Latest news from FE Week

Uncertainty over deadline for switch from old apprenticeship frameworks to Trailblazer standards

Uncertainty around the deadline of the apprenticeship frameworks is growing after the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) refused to confirm they would cease come 2017/18.

Adam Harper, BIS head of apprenticeship legislation, was non-committal when questioned about the deadline for the end of apprenticeship frameworks and move to Trailblazer standards, at London’s Capita apprenticeships and traineeships conference, on September 23.

With providers keen to find out if BIS was sticking to its planned cut-off for frameworks, FE Week asked BIS if it was now planning to allow them to continue beyond August 2017.

However, a BIS spokesperson declined to comment on the issue directly, saying instead that “there will be one new standard for each occupation identified byemployers as requiring an apprenticeship, and the standards will replace existing apprenticeship frameworks.”

He would not be drawn on a timescale for when this process should be completed by.

The government had confirmed the date for when it wanted old frameworks to be scrapped in an implementation plan for apprenticeship reform back in October 2013.

It stated: “The Trailblazers will provide clear examples of effective practice and approaches which others can build on as we move towards full implementation of the reforms during 2015/16 and 2016/17.

“Our aim is that from 2017/18, all new apprenticeship starts will be based on the new standards.”

But the government was forced to defend progress with implementation of Trailblazer apprenticeships in June, after FE Week reported that official figures indicated there had been just 300 starts on the new programmes in nine months.

Another FE Week report on August 6 revealed that frustration was growing among Trailblazer apprenticeship designers, with many of the new standards still awaiting government approval for delivery almost a year after they were published.

Just 24 standards had been published by BIS at that time as ready for delivery, and that figure still only stood at 54 as of September 24.

Yet the government said in August that more than 350 standards had either been delivered or were being developed.

It led to claims in FE Week on September 4 that Skills Minister Nick Boles had broken a promise made to the House of Commons Education Select Committee in January that there would be “many fewer” new apprenticeship Trailblazer standards than the frameworks, of which there were 334 at the time, they will replace.

The story saw FE Week editor Chris Henwood, in edition 145 of the newspaper, on September 7, raise the prospect of the frameworks deadline being put back.

CBI calls for Low Pay Commission-type body for levy rate

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) wants the rate for the government’s planned apprenticeship levy to be controlled by a new independent board with the Low Pay Commission (LPC) as the “blueprint,” FE Week can reveal.

It made the proposal as part of its submission to the government consultation on the levy plans, which closed on Friday, October 2.

A CBI spokesperson said its consultation response called for “the rate to be set by a new levy board, independent of government and providers”.

“It must be set based on sound evidence with the potential for the introduction of a cap on the total levy paid by any one business,” he added.

The CBI also called for the LPC, an independent body that advises the government about national minimum wage rises, to be treated as a “blueprint” for the new levy board.

The spokesperson said that its consultation response also stated that the levy “must give employers real control — signing off new standards, setting time rules on spending to the [levy] board”.

The consultation document was criticised after its publication on August 21 by Neil Carberry (pictured above), as reported in FE Week, CBI director for employment and skills, for failing to explore the cost involved or the minimum size of “larger employers” that the levy is set to apply to.

The Association of Colleges’ consultation response said the levy “should be set at 0.5 per cent of payroll, paid by all public and private organisations with more than 250 employees, and used to support high quality training”.

It added that the government “must not be seen to be using the levy as a reason to reduce its own £1.5bn annual spending on apprenticeships, because this will leave average funding at just £2,000 per apprentice and stall the necessary progress towards a high quality programme”.

The University and College Union response said that the lack of detail in the consultation document on “the size of employers in scope of the scheme, the levy rate and sectoral considerations” were “glaring omissions”.

“As this is a scheme for large employers only, we do not believe that smaller companies should be eligible for support by it — these firms should continue to receive SFA funding,” it added.

In its consultation submission, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education said: “We believe any underspend within the apprentice levy budget should be made available to fund digital vouchers for apprenticeships in smaller businesses who have not paid the levy.

“To deliver 3m apprenticeships by 2020, the government needs to continue to support the expansion of apprentice places within small and medium sized businesses.”

The National Union of Students said in its response that “it is absolutely vital apprenticeship funding from the levy is used to support training by smaller companies”.

“Restricting funding to large companies who have paid the levy will only limit scope and access to apprenticeships,” it added.

Dr Mary Bousted (pictured right), general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers said: “We are making it clear in our consultation response that the protection of government funding for 16 to 18-year-old apprenticeship programmes is imperative.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Business, innovation and Skills said: “We will provide our response to the consultation submissions in due course.”

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers and Federation of Small Businesses were unable to provide their submissions at the time of going to press.

Levy ‘double whammy’ not issue for 2/3

Almost two thirds of large construction employers would support paying a “double whammy” of charges after the government’s apprenticeship levy is launched, a new survey has indicated.

Building trade bosses already pay a levy that allows the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) to develop qualifications and standards and give out £150m a-year in grants to employers to fund training.

But the CBI told FE Week on September 21 that employers should not have to pay a “doublewhammy” of CITB and apprenticeship levies.

The issue was addressed by a CITB survey that asked 100 large construction employers if its levy should continue alongside the apprenticeship charge.

Steve Radley, CITB director of policy and strategic planning, said that the survey option “favoured by nearly six out of ten (59 per cent)” respondents would involve paying “the new levy plus CITB’s at a reduced rate, with a modified level of CITB services”.

Only 24 per cent of employers questioned backed paying the full CITB charge and apprenticeship levy, while 17 per cent opted for only paying the proposed apprenticeships levy.

Click here for an expert piece on the survey findings by Stephen Radley.

Leaked BIS memo raises questions about SFA future – again

The future of the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) is once again in question, with a leaked Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) memo suggesting it plans to more than halve the number of its partner organisations by 2020.

Details of the leaked document were revealed in the Guardian, and include proposals to reduce the number of its partner organisations — of which the SFA is one – to 20, cut operating costs by 30 to 40 per cent and consolidate the “BIS family” from around 80 sites into seven or eight “centres of excellence”.

The proposals are based on recommendations from consultancy firm McKinsey, after Business Secretary Sajid Javid reportedly called them in to carry out an “efficiency and effectiveness review” of BIS in late July.

According to the Guardian article, by James Wilsdon, professor of science and democracy in the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex, BIS staff are now being consulted on the proposals, with a detailed implementation plan expected to follow in January.

Mr Wilsdon writes: “The case for radical change is set out in stark terms. Despite ‘huge strides in the last five years’, BIS is ‘too complex’, with ‘45 partner organisations and 80+ locations’, such that ‘those who deal with us find us hard to understand and navigate’.

“BIS ‘currently costs too much to run’, and its users ‘need a better service’ with ‘faster and more efficient access to advice and funding’.”

It’s not the first time that doubts have been raised over the future of the SFA. In 2012 a report by Lord Heseltine, one time deputy prime minister, questioned the role of the SFA and called for apprenticeship and post-19 education funding to be devolved to local areas, via a single funding pot.

Further questions were raised in November, when Peter Lauener was appointed chief executive of the SFA in addition to his existing role heading up the Education Funding Agency. Rumours of a planned merger of the two bodies were later met with denial by the government and by Mr Lauener himself.

A BIS spokesperson said it did not comment on leaks.

Edition 149: Movers and Shakers

David Sykes has officially started in his role as managing director of FE and skills solutions specialist FEA.

He joins at a time of change for the organisation as it rebrands from FE Associates and brings together the company’s performance improvement division, BW Consultants.

Under the new brand, FEA will concentrate on transformational solutions for quality, management information systems, curriculum, finance, interim management and executive search, among others.

Mr Sykes, who moves from his position as managing director of training provider The Skills Network, said: “With the announcement of area reviews, a prolonged period of funding cuts, and the introduction of a new inspection framework the FE and skills sector is undergoing change on a scale not seen since incorporation in 1993.

“By changing the way we operate and bringing together all our services under one united entity, we believe we will be in an even stronger position to help FE and skills providers not only deal effectively with change but also improve outcomes for their organisations and, most importantly, their learners.”

Mr Sykes has previously held roles as a partnership director at The Learning and Skills Council and was a lead inspector with the Adult Learning Inspectorate. He is a current Ofsted inspector.

In Ipswich, Perry Perrott has been appointed director of business development at Suffolk New College.

The 49-year-old will work to develop the college’s commercial activities. His aim is to develop initiatives and build relationships with the local business community to generate increased revenue.

“Our vision is very clear: we need to engage the community, we need to engage businesses, be honest, be up front, and deliver on time, ahead of expectations,” said Mr Perrott, who previously worked at South Worcestershire College as director of curriculum and then director of business.

“A big part of that is stakeholder management. It’s talking to people, getting to know people, giving them what they want, not what we want to deliver, and also being a college which is versatile and can adapt, one that can work within business timeframes and business service level agreements.”

As well as totting up more than 18 years in the FE sector, Mr Perrott has held an array of high-level positions in different professions, including sport with Gloucester Rugby, where he was employed as a video analysis coach.

And awarding organisation (AO) NCFE will welcome former Loughborough College principal Esme Winch as its first managing director come January.

Ms Winch said she was “delighted” at her appointment “at a time of such rapid change and development” in the sector.

“NCFE’s well-recognised strengths underpin an ambitious and confident outlook on the future,” she added.

Heather MacDonald, who was principal of Sheffield College until June, replaced Ms Winch at Loughborough College as interim principal on October 1.

The Newcastle upon Tyne-based AO has also unveiled chartered accountant Phil Murray as commercial and financial director. The role was previously known as director of business services, and was most recently held by Graeme Walker, who left the post in September last year.

Planning a new build and not aware of the impact of new CDM Regulations on FE?

Alexandra Reid explains how the new CDM regulations will impact FE building projects.

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) come into force on October 6 as the latest update of the CDM Regulations. They have the goal of ensuring that health and safety issues are properly considered during a project’s development so as to reduce the risk of harm to those building, using and maintaining the developments.

Compliance with CDM 2015 is vital and failure to do so can have serious and far-reaching consequences. These include criminal sanctions, fines and even imprisonment.

A “client” under CDM 2015 is an organisation “for whom a construction project is carried out”. In the vast majority of cases, therefore, FE colleges will be “clients” for the purposes of CDM 2015. CDM 2015, perhaps unfortunately, assumes a level of industry specific knowledge for clients which FE colleges and other educational institutions may understandably not have.

This position can be contrasted with that of a client undertaking a “domestic” project where a lesser level of knowledge is assumed.

Specifically, under CDM 2015 the duties of FE clients are enhanced compared to those under the previous CDM Regulations published in 2007.

The new regulations will require FE colleges in their role as “clients” undertaking construction work to appoint duty-holders — client FE colleges must ensure that other duty-holders are appointed, for example designers and contractors, including a principal designer and principal contractor on projects involving more than one contractor. If a college fails to do this it will have to carry out these roles itself.

Under the new regulations the duties of FE clients are enhanced

Colleges must also ensure that the parties they appoint have the relevant skill-set — the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to manage health and safety risks.

Clients, themselves, must further ensure they are fully equipped to carry out their duties. They must also ensure compliance by others — colleges must ensure that their principal designer and principal contractor carry out their duties.

They must also ensure clear roles of others — that the roles, functions and responsibilities of the project team are clear; that sufficient time and resources are allocated and effective mechanisms are in place to ensure good communication, cooperation and coordination between all parties.

Colleges must prepare a health and safety file — colleges must ensure that their chosen principal designer prepares a health and safety file for the project.

The various duties required of an FE client coupled with the obligation to ensure compliance by others is potentially daunting. This is particularly the case since these duties cannot be transferred back to the principal contractor in the same way that they can for domestic clients.

This burden can, however, be eased by ensuring adequate assistance from the project manager/ project team by, firstly, appointing an adviser — a college can choose to appoint a “CDM compliance adviser” to assist and advise in respect of their duties. The college would still carry out the role of ‘client’ but would have guidance and support along the way.

Secondly, appoint a project manager/employer’s agent — a college can also choose to appoint a project manager or similar party tasked with assisting with carrying out its duties, similar to the role of a CDM compliance adviser, or choose to delegate those responsibilities entirely to their project manager. In these circumstances, the appointment letter between the college and project manager would need to very clearly set out the extent to which this role is being delegated and any fee arrangements would need to reflect this. Importantly, the project manager would need to be comfortable and have the expertise to carry out this role.

Finally, managing project meetings to ensure compliance — FE clients are recommended to arrange frequent, for example fortnightly or monthly, project progress meetings as well as other reporting requirements in order to ensure that all parties are carrying out their roles as required.

Aishah turns to adult education to make a human rights difference

Having fled persecution in Afghanistan as a trainee human rights lawyer, Aishah Saried turned to English FE so she could one day return to make a difference to others in need of help, writes Billy Camden.

Having a voice in places of war and terror can often lead to persecution — and that is what Aishah Saried found as an outspoken trainee human rights lawyer in her native Afghanistan.

She fled the country in 2011 and found asylum in the UK with her three children, Fatemah, Farzin and Mohammed.

But she said she “suffered from humiliation” when she had to bring an interpreter to school events such as parents’ evening because she could not speak English.

Determined to change her life from “happening behind a thick glass screen” and to one day return to her home country as a fully qualified human rights lawyer to fight social injustice, Aishah enrolled on an English for speakers of other languages (Esol) course at Birmingham Adult Education Service (BAES) in 2012.

She progressed onto level one and then level two before excelling in English and maths GCSE, meaning she could go on to study a degree in social work at Wolverhampton University.

Her journey is described as “incredible and remarkable” by BAES GCSE tutor Lucy Ellenor (pictured below).

“When Aishah first started she was nervous and timid with it being a new country, but the person I see today is completely different,” said Ms Ellenor.

“She has made great progress in her language and has her feet on the ground.”

Aishah’s achievements were topped off earlier this year when she won an outstanding learner achievement award at BAES.

Ms Ellenor said: “I am beyond words proud of Aishah and how far she has come, she has done incredibly well. She is the sort of student to really make the most about learning opportunity.

“She attended all of the support workshops we put on and was inquisitive in every lesson, showing absolute determination to achieve her goals.”

And Aishah cannot thank BAES enough for her progress.

“From that first ESOL course to my recent GCSEs I have been treated with nothing but respect and kindness by the staff at BAES,” she said.

“I’ve learned more, so much more than the English language and I have re-gained my self-respect.”

Aishah added that when she first arrived in the UK she felt “somehow less of a mother than I had been in Afghanistan”.

But her children are now “absolutely thrilled” by the changes they have seen in her since she became a learner.

“We now regularly settle down to our homework together and I love it when they ask for my help,” said Aishah.

“When my son, Mohammed, kissed me for luck the night before my GCSE English exam I felt I could look him in the eye, secure in the knowledge that, I’ve given him back the mother he deserves.”

Main pic: From left: Fatemah and Aishah Saried at the BAES end of year awards

Taking centre stage for FE research

Paul Grainger outlines the new University College London (UCL)/Institute of Education (IOE) Centre for Post-14 Education and Work, which was set up last month.

Each year I tell my students that this year has been a turbulent one for FE. And each year it’s true. Stability is never on the agenda. It’s the price that FE pays for being dynamic, responsive, and crucial to both economic prosperity and social mobility.

Globally there is increased interest in transitions from school to work, training and higher education. There are different patterns across the world, even across the nations of the UK. FE in Britain has unique features and strengths, and these continue in a state of flux as leaders respond to changes in technology, learning and the nature of work; policy pressure to downsize the state; and regional pressures for increased productivity and civic integration.ach year I tell my students that this year has been a turbulent one for FE. And each year it’s true. Stability is never on the agenda. It’s the price that FE pays for being dynamic, responsive, and crucial to both economic prosperity and social mobility.

It is vital that there is a strong academic centre dedicated to further and continuing education. For those of us of advanced years Coombe Lodge used to provide such a focus, with a rich stream of scholarship to inform policy decisions. Fortunately its library was saved in the nick of time, as reported by FE Week in May, and now resides at the University College London/Institute of Education.

Institutional and system leadership, governance, and professional identities, central to the future of FE, are evolving rapidly and should be aided by a strong narrative of support

The overarching aim of this new centre, building on the legacies of the Centre for Post-14 Research and Innovation and the National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy (NRDC), is to support improvement and stimulate debate around the relationship between education, working life and active citizenship.

Our research and consultancy is supported by a dialogue between practitioners, policy and research communities, and through collaboration with government agencies, local organisations, higher education and employers.

Over the next five to 10 years there will be a major international, national and regional policy focus on research concerning the
relationship between learning and work, including the development of literacy, language and numeracy across diverse communities.

There are fascinating and important topics to explore including relationships between employers and the education system, issues of educational participation, progression and life transitions for an inclusive and aspirational society. Disengagement continues to concern us; the high cost of frustrated lives, welfare and incarceration. It is vital that policy making is informed, and implementation and impact measured in an informed way.

Institutional and system leadership, governance, and professional identities, central to the future of FE, are evolving rapidly and should be aided by a strong narrative of support. Local learning systems are increasingly the focus of attention, and may prove the basis for pivotal College activity as state intervention reduces.

The team at UCL/IOE are developing ideas and models around local learning ecologies and systems. Professional, vocational, community and work-based learning are fundamental to local prosperity, and a better understanding on how they relate to employment and productivity levels something we are grappling with.

Are curriculum, qualifications and assessment to remain a national, statutory requirements, subject to the whim of volatile ministerial reflexes, or could they become devolved, local in nature and partnership driven?

The Centre will explore these ideas by keeping in touch with the sector and those within it. Any bone fide practitioner can join our network — http://tinyurl.com/poskw62 — and contribute their perspective.

Turbulence and uncertaintly may have been the norm for many years, but the present level of threat is high and potentially fatal. When aspirations for a literate, numerate, inclusive society and an efficient economy are banking on a strong FE sector, that very sector is at the sharp end of austerity.

Colleges serving our economy and the future of our learners need informed and influential friends. The new Centre is our contribution to both a sustainable scholarship and a durable sector.

Has Gazelle changed its spots?

Gazelle has responded to long-running criticism that its £35k membership fee, along with other costs, could not be justified in the absence of any return on investment analysis, including any proof that membership affected Ofsted grades. Fintan Donohue explains how such criticism has changed the organisation.

The Gazelle Colleges Group commissioned an analysis of its impact from an independent research organisation (whose members regularly write as expert commentators for FE Week) late last year.

It provided a significant amount of detail about the activity of the group and concluded that it had a positive impact on members and the wider sector.

However, in common with criticism levelled by FE Week, it also said the group needed to change — in particular to develop how we measure and demonstrate impact, to increase efficiency and improve the clarity of communications and structure.

We took those criticisms on board and launched a review, led by a working group of members, and a series of recommendations was put to the wider membership.

As a result the membership fee has been cut in half and the structure streamlined.

Going forward there will be specific impact measures built into all activity so that the group can measure value more rigorously and report on return on investment (ROI) specifically.

The focus of Gazelle colleges will stay the same, working to improve the chances of young people getting a job and to help colleges diversify their income through enterprise.

Individual colleges have a long history of investing in enterprise, albeit under different banners. Gazelle Colleges Group is a non-profit membership group that has sought to pool costs in this area in order to provide better value. Whatever has been achieved over the past four years has only been possible because member colleges worked together.

Over the past four years 5,000 students have gained new skills from the group’s three enterprise competitions, and another 1,000 have attended national enterprise conferences and networking events.

We took criticisms on board and launched a review, led by a working group of members, and a series of recommendations was put to the wider membership

Barking & Dagenham College lecturer Andy Duffy, trained in Design Thinking with the Gazelle Colleges Group, a methodology which provides a new approach to curriculum design and delivery.

Andy said the “advanced training in Design Thinking with other teachers from across the Gazelle Colleges network has enabled me to bring a new approach to curriculum design and delivery which is better preparing our students for employment/self-employment”.

Andy will be delivering a seminar in Finland in November to share this best practice.

He is not alone. Around 1,400 member college lecturers and 260 member college curriculum managers have engaged in professional training through Gazelle Colleges Group that has changed practice in many colleges.

The group continues to attract support in the form of sponsorship from other organisations passionate about student employability and enterprise — thus minimising cost to colleges and maximising potential. Entrepreneurs and employers of the highest calibre provide free conference input, mentoring and advice because they want to see students embrace enterprise alongside other skills in our colleges.

Autumn activities include new investigative research into commercial capacity and the commercial challenges facing our sector, sponsored by Wickland-Westcott, and a science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) teaching and learning workshop in November.

The fourth Gazelle Market Maker competition, sponsored by Hewlett Packard, will take place in December. We are also sharing the results of the 18 projects as part of the Learning Futures programme managed by Gazelle on behalf of the Education and Training Foundation.

The decline in membership is of course disappointing, but understandable given the significant pressures facing most colleges. By sharing resources and investing collectively there’s no reason why, even as a smaller group, the group can’t do useful work in this area for themselves and the wider sector.

Apprentices get minimum wage boost with paypackets of lowest-earning up 20 per cent

Apprentices were today benefiting from a 20 per cent boost to their National Minimum Wage to £3.30 an-hour.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid (pictured above) said that the inflation-busting increase, from the old £2.73-an-hour rate, was “the largest in history, making sure that apprenticeships remain an attractive option for young people”.

It came as the adult NMW also increased this morning from £6.50 to £6.70.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) said that the rise for lowest-earning apprentices would mean that “those working 40 hours a-week would now have £1,185 more in their pay packet over the year”.

The increase, announced in March, represented a rejection of the Low Pay Commission (LPC) call in February for the apprentice minimum wage to rise by just 7p. The LPC itself had rejected a proposal from then-Business Secretary Vince Cable to bring the apprentice rate in line with the rate for 16 to 18-year-olds, then £3.79 per hour, but up by 8p to £3.87-an-hour from today.

The BIS spokesperson said: “By implementing a rate higher than the LPC recommendation, apprenticeships will deliver a wage that is comparable to other choices for work.”

The NMW rate for 18 to 20-year-olds has also increased today by 17p to £5.30-per-hour.

Mr Javid said: “As a one nation government we are making sure that every part of Britain benefits from our growing economy and today more than 1.4m of Britain’s lowest-paid workers will be getting a well-deserved pay rise.”

When the apprentice NMW wage increase was announced in March, Martin Doel, Association of Colleges chief executive, told FE Week: “The increase to the minimum wage for apprentices is very welcome in recognising the value that apprentices provide to employers and in recognising the costs that many apprentices have in transport and living costs. It makes the apprenticeship route still more attractive to young people seeking to earn while they learn.”

And spokesperson for the Association of Employment and Learning Providers said at the time: “We recommended narrowing the gap between the apprenticeship and NMW rates but we need to ensure that this is done in stages.

“We have to ensure that increases in the apprenticeship rate do not have an impact on the number of employers providing these apprenticeship places by ensuring that the programme is properly funded in the sectors where the minimum wage is an issue.”