Most of Professor Alison Wolf’s recommendations for reform of 14 to 19 vocational education have been implemented, the government has claimed.

The Department for Education has issued its final progress report on Professor Wolf’s 27 recommendations, which were initially outlined in her landmark 2011 Review of Vocational Education, claiming 20 of the points have become government policy, with six in the process of implementation and one having been implemented in-part.

The review sparked the introduction of new study programmes, a new drive for colleges to recruit learners from the age of 14 and per-learner funding, instead of the per-qualification funding which it was previously argued led to unfairness in the way FE colleges were funding compared to other 16 to 19 institutions.

In the progress report, the government said: “As a direct result of these recommendations, apprenticeships have been redesigned by employers to meet employers’ needs, DfE published approved lists of technical and vocational qualifications for 14 to 16 and 16 to 18-year-olds and will report only these qualifications in the performance tables.

“All 16 to 19 year olds in education are now offered a study programme based on their prior attainment, education and employment goals – nearly all students spend at least half their time studying one or more substantial qualifications such as A levels or technical and vocational qualifications which meet DfE’s requirements, alongside other activities such as tutorials or work-experience.

“Students who have not yet achieved an A*to C GCSE in English and maths by the age of 16 now continue to study these subjects as part of their 16-19 education. Sixth forms and FE colleges are funded, and have their performance reported, in the same way. Funding is on a ‘per student’ basis giving education providers the freedom to design programmes which best meets students’ needs and ambitions.

“Ofsted inspections, headline and progress measures in school and college performance table measures, minimum standards and destination measures have all been reformed to hold schools, colleges and other training providers to account for the provision of these reforms and provide transparent information to inform student choice of course and institution.”

Many of the key elements of the report have been implemented in the last six months, which has allowed the government to promote a much better position than the one announced about a year ago, when the review marked its third anniversary.

New study programmes, which require those under 19 without GCSEs in English and maths to work towards equivalent qualifications, became a condition of funding in August. A further 40 apprenticeship trailblazer standards were published, also in August, and a further 75 were published in October.

And last month, new 2014 key stage four performance tables, the first to reflect the Wolf recommendations, were published.

The National Union of Students (NUS) has issued a damning report on the issue of apprentice pay, branding the minimum wage of £2.73 an-hour “exploitative”.

The 21-page Forget Me Not (pictured above inset) report paints a bleak picture of apprentice finances backed by the evidence of several case studies, including a 17-year-old named Sam who earns £95.55 a-week in the first year of his healthcare apprenticeship but, despite living at home, is left with just £40.76 a-week after meeting his travel, food and course costs.

Joe Vinson (pictured above), NUS vice president for FE said: “This report shows that we could have a whole generation being shut out of vocational education because of financial constraints. I hope that our report will trigger a serious investigation in to the financial well-being of apprentices and lead all political parties to commit to making apprenticeships more accessible for all.

“Nobody is talking about the everyday reality for individual apprentices — it’s time we stopped talking about ‘the other 50 per cent’ and actually took action to fix the huge inequalities that exist between these types of education.

“Expansion of places just isn’t good enough, and it’s hiding the truth – we really need a new deal for apprentices.”

The report highlights how the three main political parties have voiced their support for apprenticeships in the run-up to the general election in May, how funding for the programme has increased in recent years and employers will be incentivised to take on apprenticeships from April next year by not having to pay National Insurance contributions.

But, it says: “While employers are encouraged to employ more apprentices and the Government is ploughing money in to funding them, what is the situation for the individual apprentice? What benefits and funding sources does an apprentice have access to?”

The report calls for the government to scrap the apprentice minimum wage, arguing that learners “should be entitled to at least the national minimum wage for their age”.

“The minimum wage for apprentices is exploitative and not enough to cover basic living expenses,” it says.

The recommendation is covered in a section on pay, and further areas in which recommendations are made are travel, sick pay, family budget, childcare, bursaries and bank accounts.

It also recommended free transport for all 16-19 year olds, extending the bursaries available to students in FE to apprentices and called for banks to be encouraged to offer special accounts for apprentices, similar to those available for undergraduates.

“Apprenticeships are often framed as a chance to ‘earn whilst you learn’. They supposedly offer a chance to gain a skill and a qualification whilst working in a ‘real’ job with a wage. Yet for many apprentices their low wages quickly disappear on travel, rent and food,” the report says.

“The NUS believes that apprentices need a better system of support in place in order for them to properly afford to complete their course. Without this apprentices are being forced to take on extra work, borrow money or drop out altogether.”

The NUS report comes two months after Apprenticeship Pay Survey 2014 showed how younger apprentices were being hit hardest by minimum wage non-compliance with nearly a quarter not getting the right pay levels last year.

It indicated that 24 per cent of apprentices aged 16 to 18 and learning at levels two and three were paid less than the apprentice minimum wage, which was £2.68 an-hour at the time of the survey, but rose 5p from October.

A spokesperson from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said it had “gone all out to support apprentices”.

She added: “Our reforms mean that companies are getting people with the skills they need. And those doing apprenticeships can earn while they learn with careers in TV producing, accountancy or engineering – available to a degree level.

“To support our hard-working apprentices we recently proposed that they should get an extra £1 an-hour. We are waiting for the Low Pay Commission to get back to us on this idea. In the meantime, apprentices are earning an average of £6.79 to £11.63 an hour depending on their level of apprenticeship.”

The Association of Colleges (AoC) has defended its members’ efforts to meet business needs for a digitally skilled workforce after a group of Peers said provision was “patchy, unresponsive and not meeting employer needs”.

Matt Dean, AoC technology policy manager, hit back at the House of Lords digital skills committee’s latest report, Make or Break: The UK’s digital future.

The report further said: “FE colleges need to move up a gear and provide industry-designed and endorsed short courses that are going to lead to a job.”

But Mr Dean said government and businesses needed to act to fill the skills gap, claiming colleges needed more resources and more input from employers.

He said: “The report rightly highlights that there is some excellent provision of education and services in colleges to help prepare young people and adults for the world of work.

“But for this to be more widespread, there needs to be more support from government, funding agencies, regulators and awarding bodies; for example, in streamlining the accreditation of new qualifications to meet the requirements of digital industries.

“Colleges already work with a large number of employers, because they recognise the importance of forging these links, and they would like to do more. However, this requires more businesses to be willing to develop staff training that reflects industry practice and that might be provided by, and within, the college.”

His insistence that colleges were working to fill the skills gap has been backed up by FE technology experts and sector leaders.

Bob Harrison, a member of the Further Education Learning Technology Action Group (Feltag), said: “I think the FE sector has already decided it needs to sort itself out, and it is nice to have the weight of the House of Lords behind it, but I would say that the time for reports has passed, and it is now time for action.”

Education Foundation co-founder Ian Fordham, who co-authored November’s Digital Colleges: The Journey So Far report, said: “A systemic challenge needs joined up solutions. As our report showed, far from colleges sitting in the trenches, many are now the ‘digital warriors’ — pioneering new approaches to learning and responding directly to industry needs.

“The authors have rightly laid the gauntlet down to colleges, but also aims its fire at schools, universities and government to take steps to turn Britain into a digital nation.”

Sixth Form Colleges’ Association chief executive David Igoe said: “Sixth form colleges, like schools have a critical role to play in developing the use of digital technology as a pedagogical tool and to encourage career pathways for both genders into engineering and the myriad of industries now highly dependent on digital — for example media and journalism.

“All this needs appropriate investment in IT and digital infrastructure and we would welcome any move to ensure colleges have the platforms and connectivity to respond to whatever new technology emerges in the coming years.”

Stewart Segal, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said: “Apprenticeships in the digital sector were one of the first standards to be developed in the Trailblazers and training providers have been involved in the process.

“And with the taking forward of the Feltag report, we believe that there will be growth in the number and quality of apprenticeships in this sector at all ages over the next five years.”

However, David Hughes, chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, called for more recognition of the lifelong needs for digital skills rather than a “narrow focus on young people in schools, colleges and universities”.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills declined to comment.

Main pic:  from left, Matt Dean, Bob Harrison 

Click here for an expert piece by digital skills committee chair Lady Morgan

Key findings on FE and skills from the Lords committee

Further education leaders must be at the forefront of improving technology use in the sector and implementing the recommendations of the Further Education Learning Technology Action Group (Feltag), the government has said.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) published an update on progress made by the sector in the six months since it published its response to the Feltag report, which came out in February last year.

The update, published on February 13, said: “The level of engagement by providers and individuals has been very encouraging and shows no signs of abating.”

It added: “Many colleges and providers are realigning their teaching and learning strategies accordingly, but there is more to do and it will be the leadership in the sector that will make it happen.”

The update pointed to the learning futures programme from the Education and Training Foundation (ETF), and delivered by Gazelle, and its work with technology charity Jisc as an example of FE leaders and managers developing capabilities.

One of the key recommendations in the Feltag report was that all courses should include 10 per cent online delivery to receive funding by 2015/16. However, the update echoed Skills Minister Nick Boles’s comments at the BETT conference last month that the recommendation was “more of a vague target” than a requirement, saying the government had reviewed the recommendation “in the light of concerns raised about setting a target without first testing the impact”.

It added it was carrying out a “temperature check” on current online delivery levels which, along with the 2014/15 ILR data returns, it would use to make future funding policy.

Introducing the update, Mr Boles said government would remain “engaged” with the process. But, he added: “It is for the FE sector to shape how technology is best used to deliver the most efficient and effective learning outcomes.”

The report also called for investment in technological infrastructure said almost 100 colleges had taken up the offer of BIS funding to upgrade their systems.

Feltag also recommended Ofsted scrutinise providers’ use of technology in the classroom as part of its inspections. However, the update said Ofsted was “agnostic” about specific methods of teaching, but it had “accepted the recommendation that it should increase its training and guidance for inspectors around education”.

In the future, the report concluded, the ETF and Jisc would be “helping providers and practitioners to create better digital content” and engaging employers to improve access to industry-standard technologies, as well as planning how to develop Feltag over the next year.

Main pic: Nick Boles

Colleges could lose out on funding if local enterprise partnerships (Leps) don’t engage with them, Association of Colleges chief executive Martin Doel has warned after
the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) published new guidance.

In a document entitled Local Enterprise Partnerships: increasing their influence on skills budgets, the SFA said future funding agreements would require colleges to demonstrate a relationship with their Lep. It also says that Leps will get a say in how additional growth funding is allocated.

But Mr Doel warned that colleges that had tried and failed to engage with Leps because of a lack of interest from the Leps could lose out on funding. He said: “It is well recognised that the capacity of Leps to engage in this activity is variable as is their level of interest, despite the determined effort of colleges to engage.

“It is also important to ensure that this work does not develop into an overly bureaucratic exercise that consumes scarce resources in detailed planning that is a poor fit for the complex, multi-layered and rapidly changing needs of a modern economy at the local, sub-regional, regional and national levels; colleges have a role to play at all of these levels and work with many stakeholders and to many other imperatives as well as Leps.

“However, colleges should not be punished financially because their Lep does not engage with them, or because the Lep identifies and chooses to fund other local priorities, such as roads or buses.”

The release of the document comes after Ofsted’s annual report on FE and skills for 2013/14 raised concerns that Leps were “not collaborating sufficiently to ensure that vocational training is planned to help reduce skills shortages”.

In 2012, an AoC report set out the “need to improve the conditions for more meaningful engagement” between Leps and colleges after it identified issues in the first year of the new organisations’ existence. But last year, Mr Doel told FE Week that “all but two” of the Leps were now engaged with local colleges.

Nevertheless, as well as encouraging Lep representatives to join governing boards in their areas, the SFA document also invites Lep input into the SFA’s review and allocation process for underspends. Leps will also be asked to assist and support procurement activities, it says.

South East Midlands Lep chair Dr Ann Limb (pictured), speaking on behalf of the LEP Network Management Board, welcomed the document and the powers it laid out for Leps.

She said “This report is both welcome and timely. It clarifies in detail the helpful role SFA can play at both national and local levels in ensuring employers skills needs are met.

“It offers an overarching framework which should encourage consistency of delivery with opportunities for local flexibility and innovation. It will guide Leps in their discussions with FE colleges and training providers in setting local economic and skills priorities.”