on Lake Windermere in the Lake District over three days from Monday, they also faced the challenge of a series of team building tasks — from orienteering and coracle boat building to an assembly line puzzle.

The challenge came to a dramatic conclusion with a whaler boat race — a timed five-mile rowing and navigation trial around Lake Windermere.

Adam Sharp, aged 21 and a level three mechanical design apprentice for Sellafield told FE Week he was “really pleased” by the shared victory.

“It’s been a culmination of six minutes hard work – everyone’s pulled together at the right time and its been testament to us as a team,” he said.

“We all came in as strangers and for us to come out as friends and winners is something else.”

Dale Power Solutions level three supply chain apprentice Amber Rushworth, 21, said: “It’s been absolutely fantastic, it’s been hard, it’s been challenging, but it’s something we’ll remember for a lifetime.

“There’s a real sense of achievement, we’ve really worked together a team and we’ve really pushed ourselves to the limit so we’ve found new boundaries.”

Nick Wilson, deputy director of the National Apprenticeship Service told the 72 apprentices who made it though to the final: “You really are living proof of what apprenticeships are all about, you’ve have shown how skilled you are, what qualifications mean and what an inspiration you can be as apprentices to other people.”

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The scores from the community project and awareness raising element, the assembly line puzzle and the whaler boat race were combined to give the final ranking.

The team from power plant Sellafield smashed the previous record of 11 seconds on the assembly line puzzle, figuring out a solution as a team in just 8.1 seconds.

FE Week joined the teams’ mentors to watch the action on board a tug boat which also formed a part of a key task in the race when rowers had to collect a token from their mentors – without touching the boat.

The task led to tense scenes with mentors leaning perilously out over the water to hand over the tokens, but fortunately, with the exception of one token – belonging to the Dale team – taking a dip in the lake, everyone remained dry.

For their community project, the Sellafield team organised a site-wide collection for North Lakes Food Bank — which involved negotiating their way around tight nuclear security but ultimately raised almost £9,000.

Accompanying the team was Sue Hunter, apprentice programme support at Sellafield, which has entered teams into the challenge in the previous two years but never made it through to the finale.

She said: “We’re aware of the way the challenge gives apprentices experiences they wouldn’t normally get and the company encourages that kind of initiative, motivation and inspiration for its apprentices.

“They’ve worked very hard for the last six months and I’m very proud of them.

“Their personal skills have increased dramatically — self-confidence, leadership communication, team working and they’re all things that they’ll bring back to work.”

Their co-winners Dale Power Solution also showed they could pull together when it counts, coming first in the whaler boat race final in a time of 54 minutes and 56 seconds.

“The whaler was the highlight, I thought that was fantastic, we really blew ourselves away with the race,” said Amber.

For their community project, the team took on the task of restoring a 150 year old park shelter in Scarborough, which, Dale chief executive Tim Wilkins said, had presented more of a challenge than they’d expected.

But, he said: “It’s superb the way the whole team has worked together on all the initiatives over a sustained period of time. Being here the last few days has been great but the work they’ve put in over the last six months has been tremendous.”

The company began its apprenticeship scheme a decade ago, and two years ago heard about the Brathay Challenge.

“We decided it was the right thing to do to enter and to be here two years on as a winner is a dream come true,” said Mr Wilkins.

Over the course of the four years of the competition, 280 teams, involving 2,500 apprentices, have carried out 174 charity projects and have promoted apprenticeships to an estimated 2.5m people, through 12,000 pieces of media and social media.

Mr Wilkins added: “Promoting apprenticeships is something a lot more people should be doing in the UK and I’d like to thank the Brathay Organisers – a lot of work goes into this sort of event, please, please, please keep it going and lets hope for many years to come more apprentices can go through this exercise and get the enjoyment that our guys have had.”

The Treasury this morning published its eagerly-awaited productivity plan. Here, FE Week examines the main headlines for the FE and skills sector.

Apprenticeship levy

Announced by Chancellor George Osborne during his emergency summer budget on Wednesday, the apprenticeship levy has already divided opinion in the sector. The productivity plan expands on the rationale behind the policy, but doesn’t offer further details, which will be confirmed in the autumn.

The report says: “The government will introduce a levy on large UK employers to fund the new apprenticeships. Levies to fund training are already in place in Germany, France, Denmark and over 50 other countries, often supporting high quality apprenticeship systems.

“The levy will apply to large employers and will support all post-16 apprenticeships. In England, any firm will be able get back more than it puts in by training sufficient apprentices.

“The government will put control of the funding in the hands of employers via the digital voucher scheme to ensure that it delivers the training they need. Crucially, this will enable an increase in the quality of apprenticeships at the same time as an increase in quantity.”

Funding

Funding for 16 to 19 education is already issued on a per-learner basis, but the government seems to want to extend that to adults.

The report says: “The government will move away from the funding per qualification model for adult learners and, with input from local areas and employers, will develop options to ensure provision is targeted at training with the greatest impact.”

Technical education

The government’s commitment to national colleges is well-documented, but Institutes of Technology are new, although the document is light on detail.

The report says: “The government will simplify and streamline the number of qualifications so that individuals have a clear set of routes which allow for progression to high level skills, rather than thousands of qualifications.

“The government will invite some colleges to become prestigious Institutes of Technology to deliver high-standard provision at levels three, four and five.

“Building on international best practice, Institutes of Technology will be sponsored by employers, registered with professional bodies and aligned with apprenticeship standards. The government will empower National Colleges, Catapults, and elite professional institutions to design each route, alongside employers and professional bodies.”

Destination data and careers advice

The last government was under a lot of pressure to improve both of these, but the plan doesn’t include anything it hasn’t said before.

The report says: “The government will improve destination data to enable informed choices. The government is supporting the development of online portals to present all post-16 learning options to young people in a user-friendly way, and is strengthening the provision of destination and earnings data.

“The new careers and enterprise company will encourage greater collaboration between schools, colleges and employers, helping young people to access the best advice.”

Devolution and localism

Involvement of regional authorities in the skills agenda was a well-publicised policy of the last government, so it’s no surprise to see their wish to extend skills devolution beyond its traditional flagship areas like Manchester and Sheffield in this report.

The report says: “The government will invite local areas to participate in the reshaping and recommissioning of local provision to set it on an efficient and financially resilient footing. A differentiated approach to local involvement will be adopted which will enable areas with the strongest governance and levers to shape provision, building on the skills flexibilities agreed with Greater Manchester, London and Sheffield.

“These devolution packages could be extended to other regions. The government anticipates that many colleges will be invited to specialise according to local economic priorities, to provide better targeted basic skills alongside professional and technical education, and that some will be invited to become Institutes of Technology.

“Following on from this restructuring process, the government will enable local involvement in the ongoing commissioning of provision, putting power in the hands of people who are best placed to tailor provision to local economic needs.”

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Chancellor George Osborne said: “The only way to sustainably raise the living standards of the citizens of our nation is to confront the challenge of our lifetime, to raise productivity.

“This will not be achieved over night and will require a truly national effort by government, business and working people.

“But with this blueprint to fix the foundations of our economy, I believe that we have taken the vital first step towards securing the prosperity and a livelihoods of generations to come”.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said: “This is a bold and ambitious plan, to achieve our vision of a more dynamic economy, with a business environment that fosters long-term investment, raising our living standards and become the best of all the major economies by 2030.

“The plan we are publishing today shows we are taking the decisions necessary to address issues of productivity and build a foundation for Britain’s future.”

 

More details about the new proposals in the plan are expected in the autumn.

Former Whitehall FE and skills chief Dr Sue Pember has backed Chancellor George Osborne’s “brave” apprenticeships levy plan for large businesses.

Dr Pember (pictured above) outlined her views in an exclusive FE Week webinar yesterday on how Wednesday’s budget announcements would affect FE.

“The announcement on apprenticeship levies was very brave and something that should have happened years ago,” she said.

Chancellor George Osborne said in his budget speech that the levy will help fund the drive towards 3m new apprenticeships by 2020.

But Dr Pember, who will head up adult learning provider membership network Holex from next month, added: “The area that concerns me most is there doesn’t seem to be an agenda for working with those not in work and the low skilled work force.

“If we are to become more productive as a nation then we need to work with and support those who need training the most.

“Apprenticeships are great and we have now won that battle [to secure more support for them from government].

“We now have to turn our minds to supporting those not yet ready for apprenticeship or higher level education.”

The webinar was hosted by Nick Linford (pictured right), director of Lsect, which publishes FE Week, and watched by 644 subscribers.

They heard Dr Pember’s attention turn to the sector’s longer-term future, taking on board the economic priorities set out in the budget.

Dr Pember, who worked with 10 FE and skills ministers and eight Secretaries of State over her 10 years up to 2013, thought that the government could well look again at expanding FE loans, including lowering the “age range”, by 2020.

The FE loans system introduced in April 2013 currently applies to learners aged at least 24 and studying at level three or four — but a government consultation last summer proposed that FE loans should also apply to younger learners and those that remain at level two or three.

“If we get really good national college provision for the over-19s, with really good accommodation, then I can see [FE] loans playing a key part in how they work,” said Dr Pember.

She added: “I don’t think that national colleges are just a line in a minister’s speech, I see a real future for them.

“They can become quite prestigious and centres of high quality specialist training.

“I think that we may have five or six national colleges with residential accommodation in new growth areas in place by 2020.”

The government has over the last 18 months announced plans for the development of specialist national colleges for manufacturing, nuclear, wind energy, creative and cultural industries, digital skills, HS2, and fracking, with at least £80m of public funding.

Dr Pember also said in the webinar that she supported increasing specialisation for FE colleges, saying that “something needs to be done to stop inefficient duplication”.

She said: “I think it’s on the cards [increased specialisation]. Colleges will increasingly have to look at what other local colleges, schools and academies are offering, and work in partnership so there are clear progression routes.”

She said that at the moment there are two types of area reviews — one type being triggered by an FE or sixth form college commissioner’s visit and the other by “core city agreements”.

Dr Pember could, she said, see more of latter happening, with local councils, local enterprise partnerships and colleges initiating reviews and recommending what education and training was most needed across their area.

They could, she said, make recommendations on what skills areas and different qualification levels colleges should focus on.

But Dr Pember added that “these reviews would not be useful if they didn’t consider sixth forms, academies and UTCs [university technical colleges]”.

She also said that “unless the formal status of colleges changes, the final decisions over the direction colleges would still remain with independent college boards”.

Members of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers will meet in Central London today for its annual FE conference.

FE Week will be joining them at the conference, entitled Vocationalism is Professionalism, will be providing live coverage on Twitter.

General secretary Mary Bousted (pictured above) will be speaking, as well as Professor Ann Hodgson, director of Learning for London at the Institute for Education, who will be talking about how localism affects the idea of professionalism in FE.

Professor Frank Coffield will also be speaking on rights for FE lecturers,  while Professor Bill Lucas, director of the Centre for Real-World Learning at the University of Winchester, will be exploring apprenticeship pedagogy.

There will also be an update from the Society for Education and Training, the new membership body from the Education and Training Foundation to replace the Institute for Learning, which was disbanded in November.

To keep up with all the latest news from the conference, follow @FEWeek on Twitter.