The majority of young people taking part in traineeships have gone on to apprenticeships, employment or further learning, according to government research published today.

The outcome of an initial government evaluation of the first year of the programme found that half of trainees went on to apprenticeships or employment, and a further 17 per cent undertook further learning.

Skills Minister Nick Boles, in a framework for delivery document also out today that references the research results, said: “We owe it to young people to retain this focus on quality outcomes, which is why we have strengthened the use of performance data from 2015/16.

“As announced in the Government’s response to the funding consultation on traineeships, we will do this via a number of routes; provider funding, the publication of provider-level employment outcomes to inform young people’s and employers’ choices, and by setting minimum standards for progression to employment from traineeships.”

The research went on to highlight high levels of satisfaction in the programme among employers and trainees with 84 per cent of providers and 94 per cent of employers consider traineeships an effective way of increasing young people’s chances of finding paid jobs and apprenticeships.

It also showed how the majority of trainees (82 per cent) said that the traineeship at least matched their expectations, with over half (54 per cent) saying it exceeded their expectation.

Meanwhile four-in-five trainees (80 per cent) said that the support they received during their work preparation training had helped to improve their job search.

Stewart Segal, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, told FE Week: “We are pleased with the findings of this research on traineeships.

“The overall satisfaction ratings from trainees at 80 per cent is very high considering that this is still a new programme.

“It is clear trainees hear about the programme from a number of sources with training providers being the most common source including referrals to employer programmes.”

Traineeships launched in August 2013 with the aim of giving young people high quality work experience and training to help them into an apprenticeship or employment.

In December, FE Week revealed how Job Centre Plus (JCP) staff had been set a target of 10,000 traineeship referrals this academic year amid concerns the programme had not been promoted to benefit claimants because it extended their time out of work.

And information in the statistical first release (SFR) last month showed 5,000 starts on the programme in the first quarter of this academic year, compared to 3,300 in the first six months of 2013/14.

However, Mr Segal said: “We really need to see an increase of referrals from JCP and a commitment to ensuring that they are flexible in managing benefit issues.”

The research was based on interviews with 1,590 trainees who started between August 2013 and and July last year, 200 traineeship providers and 218 participating employers over the same period.

The results come just days after the House of Commons Education Select Committee reported that the impact of the programme was unclear, and called for greater clarity from the government on the success criteria for the programme. However, a full impact assessment of traineeships will be undertaken over the next two years.

Mr Boles, who has said he wants to double the number of traineeships to hit the 20,000 mark this academic year, said: “While the signs at this early stage in the traineeship programme are very encouraging, we are determined to continue raising the quantity and quality of traineeships, ensuring more young people have the best possible start in life.”

See edition 132 of FE Week, dated Monday, March 16 for more on the government’s traineeship research.

Hundreds more employers have signed up to the government’s Trailblazer overhaul of apprenticeship design, Skills Minister Nick Boles announced today.

More than 200 new employers have joined the 1,000-plus organisations involved in the Trailblazers programme, which allow groups of employers to join together to design apprenticeships. Today’s announcement of 26 new groups, who will design apprenticeships in 35 occupations, pushes the total number to more than 100.

The announcement comes alongside news that existing Trailblazer groups have also today been given the green light to develop 34 more apprenticeships including mortgage adviser and software developer. There are now more than 150 in development.

Mr Boles said: “I am delighted to announce that these 200 new employers will be designing top quality apprenticeships.

“Giving leading firms from British Gas to video games manufacturer Ubisoft the power to design and deliver high quality apprenticeships, means we can ensure more young people have the skills our economy vitally needs.”

It was also announced today that 56 employer-designed apprenticeships ranging from boatbuilder to chartered surveyor to outside broadcast engineer have been approved, with some aiming to have their first apprentice starts as early as September. There are now more than 120 approved trailblazer standards.

Skills Minister Nick Boles has revealed government hopes of doubling traineeships to hit the 20,000 mark this academic year.

He has written to FE college leaders ahead of the general election with an update on reforms and programmes, including changes in governance, funding and English and maths.

And on traineeships, which saw 10,400 starts during 2013/14 — the programme’s first year, he said: “Early evidence shows that around half have already progressed to positive destinations, and a further 5,000 young people started a new traineeship in the first three months of 2014/15”.

In December, FE Week revealed how Job Centre Plus (JCP) staff had been set a target of 10,000 traineeship referrals this academic year amid concerns the youth unemployment programme had not been promoted to benefit claimants because it extended their time out of work.

And so far, traineeship numbers are up on last year with figures showing 1,700 more people started on the scheme in the first three months of 2014/15 than in the entire first half of last academic year.

Information in the statistical first release (SFR) last month showed 5,000 starts on the programme in the first quarter of this academic year, compared to 3,300 in the first six months of 2013/14.

Mr Boles said: “We hope that providers and employers will double the number of quality traineeships this year, which would mean over 20,000 opportunities and an even bigger impact on the life chances of young people.”

And he conceded how reforms outlined in the 2013 Rigour and Responsivenes in skills report had “made the role of governor more demanding.”

He added: “Being a governor in FE is both an honour and a major responsibility. The new focus on devolution will increase the demand on governors to develop the right structures to be outwardly accountable and ensure provision is responsive to local needs. I am confident that you can meet this challenge.”

Mr Boles also referred to the Education and Training Foundation review of non-GCSE English and maths qualifications, due to report this month, and said: “I would also like to thank you for your support in ensuring all 16 to 19-year-olds are given the opportunity to secure GCSEs in English and maths by age 19.

“Data suggests that the vast majority of colleges and providers are on track to enrol all students without A*-C GCSE on approved English and maths courses and those that aren’t quite there are being contacted by the Eduction Funding Agency about what further action is needed to support them in this ambition.”

The Further Education Trust for Leadership (Fetl) has announced the names of the first five organisations that it has chosen to receive a total of £270,000 in grants to fund research.

Organisations with an interest in FE were invited by Fetl in November last year to apply for grants worth up to £100,000 each, to fund research into sector leadership issues, with entries closing a month later.

The names of the grant recipients were announced this evening (March 10) at Kings Place arts and conference centre, London, after the inaugral Fetl lecture by Dr James Krantz, principal of New York-based consultants Worklab, on the subject of ‘Leaders or leadership — the century of the system’.

The winning organisations, chosen ahead of 51 other applicants, are the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), Coleg Gwent, EMFEC, the University of Hull, and Working Well.

Dame Ruth Silver (pictured), Fetl honorary president, said: ‘The five projects selected reflect both the complexity and curiosity of the sector but, more importantly, focus on areas of wider contemporary concern and interest to all.”

The chosen organisations will work on their research projects over the next two years.

EMFEC, a membership body for providers in the East Midlands, will develop new models of leadership through innovative governance, while AELP will investigate the impact of new leaders on the leadership of thinking in FE.

Coleg Gwent will look at the impact of austerity measures on provision and in particular the role of governors in fostering a culture of enterprise and innovation. The University of Hull will aim to develop a practical understanding of behaviours and approaches adopted by ethical leaders in FE.

Working Well, a private sector company that specialises in organisational development, will develop a series of strategic seminars that focus on psychoanalysis and systems thinking and their applicability to FE.

Jill Westerman chair of Fetl, said “I am pleased that the grants are able to fund projects that I feel will make a real difference to the leadership of thinking in FE and skills.”

It comes after Fetl, which was launched last summer with a budget of up to £5.5m left over following the closure of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service, announced in January the names of the first four individuals it had chosen for research fellowships.

Alex Day MBE, Ruth Allen, Tim Ward and Ann Creed will get up to £40,000 each to fund their research on attitudes to risk in leadership of sixth form colleges, leadership challenges among third sector providers, the impact of leadership on part-time teachers and fostering creative leadership in FE.

Further Education Commissioner Dr David Collins (pictured) has revealed how a London college’s projected bank balance was overestimated by £3m as he called on Skills Minister Nick Boles to place it into administered status.

Mr Boles followed Dr Collins’ advice on Greenwich Community College after he told the minister of “serious problems — both in terms of the quality of what is on offer and its worsening budget position”.

Among the many problems identified by Dr Collins was a year-end cash balance of £3.5m having been predicted for 2014/15, which following the appointment of an “experienced interim finance director” was revised to £500,000 after he predicted the college would make a loss of more than £3m.

“There are several reasons for this situation but the most noticeable lies in archaic staff contracts and poor staff utilisation,” he said.

Andrew Murdock, the college’s finance director and vice principal, told FE Week: “The commissioner raises a number of issues which have been acted on.

“The college has taken immediate steps to address the projected deficit by cutting all unnecessary expenditure and making plans to reduce its long term cost base. This includes a review of staff costs and utilisation.

“The college is committed to improving its financial health and is working closely with the Skills Funding Agency to that end.”

Dr Collins was sent into the 5,000-learner South East London college in January — a month after Ofsted gave it inadequate ratings across headline fields with inspectors reporting: “The principal and governing body have not succeeded in ensuring that all students receive high quality education and training, or in improving the college’s performance.”

And an Ofsted monitoring visit a few weeks after Dr Collins’ visit highlighted little in the way of progress.

The report of the commissioner, whose visit took place just days after Lindsey Noble replaced Gary Chin as principal, made for equally hard reading for college leaders.

His report, out this week, told how the board had been “insufficiently rigorous” with an “undemanding” culture and “minimal questioning of data or challenge”. He also said high-ranking resignations following the Ofsted report had left the college without anybody of more than three years’ experience on its board. The clerk also resigned last month.

Dr Collins revealed the college’s self-assessment report had “painted an over optimistic picture”. “The strengths were overstated, weaknesses minimised and judgements founded on scant evidence,” he said.

“Little acknowledgement had been made of, or attention given, to the worryingly low and declining student success rates.”

He also said managers viewed the college as “‘not knowing where it is going” and he branded the Post Inspection Action Plan (PIAP) as “unfit for purpose”.

Mr Boles said: “Given these weaknesses, I have decided that the FE Commissioner should conduct a Structure and Prospects Appraisal that will consider what is the best solution for learners, employers and the local community.

“As part of the Appraisal the FE Commissioner will consider and advise me on what governance and leadership arrangements should be put in place to support the transition to any new arrangements.

“In the meantime, a revised Post Inspection Action Plan and Financial Recovery Plan will enable the college to begin to address the full range of issues identified by the FE Commissioner and by Ofsted. Progress against these plans will be monitored through monthly case conferences.”

Richard Bourne OBE, chair of the college corporation, said: “The corporation is actively responding to the points made by the commissioner in his letter to the chair.

“The corporation has not waited for the next set of meetings to be set up but has started the actions required to bring about the changes needed in the college.

“We look forward to participating in the structure and prospects appraisal process. The board is aware of our role to ensure the community of South East London is well served with high quality FE in the future.”

An “excessive emphasis” on apprenticeships as a means to combat youth unemployment risks painting them as a “second class option” and “damages the brand”, a key group of MPs has warned.

The education select committee has released its report on apprenticeships and traineeships for 16 to 19-year-olds, in which it warns against sacrificing quality for the sake of increased numbers of starts and calls for a swift resolution to ongoing funding reforms.

The committee’s inquiry was launched last July and held four oral sessions in Parliament and received more than 90 written submissions. The report will be launched by committee chair Graham Stuart at the FE Week Apprenticeship Annual Conference in London this morning (Monday).

The report says: “It is important to ensure that growth does not sacrifice quality, as apprenticeships should always require substantial training and always deliver a substantial uplift in earning power for the apprentice. Level two apprenticeships that comply with these principles should be retained.

“Excessive emphasis on apprenticeships as a means to combat youth unemployment risks reinforcing the myth that apprenticeships are a second class option and damages the apprenticeship brand.”

The report criticises “inadequate” careers advice and schools, and calls for an “urgent review” of incentives for schools to provide good careers advice, adding that it must recognise that “the mantra of ‘trusting schools’ does not work when the interests of schools and young people are not aligned”.

It also calls for a review of the government’s Trailblazers programme, which it warns is “at risk of being dominated by larger companies at the expense of SMEs”. On funding reforms, it warns that further delays could “undermine efforts both to drive up quality and engage more employers”, and calls for SMEs to be given a choice between administering funding themselves or contracting out to providers.

On traineeships, the report says the impact is unclear, and calls for greater clarity from the government on the success criteria for the programme.

Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive Stewart Segal said: “We are very pleased with the committee’s conclusions and recommendations, especially the MPs’ belief that high quality level two apprenticeships should remain part of the programme because they offer a ladder of opportunity to further progression.

“It is also encouraging to see the recognition that apprenticeships are not simply a tool for solving youth unemployment but are a programme for improving the skills of those in employment.”

David Corke, director of education and skills policy of the Association of Colleges (AoC), said: “The education committee’s report offers considered recommendations for the government to ensure that the quality of provision improves alongside increasing the number of apprenticeships offered by employers.

“Every apprenticeship is a job with training so employers, in both the public and private sector, are the essential ingredients. The Committee rightly points to the need to engage SMEs through awareness of the benefits of apprenticeships to their business.

“With participation by 16 to 19-year-olds currently remaining low, we need to ensure that young people are offered impartial information about the options available for them when they leave education. If, as a country, we are going to increase the number of young people opting for professional and technical education and choosing apprenticeships then we must improve careers education in schools.

“In addition, we agree with the education committee on the importance of retaining level two apprenticeships in the cases where they are respected by employers. It is too early to conclude on the success of traineeships as they are still in their infancy. We’d like to see two year level two pre-apprenticeships established to help 16 and 17-year-olds prepare for a full apprenticeship.”