Providers are being urged to introduce new apprenticeship duration requirements immediately.

The Skills Funding Agency is calling on existing apprentices aged 16-18, where possible, to be given a 12-month minimum programme.

It comes after the skills minister John Hayes’ announcement last year of the year-long minimum for teenage apprentices, which will come into effect on August 1.

The Agency said the requirement will be set out in 2012/13 funding rules, which they hope to publish by the end of March.

A statement posted on their website says: “In announcing this, it is also our expectation that all training organisations and employers start to implement this with immediate effect.

“Whilst the introduction of the new funding rule does not formally apply to those already in learning prior to August, we strongly encourage all training organisations and employers to offer all existing apprentices aged 16-18 a 12-month minimum programme wherever it is possible to do so.”

The statement also gave an insight into how funding is likely to be designed for apprenticeships.

It read: “It is important that we work with the sector to ensure that prior learning is better reflected in apprenticeship funding policies and that public funding is only used to support the delivery of new skills and competencies.”

Although most have welcomed the move, including the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) whose chief executive Graham Hoyle said that it had become “the norm” for the industry already, others are cautious.

Some critics, in comments posted on the FE Week website, believe apprenticeships should be about the amount of on-the-job work experience, rather than a set time period, while others say some do not warrant a year-long duration.

Another concern is for “capable” learners who can finish in a shorter time becoming disillusioned over their programme.

Work is also underway between the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) and issuing authorities to ensure frameworks allow “sufficient time” for the apprentice to learn new skills while achieving “the highest level of competence” possible.

The Agency added: “We expect in a small number of cases this will lead to changes in the duration of the framework.”

A review is also taking place to establish if a minimum duration can be applied to apprentices aged 19 and over.

“Once the review is completed, we will ensure that adequate notice is given should any changes to current funding rules be called for by government ministers,” said the Agency.

However, further change has not been met with approval by the AELP.

Mr Hoyle said: “We are still firmly of the view that much greater flexibility needs to be both available and exercised to fully take into account the varying levels of skill and experience that these older workers bring to the completion of a full apprenticeship framework.”

Social entrepreneur and jeweller Jason Holt is to take charge of an employer-led review into how businesses can be encouraged to hire an apprentice.

Mr Holt, chief executive of Holts Group of Companies, will talk to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) about what the government can be doing to reduce bureaucracy and simplify the process for recruiting and training new apprentices.

Skills minister John Hayes, who announced the appointment, said: “I am delighted Mr Holt has agreed to lead this review.

“His experience, both as a business man and through running a training academy, gives him invaluable insight into the needs of both small businesses and apprentices.”

Mr Holt runs a number of organisations including Holts Lapidary, a jewellery manufacturer and retailer, Holts Academy of Jewellery, a not-for-profit training provider and Jewellery Innovations, a social enterprise for apprentices seeking work in UK manufacturing.

Mr Holt said: “At the end of the day, we have an economy which is 95 per cent composed of SMEs, yet only a tiny proportion take on apprentices.

“The majority of those are taken on by large business, so what can I recommend that the government do to change the system and make it the easiest possible?”

Mr Holt, who will present his review to ministers in May, says he didn’t know anything about the review before the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) asked him to be the lead employer.

“The first time I heard about it was when I had an approach from the apprenticeship unit at BIS and was asked if I would like to be the lead employer,” Mr Holt told FE Week.

Mr Holt says he is both “honoured” and “delighted” to be leading the research, although accepting the top position was a difficult decision.

“There are five businesses in the group company which I run and it’s a very, very busy time for us at the moment,” Mr Holt said.

“Not to be around as much as I would or should be, or would like to be for the businesses was a big decision, but I put a lot of thought into it and thought what a fantastic opportunity to make a hopefully meaningful contribution to a really important area of business – an area which I think is pivotal to business growth.”

The employer-led review will examine and build on a number of government initiatives designed to improve the apprenticeship programme for SMEs.

These include reducing the time taken to advertise an apprenticeship vacancy on the NAS website to within one month of an employer’s decision to take on an apprentice.

Mr Hayes said: “I want to ensure that small businesses can enjoy the multitude of benefits that apprentices can offer a company – including improved productivity and the chance to build a better-skilled and dedicated workforce.

“This review will play a vital role in achieving that aim.”

Other measures introduced by government include reducing the health and safety requirements imposed on providers by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA), as well as simplifying the guidance available to SMEs and establishing a “dedicated team” at the NAS.

The employer-led review into SMEs and apprenticeships follows on from the Education and Skills Growth Review published by BIS last November.

Basic skills qualifications in numeracy and literacy for adults will cease to be funded for new starts from August.

The Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) is no longer funding a centrally held test bank which supports Adult Basic Skills (ABS) qualifications and Key Skills Communication and Application of Number qualifications at Levels 1 and 2.

A BIS spokesperson said: “Ofqual has confirmed the operational end-dates of these qualifications mean that no new enrolments will be taken beyond August 2012 for ABS Certificates and September 2012 for Key Skills qualifications.

“The certification end-dates are August 2014 and September 2013 respectively.”

However, BIS could not say how much it would save by no longer funding the test bank.

“The cost of managing the test bank was minimal and as it approached the end of its duration the remaining tests were allocated to awarding organisations. We have not costed procuring a new test bank, as responsibility for development and maintenance of adult English and maths qualifications is now a matter for the awarding organisations, regulated by Ofqual,” added the spokesperson.

In their place, the Skills Funding Agency will fund English and Maths QCF qualifications – from Entry Level up to Level 2 – from September 2012 that “provide necessary rigour and flexibility to support” progression.

However, while Entry Level ABS qualifications will continue to be funded into 2013, as they do not rely on the test bank, it is not known how the move will affect ESOL learners.

The BIS spokesperson said: “ESOL qualifications are being reviewed as part of the simplification on funding for all qualifications.”

Carol Taylor, NIACE’s director for development and research, said the body believes Functional Skills will support adults to undertake the “realistic basic skills demands of everyday life, developing, as we believe they do, the ability to apply skills” to other settings.

However, she also added: “There are challenges – it may take longer for learners to achieve, but the review of Skills for Life recommended longer courses, and Functional Skills will be more challenging for all learners and especially at lower levels, hence the decision to retain Skills for Life qualification for Entry Level learners for a period.”