SFA funding research fails to attract any bids

The Skills Funding Agency has failed to attract a single bid on its tender for research into a new payments regime for adult learning, FE Week can exclusively reveal.

Fourteen research firms had been invited to bid for the work, but not one had gone for it as the deadline ticked by at noon on Monday last week.

The agency had been looking to go back to the drawing board following its own investigation into uniform funding for functional skills English and maths earlier this year.

But with less than a year to go before the new system is in place, an agency spokesperson said they would “continue to undertake the necessary analysis and research”.

Bidding contractors had been set a 33-day timescale in which to carry out at least 70 interviews with industry insiders, including college heads and teachers and stakeholder organisations.

The report was also to have been produced – with conclusions and recommendations.

The tender invite itself read: “Please be clear of any significant milestones in the project and how long the project would take from commissioning to completion.”

The move to commission a report on the new funding system comes less than three months after the agency announced the payment rates following its own investigation with the Funding External Technical Advisory Group.

The agency said English and maths qualifications would be funded at a base rate of £336, with a 1.3 Programme Weighting Factor boosting the amount for entry level maths to £437.

However, an agency spokesperson said at the time the figures could be “revisited”.

That “revisit” looked to be taking place with the research tender in which the winning contractor would have expected to be notified they had got the job by Wednesday, September 10.

The tender called for the successful bidder to have identified people to interview by September 24 before handing in the final report on October 26.

But, said an agency spokesperson: “No bids were received for this project.

“The agency is working to ensure that funding rates set, as part of its new simplified approach, is representative of the delivery requirements for functional skills and will continue to undertake the necessary analysis and research to inform these decisions.”

They added: “The agency and its advisory group confirmed in June that it would continue to explore whether the current cohort data is representative of the delivery requirements for functional skills.

“The research tendered, as agreed by BIS, the agency and its technical advisory group, is part of this further work.

“It was tendered to a range of specialist research organisations through the BIS research and evaluation framework agreement.

“This project was released through the framework on 16 August to all framework contractors in category two: economic and econometric forecasting analysis, of which there are 14.”

‘Worrying’ 40% of providers miss apprenticeship data target

Hundreds of providers are failing to hit a government target for keeping a check on whether new apprentices have got jobs.

Learner records for an estimated 30,000 students were returned to the Information Authority (IA) with “not known”, “not provided” or “missing” in the employment status box last academic year.

The National Union of Students (NUS) has called for “urgent action” to make providers complete individual learner records (ILR) with the information.

Its president, Liam Burns, described the failure by nearly 40 per cent of providers to get the detail as “deeply worrying”.

And the call for action was backed by shadow FE minister Gordon Marsden, who described the job status information as a “safeguard for learners” and pledged to raise the issue with the National Apprentice Service (NAS), the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) and the government.

An agency spokesperson said they had been in contact with the NAS over the issue of employment status record-keeping.

The data differentiates between apprenticeships with training providers, such as Zenos, where students would be registered as unemployed, and ones where students have a job.

It is deeply worrying that targets for collecting basic data have been missed and as a result the employment statuses of tens of thousands of apprentices now appear unaccounted for.”

Zenos, now owned by Pearson and operating under the name Pearson in Practice, came under fire this year when it emerged not one apprentice was guaranteed a job at the end of their 39-week course. Students also spent fewer  than six months with an employer.

A spokesperson for Zenos, which got £45.5 million  of taxpayers’ money in 2011-12 for running apprentice schemes, said at the time its  “long-term commitment is to equip young people with the skills and ability … to compete in a highly competitive marketplace”.

The failure of 340 providers to meet the target was affecting the government’s ability to check the performance of training providers, according to Liam Burns.

He said: “It is deeply worrying that targets for collecting basic data have been missed and as a result the employment statuses of tens of thousands of apprentices now appear unaccounted for.

“The government must urgently take action to ensure public money spent on training providers who make claims about getting students into work is checked against hard evidence.”

The government’s target is for more than 99 per cent of providers’ ILRs to be filled in with apprentices’ employment status.

The IA website specifies that apprenticeship providers must aim to have less than 0.3 per cent unknown on the first day of learning.

Providers with more than 0.5 per cent unknown in-year would be “asked to ensure this improves by the end of year return”, according to the website.

But the job status of 4.5 per cent of the overall number of apprentices is not known. This means the government did not know if, FE Week estimates, 30,000 students had a job.

Labour’s Mr Marsden said: “It’s very important that all providers keep accurate statistics on this issue for two reasons.

“It’s a check on concerns about deadweight learning and money being spent on courses with a view to employment. It’s also a safeguard for learners in ensuring due diligence with taxpayers’ money.

“I’ll write to the NAS and ask them to look carefully at these statistics and find out what they and the SFA and the Government can do.”

A spokesperson for the Association of Employment and Learning Providers added: “Our longstanding view is that all apprentices should be employed and that’s why we were pleased to see the 2009 Act spell it out.

“As Jason Holt said, an apprenticeship is a job with training. Therefore we feel that the issue is worth exploring further, even it is just some sort of hangover from PLA provision.”

The agency spokesperson said an official statement on the data records situation was expected to be released soon.

Jason Holt ‘disappointed’ by official snub

Entrepreneur Jason Holt has told of his disappointment that the government has not taken heed of his recommendations that schools promote apprenticeships.

In a comment piece published today in FE Week, Mr Holt said he was worried the government’s response to his review of apprenticeships would not lead to the changes “desperately needed” in schools.

“I am disappointed that the government has not taken more notice of my proposal that enlightened head teachers disseminate best practice to others,” said the jeweller in a piece written exclusively for FE Week.

“Many more schools should join forces with employers to showcase the successes of those who choose the apprenticeships.

“The government has accepted that more needs to be done to ensure that young people and their parents have access to quality information about the options available post-16.

“But it believes that it should be up to schools themselves – with partners such as local employers – to decide how best to address this challenge.

“Their decision to hand the baton to already hard-pressed and financially constrained schools will result in little actually happening.”

Jason Holt is understandably sore at the way [BIS] dismissed his totally correct recommendation, but he shouldn’t be surprised”

A spokesperson from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills said: “We agree schools have an important role to play in promoting apprenticeships, and that is why they are now legally required to provide every pupil with information on apprenticeships.

“We have also established the National Careers Service as an authoritative source of advice on learning and work.

“But rather than directing schools from the centre, for this initiative to work in practice it must be led by the people and organisations it affects.

“The British Chamber of Commerce is just one organisation that has already agreed to encourage its members to engage more with their local schools on apprenticeships.

“Encouraging employers and their apprentices to go into schools to talk to their pupils is an important way of raising the profile of apprenticeships as a viable option.”

Shadow FE minster Gordon Marsden said Mr Holt had “every right to be disgruntled”.

He said that despite the review having some “very practical” proposals about improving information, advice and guidance, the government has “basically shrugged their shoulders and said it’s up to other people to do something about it”.

Peter Cobrin, director of Apprenticeships England, was also supportive of Mr Holt.

“Jason Holt is understandably sore at the way [BIS] dismissed his totally correct recommendation, but he shouldn’t be surprised,” he said.

“We know the reality of what’s happening with careers guidance as do those young people in schools where the door is slammed in the face of those seeking to advocate apprenticeships. Jason is not a lone voice.”

My review and reaction to the Government’s response

I am passionate about the role apprenticeships have to play in helping to re-energise our economy. They are a great way to bring new blood into a business and to ensure that new opportunities are seized and important skills are not lost.

It has been gratifying, therefore, that the recommendations I put forward in my review, Making Apprenticeships More Accessible for SMEs, have been broadly accepted by the Government and welcomed by industry.

I am particularly pleased that the apprenticeship grant for employers (AGE 16-24) has been extended and made more accessible, and that businesses will have a greater say in the development of training programmes.

I am disappointed the Government has not taken more notice of my proposal”

More bespoke SME messaging by the National Apprenticeships Service, and an increased role for trusted advisers – such as accountants and lawyers – in promoting apprenticeships to their clients will also do much to raise the profile of this route to developing talent.

I am disappointed, however, that the Government has not taken more notice of my proposal that enlightened head teachers disseminate best practice.

I had hoped that they would require schools to actively promote apprenticeships and to put a stronger emphasis on equipping pupils with the skills that would make them attractive, work-ready candidates for SMEs.

This is desperately needed. A 2011 AOL survey of 500 pupils entering Year 10 found that only 7 per cent were able to name apprenticeships as a post-GCSE option.

The anecdotal feedback I heard during the review process supports this. There is no doubt that apprenticeships are portrayed in schools as only suitable for the less able or more practical students.

Destination measures are welcome, but there is still no obvious structure in the school system to encourage young people to think of apprenticeships as a career path.  Indeed, they are often encouraged to go on to A-levels and higher education even when an apprenticeship would suit their needs much better.

The Government’s decision to hand the baton to already hard-pressed and financially constrained schools will result in little actually happening”

The Government has accepted that more needs to be done to ensure that young people and their parents have access to quality information about the options available post-16.  But it believes that it should be up to schools themselves – with partners such as local employers – to decide how best to address this challenge.

Their decision to hand the baton to already hard-pressed and financially constrained schools will result in little actually happening ¬- and changes to the provision of Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) will make it even harder to counter some of the existing prejudices against apprenticeships.

From this month, schools have a new duty to secure independent, impartial careers guidance for their pupils in Years 9-11 on all post-16 education and training options, including apprenticeships. In a busy school, and despite the best intentions, it will be all too tempting to simply direct pupils to one of the established career websites.

Feedback from industry groups suggests they are equally disappointed with the Government’s decision to “pass the buck”.  Indeed, in the focus groups I ran with SMEs in the run-up to the review, it was young people not being “work-ready” that caused the most angst and was the biggest barrier to their take up of apprenticeships.

So what do we need to do to make sure the message about a stronger role for schools in promoting apprenticeships doesn’t sink without trace?  Many more schools should join forces with employers to showcase the successes of those who have chosen the apprenticeship route.

I would also like to see schools finding creative ways to equip their pupils with transferable, work-related skills.  For instance, more businesses taking governership positions and young people running their own schools, motivating teachers to spend some of their summer holiday working in businesses.

By Jason Holt

Graham Hoyle calls for ‘urgent action’ on traineeships

The government’s promised pre-apprenticeship scheme, referred to by the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg in July as a “traineeship”, will not be piloted until spring next year, FE Week has learnt.

In response, Graham Hoyle, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ chief executive, said “urgent action” was needed to provide a programme for young people who left school with few or no qualifications.

“The Chancellor’s autumn statement provides the opportunity to do this, perhaps using the black box approach that we have seen in the work programme and which the Education Funding Agency is now adopting for other 16-18 provision,” said Mr Hoyle.

“Given the scale of the NEET challenge, we cannot afford to wait for a pilot in the spring.”

A spokesperson from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) said there had been no delay and that the plan had always been to announce the locations in the autumn and to ensure that they were up and running from spring 2013.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said on September 6 in Parliament: “There clearly is an issue with 16 to 18-year-olds who need to have a ladder into apprenticeships rather than go straight into a demanding skills course associated with a job.

“We recognise there’s a transitional issue and I’m certainly working with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how we manage that transition.”

The traineeship scheme was announced in the government’s response to the Holt Review and entrepreneur Jason Holt’s recommendation that the current pre-apprenticeship options needed to be rationalised to better prepare young people for their apprenticeship.

A BIS spokesperson said: “The government accepts that some potential apprentices may need additional support to prepare them to undertake an apprenticeship. The range of provision on offer is designed to meet the varying needs of young people, and the government therefore does not believe that existing schemes need rationalising.

“It will, however, continue to evaluate the effectiveness of this provision, identify and address any emerging gaps, and ensure the range of options is well communicated.”

The department said it was “particularly aware of a gap in provision for unemployed young adults with very low skill levels and no experience of work” and a new traineeship scheme would be piloted to address this.

“The aim of the pilots is to test the effectiveness of employer-led interventions of up to 26 weeks in duration to secure progression for those furthest from the labour market. The pilots will be locally tailored to individuals’ and labour market needs,” said a BIS spokesperson.

The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) described the pilot as an “opportunity to test the water and design traineeships that offer work experience and training to help meet the needs of young people”.

John Hayes, former minister for FE

The former minister of FE is variously described, with good humour, as a maverick, a poet, a crusader, and an arts and crafts revivalist. His public speeches are filled with references to William Morris, Shelley and the Romantic age of guilds and chivalry.

Even his most ardent opponents call John Hayes “friendly”, “likeable” and, most of all, “loyal”. Not since Lord Boswell was further and higher education minister in the 1990s has any minister covering this sector attracted such widespread accolades.

One reason is clear – Hayes had an uphill battle with colleagues and Cabinet to secure extra adult and community learning (ACL) funds and other gains, little though these were amid the 25 per cent austerity cuts. Again, there are parallels with Boswell, who championed the cause while opponents commiserated with him for what they saw as the failure of the 2001 Tory manifesto to even mention further education.

Come 2010 and the Coalition Government, FE was firmly on the Tory map, thanks in no small part to Hayes’ dogged persistence during five years as shadow minister. So, as he moves on in Cameron’s reshuffle to a senior energy post, what is his legacy? And what will his successor, Matthew Hancock, senior economic adviser allied to George Osborne do with it?

His gusto, inimitable style and personal warmth came through”

Comments to FE Week on his departure do not all go Hayes’ way. But when criticisms are made, they are levelled more at wider policy influences. Even Gordon Marsden, Shadow Minister for FE and skills, says: “His gusto, inimitable style and personal warmth came through in his shining commitment to his portfolio. His successor will find him a tough act to follow.”

Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, describes him as “a passionate and effective advocate for FE” who supported community learning for its own sake and in support of local people. He did so “in a way that bean counters have great difficulties getting their heads around”.

Most of all, says Doel: “Hayes is man who listens to reason. When apprenticeships were criticised, he made a sensible mid-course adjustment to quality; he was open-minded enough to listen and make changes to adult entitlements and ESOL funding, and to FE loans.”

An enormous and as yet unrealised part of Hayes’ legacy, he says, is institutional autonomy and the proposed FE Guild. “The guild represents the reincorporation of colleges, but with a significant culture change away from their being directed bodies to becoming institutions that take charge of their own futures. That’s got to be a three-year journey if you really want to achieve.”

Doel could not comment on where he thought Hayes’ successor would take this – and the jury is still out. Hancock is described by Doel as “sharp, ambitious and bright”. The new FE man is co-author of the book Masters of Nothing, which looks at human factors behind the financial crash. If he takes the same dim view of deregulation in FE as he has in banking, then the guild’s future is not bright.

Hancock is not a minister, but a joint Parliamentary Under Secretary. Virtually everyone who spoke to FE Week regretted that this was a “demoted title”. But then, personally close to Osborne, Hancock is in the circle of Notting Hill dinner party invitees, where Hayes – though undoubtedly a big hitter – was not.

For the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), the single biggest success of Hayes is around apprenticeships. Graham Hoyle, association chief executive, said: “John’s strong championing of high quality apprenticeships as the flagship skills programme has served both the sector and the economy very well during challenging times. The biggest tribute I can pay is that the economic pay-off from his legacy will still be felt in years to come.”

Not all was plain sailing for apprenticeships, as unacceptably short schemes, inadequate training, misuse of funds were revealed by FE Week. And, while there’s general agreement that Hayes’ intervention improved apprenticeships considerably, many commentators questioned their role, in criticisms best summed up by Mick Fletcher, FE consultant with the Policy Consortium and FE Week columnist.

“We liked Hayes because he shared our enthusiasm for FE traditions, but this didn’t always work to our advantage,” he says. “For example, policy on apprenticeships seemed to be driven as much by nostalgia and sentiment as rational analysis.

What will happen to the FE Guild now that John has gone?”

A more hard-nosed approach might challenge the assertion that apprenticeships are the answer to youth unemployment – and ask what on earth they have to do with 55-year-old Morrison’s shelf stackers.”

Fletcher also speaks for many non-employer organisations in challenging Hayes’ notion of the guild. “The noble vision of an FE Guild magically raising the status and quality of FE conveniently obscures real contradictions and tensions that will inevitably render the thing unviable,” he adds. “For example, it’s hard to reconcile notions of the individual professional (or master craftsperson) with employer ownership.”

But then, supporters of the guild warn of such weaknesses, exposing a contradiction between Hayes’ “legacy” and wider Tory or Coalition policy. Doel makes the point that initiatives such as the employer ownership programme and influence of LEPs, “while not wrong individually, take away autonomy”.

Likewise, Lynne Sedgmore, executive director of the 157 Group, asks: “What will happen to the FE Guild now that John has gone?” She is right to be sceptical since a succession of institutions – FEDA CEL, QIA, IfL, LSIS, to name but a few – created by ministers to be “run and owned by the sector” have emerged since the 1990s.

Sedgmore speaks of a Hayes legacy “which has had many positive impacts for FE”, including his focus on high quality teaching and learning.

But, she adds: “His time has not been without challenge for the sector – attacks on skills funding from all quarters have been ongoing and the reality of greater freedom has seen some mixed messages about the capacity of sector leadership. And FE loans, as well as the focus on employer ownership, pose additional challenges for FE leaders to overcome.”

Hayes was never afraid to go against the grain of mainstream Coalition policy if he felt it suited FE, as with his decision to retain mandatory training for qualified teacher status, while Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, was abolishing the requirement in academies.

Toni Fazaeli, chief executive of the IfL (Institute for Learning), says: “We pay particular tribute to Mr Hayes’ work in supporting our campaign to ensure members with Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills status are recognised as equal to those with Qualified Teacher Status for teaching in schools as well as in further education.”

The point of his intervention was that it should be the FE sector itself that decides training needs in light of the current Lingfield inquiry into professionalism. The big hope among most people commenting on his departure is that Hancock will continue the same tradition – but no one is holding their breath.

New FE minister went to college, we are now told

The college past of the government’s new further education chief Matthew Hancock has been revealed.

The personal Conservative Party website of the 33-year-old joint Parliamentary Under Secretary for BIS and DfE was updated with details of West Cheshire College today.

It is understood the extra detail about Mr Hancock’s further education past was added around noon – more than 12 hours after news of his appointment hit the FE Week website.

The revised webpage on the MP for West Suffolk, who went to Fandon County Primary School and then King’s School Chester, said he attended West Cheshire College of Further Education.

A BIS spokesperson confirmed Mr Hancock took an A Level in Computing at the college in 1995.

The site is managed by staff at his House of Commons office.

Screenshot from the Conservative Party website
Screenshot with added West Cheshire College, from www.matthewhancock.co.uk

The change means the site carries more detail on Mr Hancock’s own further education than his party’s official website, where there was no mention of West Cheshire College as of 3pm today.

However, a Conservative Party spokesperson said the site might also be altered, saying she would “let the website people know”.

She added: “I’ve got no idea if it will be changed, but I’ll let the IT people know and they may or may not update it.”

Nobody from Mr Hancock’s Commons office or West Cheshire College was immediately available for comment.

He replaced fellow Tory MP John Hayes, who had been in the post as Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning since May 13, 2010.

Action man takes the reins

Matthew Hancock, the MP who took over from John Hayes in the reshuffle, says he’s “delighted” with his rapid move through the parliamentary ranks to a junior ministerial post.

The new joint Parliamentary Under Secretary for Business Innovation and Skills and the Department for Education is in his first term as an MP. He was elected for West Suffolk in 2010.

He won with 24,312 votes, 13,050 ahead of the Liberal Democrat candidate, Belinda Brooks-Gordon.

“I grew up in a small business,” said the 33-year-old. “I passionately believe in the importance of turning around our economy, helping businesses create jobs, and improving skills and apprenticeships.

It is a huge honour to serve in government as well as serving my constituents in West Suffolk. I’ll give it my all.”

Before moving into politics, he worked for his family computer software business, Border Business Systems, and then spent five years as an economist at the Bank of England.

He studied politics, philosophy and economics at the University of Oxford and then completed a masters in economics at the University of Cambridge.

The Conservative Party website describes Mr Hancock as “at the forefront of the debate about the future of the economy”. When the Conservatives were in opposition he was asked to lead George Osborne’s team, and was the senior economic adviser to the shadow chancellor and David Cameron, helping to draft much of the party’s economic policy.

In September last year he published his first book Masters of Nothing, co-authored with MP Nadhim Zahawi, which discusses the human behaviour that caused the financial crash and the changes that need to be made to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

He has some experience of the FE sector, after becoming an MP he was elected to the Public Accounts Committee, which scrutinises how government departments spend taxpayers’ money, and was involved in a hearing about reducing bureaucracy in further education. During the hearing he showed an interest in the complexities caused by the separation of the Education Funding Agency (known at the time as the Young People’s Learning Agency) and the Skills Funding Agency.

In 2005, on foot to the North Pole. He didn’t make it to the pole, succumbing to frostbite on the Arctic Ocean, but he claims to have played the most northerly recorded game of cricket.

The Spectator describes his instincts as “strongly pro-reform” and at one of the publication’s recent conferences on schools he spoke in support of letting schools operate for a profit. In Parliament he has supported schools having greater autonomy, university tuition fees and raising the undergraduate tuition fee cap to £9,000 per year.

His voting record shows strong support for encouraging occupational pensions, EU integration, increasing the rate of VAT and against a more proportional system for electing MPs.

He is also a member of the Committee on Standards and Privileges that adjudicates on MPs’ conduct.

Away from Westminster, Mr Hancock moonlights as an action man. During summer recess this year he embarked on a strict three-month regime to train as a jockey for a charity horse race, losing 28lb (12kg).

He had ridden horses before, but was challenged to train as a jockey and take part in the Blue Square Cavalry Charge as part of Newmarket’s Horsemen and Heroes day to fundraise for Racing Welfare and The Household Cavalry Operational Casualties Fund. He won on Dick Doughtywylie, raising £10,000. “My attitude is just to throw myself into things,” he told the BBC.

My attitude is just to throw myself into things”

He is a keen cricket fan and is the secretary of the Lords and Commons Cricket Club. In 2005, he set out on foot to play the northernmost game of cricket on record at the North Pole.

He didn’t make it to the pole, succumbing to frostbite on the Arctic Ocean, but he did succeed in playing the most northerly recorded game of cricket. Watch the video on his website.

 

Matthew Hancock tells FE Week

“It is a great privilege to take on this job. Skills are vital in creating economic growth and giving young people the best possible chance in life.

“Having attended West Cheshire College [to do an A-level in computing] I am aware both of the life changing opportunities that Further Education colleges offer, and the tough challenges they face.

“I look forward to travelling around the country and meeting teachers, lecturers, apprentices, employers and students to find out what we can do to make this sector even more successful.”

First Parliamentary appearance as a minister

Further Education and Skills loses Minister

This evening the Prime Minister’s office confirmed via twitter that John Hayes has been moved from his role as Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning to the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

@Number10 tweeted: “PM appoints John Hayes as Minister of State at Department of Energy and Climate Change”

He will be replaced Matthew Hancock, not as another Minister of State, but as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State.

@Number10 tweeted: “PM appoints Matthew Hancock as joint Parliamentary Under Secretary for BIS and DfE”

Like Hayes, Mr Hancock will straddle both the Department for Education and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

Mr Hancock’s website states he was “elected as MP for West Suffolk at the 2010 election. Before moving into politics, he worked for his family business and later as an economist at the Bank of England. He is a Minister at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.”

For more analysis and reaction see the next edition of FE Week.