Latest news from FE Week

UKCES tender update

The publication of the tender documents for the Employer Ownership of Skills pilot has been delayed.

The full application form and guidance was due to be published “towards the end of February 2012”, according to a prospectus published by the UKCES.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) said: “BIS and DfE, working with UKCES, will shortly issue the application form and guidance for bidders interested in the Employer Ownership pilot. We are expecting to issue these documents next week.”

Maxine Room, principal, Lewisham College

Maxine Room says she was never an “archetypal academic”. A mischievous child, who liked to chat, her school reports typically read: “could do better if she concentrated.”

Neverthless she left the Skinners Company School for Girls – a selective grammar school in north London – with a good clutch of qualifications and went to Bath College of Higher Education (now Bath Spa University) to study home economics with teacher training.

Thirty years on, she is in her third principal’s post at Lewisham College and facing one of the biggest challenges of her career to date – a proposed merger with Southwark College.

Room, who started her career as a home economics teacher at Bridgwater College in Somerset, says she never set out to become a principal.

Her ambition was to “be the best I could be in the job I was doing” and despite being promoted to middle and senior management posts at both Bridgwater and Filton Colleges (where she became vice principal for curriculum) it was only after prompting from Robin Landman, the chief executive of the Network of Black Professionals, that she started to give the idea some serious thought.

She got the second post she applied for, becoming principal of Swansea College in 2003 – and only the second black female college head in the country.

Four years later, Room moved to Leeds, where she oversaw a large scale merger –bringing three colleges into one – but, to her disappointment, was not appointed principal of the newly merged Leeds City College.

It’s about making it all work in a way that is going to make our learners successful, and keeping the ship going in the right direction”

While she admits that missing out on the job was hard at the time, she is philosophical about the experience. If it hadn’t happened, she may not have ended up in back in London – where her family is still based – as principal of Lewisham College.”I think things happen for a reason,” she says. “I never thought I’d work in London again and I felt like a tourist when I first came back … but I’m glad things have come full circle.”

When she joined the college, two years ago, she was the only black female principal of a general FE college in London.

Does she think it is still more difficult for black professionals – and particularly women – to get to the top in education? Her answer is careful. “I mentor people, and whether they be men, women, black or white, there’s something about confidence and attitude and building your armoury and being credible no matter what colour or gender you are…but patently, some people don’t get over the threshold, so there are some issues about, you know, what is it that makes the difference.

“Perhaps it is something about the makeup of governing bodies – their ethnicity, gender, disability profile…it’s those stereotypes isn’t it and you’ve got to break those down.”
Stepping into the shoes of the outgoing principal Dame Ruth Silver – a respected figure across the FE sector – was a daunting task, but Room, who describes herself as “practical” leader, says she hopes she has put her own stamp on the college.

But being a principal is not without its challenges, she says, not least having to be a “jack of all trades.”

One day, she might be talking to an MP about education policy, the next a student with a complaint they have about a course.

Just keeping up to date with policy changes, “crystal ball gazing” about where both the organisation – and the sector – is heading, can be exhausting. “It’s about making it all work in a way that is going to make our learners successful, and keeping the ship going in the right direction,” she says. “We [the college leadership team] are constantly analysing, interpreting, identifying and strategising…”

Maintaining a healthy work life balance can also be tough. While Room works out at the gym most mornings, and is mindful to take time out for herself, she admits the edge between work and home life are often “blurred” and there are times when she is sending emails at midnight or working during her holidays.

And with the merger with Southwark College due to take place at the end of June, there are even more meetings and networking events than usual to attend at the moment.

But she is keen to stress that she wouldn’t have it any other way: “I don’t want that to sound as though it’s in any way a heavy burden, because I think it’s given me incredible opportunities and I’ve met some amazing people.”

And she is passionate about the coaching and mentoring work she does for Network of Black Professionals.“When my mentees come back and said I wouldn’t have got that job without you, you’ve really helped…that’s really rewarding.”

If you’ve got qualifications or had experiences through training and development, it changes you and it gives you more choices”

Room attributes her strong work ethic to her mother, a single parent who worked three or four jobs at a time to support the family.

A tailoress by trade, Room recalls her mother sitting up sewing late into the night while holding down administrative and retail jobs during the day. “I learnt a lot from just observing her and the way that she worked and the way she filled time,” says Room. “People say ‘how do you fit everything in?’ and I think, well, it is a bit of a jigsaw puzzle but I plan and think and sometimes you do get in a mess, but you get out of it again and I’ve got incredible support mechanisms in college.”

Her mother’s belief in the transformative power of education (she was “adamant” her daughter went to grammar school and benefitted from many of the opportunities she herself has missed out on) has also rubbed off on her.

“It [education] is like having a magic wand,” says Room. “It can open so many doors…it’s like abracadabra, you know?

“If you’ve got qualifications or you’ve had experiences through training and development, it changes you and it gives you more choices.”

She admits that she is often close to tears at college awards ceremonies listening to stories of learners’ achievements – some of whom have overcome huge barriers to get to where they are.

And if there is one thing she hopes she has achieved during her time in the FE sector, it is helping to make that happen. “If I have given more people more choices and opportunities than they would have had, had I not been around, then that’s a wonderful legacy to leave.”

Fraudster warning

Professional fraudsters are targeting the FE sector, the Skills Funding Agency has warned.

In the Agency’s latest Update, a statement reads: “Recently, we have been made aware that the further education sector may be subject to approaches by professional fraudsters, who are writing to providers requesting a change of bank account details for outstanding payments for the supply of goods and services.

“The requests have all the hallmarks of being genuine and suggest a targeted operation.”

They remind staff to remain vigilant, particularly at the end of the financial year in April.

Apprenticeships in the spotlight

Left to right – Select Committee witnesses: Alex Jackman, Forum of Private Business Denis Hird, JTL Training and Graham Hoyle, AELP

Employer contributions and the ‘rebadging’ of former Train to Gain provision were both heavily debated at the first evidence session of the BIS Select Committee inquiry into apprenticeships.

The two hour session, held at Portcullis House in Westminster last Thursday, covered a wide range of issues about the funding, delivery and quality of the apprenticeship programme.

Graham Hoyle, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), Alex Jackman, senior policy adviser at the Forum of Private Business (FPB) and Denis Hird, chief executive of JTL Training, were called on by the committee to explain some of the growing issues in the sector.

Mr Hoyle said on the panel the issue of who paid for an apprenticeship was “a nettle yet to be fully grasped” and any changes in the funding system would need to consider the returns of all three beneficiaries; the learner, the employer and central government.

Mr Hoyle said: “The one we haven’t tackled yet is – what is it therefore the employers are paying if they’re getting a return?

“My own view is that they should be paying for the basic skill competencies.”

Mr Hird agreed that employer contributions were an issue that needed to be addressed both by the further education sector and central government.

“We need to understand what apprenticeships are, what is company training, what is company induction, what should be funded, what shouldn’t be funded and what employers contribute to,” Mr Hird said.

Earlier in the session Mr Hoyle said the apprenticeship programme should be owned by employers because it was in fact businesses, not government, who were paying for the majority of the delivery.

“We need to revisit who is paying for what within apprenticeships,” Mr Hoyle said.

“The prime contributors and payers at present time are employers – although we don’t put it in that way – with a contribution from the government.”

However, the AELP chief executive maintained that it should be the government’s responsibility to fund the educational elements of the apprenticeship framework to learners of all ages.

Mr Hoyle said: “My own view is that the government should be making sure that individuals are continued to be funded to get them up to a basic level of English, maths, literacy, numeracy and functional skills, so they can play a part in the labour market and get the transferable skills they need to move to the next employer.

“I believe the state have a reasonable responsibility to complete the education of those people.”

Members of the BIS Select Committee, led by Adrian Bailey MP, said they were worried government funding was being used to deliver training which would have otherwise been paid for by the employer.

David Ward, MP for Bradford East and a member of the BIS Select Committee, said: “I am a little bit worried about some of these apprentices, these older apprentices.

“The criticism that is there, which we referred to earlier, is that it’s just ongoing personal development and it’s not professional development.

We need to revisit who is paying for what within apprenticeships”

“If it’s personal development, it should just be happening anyway and why badge that with this apprenticeship title? That’s the thing I’m unsure about.”

Mr Ward then asked the panel to respond to the accusation that the record growth in apprenticeships could be attributed mostly to the conversion of Train to Gain delivery.

Mr Hird admitted that the ‘rebadging’ of Train to Gain courses, especially in the retail sector, had damaged the apprenticeship brand.

“I think what has been unfortunate is large volumes in the supermarket chain where they’ve badged up some of their induction programmes as apprenticeships to rack up the statistics,” Mr Hird said.

“Whilst I think that is good and I think the chap from Asda, who is actually an ex-work colleague of mine, he said whilst they had put 25,000 through he hadn’t created one extra job.”

Mr Jackman told FE Week it was unfair to blame large employers for taking advantage of government schemes which would help support their daily operations.

Speaking after the evidence session, the senior policy adviser highlighted the work of Barclays, a high street bank set to launch a new apprenticeship scheme in April for 1,000 people not in employment, education or training (NEET).

Perhaps most importantly, Mr Jackman said Barclays would be running the scheme without any government contributions.

Mr Jackman said: “At the end of the process the view being taken by Barclays is – if they move onto other banks, that is something they have contributed to the industry, but if they stay within Barclays themselves, then that’s something they’ve contributed towards their own business.”

Earlier in the session Mr Hoyle was quick to defend the negative remarks about Train to Gain, describing the scheme as being “rubbished too easily” during its existence.

The AELP chief executive said: “Train to Gain, despite much of what was written, was a very successful scheme at actually upskilling the adult workforce.

“That’s the view of myself, my members and the employers that worked with it.”

Mr Jackman also defended short duration apprenticeships during the evidence session, suggesting they be rebranded as “basic” or “entry” level apprenticeships.

After the session Mr Jackman told FE Week: “I think there is a mismatch at present between what a lot of employers consider to be an apprenticeship and what the government might consider to be an apprenticeship.

“But that is not to say that either of them are wrong.

“I think as long as you can ensure quality within courses which match up to what an apprenticeship is considered to be.

“As long as you ensure money isn’t being sucked away from SMEs, then I see no reason why some shorter apprenticeships should not be counted as such.”

Q&A with Denis Hird, CEO of JTL Training

You mentioned to the committee that you were disappointed with the 25,000 apprenticeship places created at Asda. Can you expand upon that?

First of all, I’m not being critical of Asda. There was huge pressure on the National Apprenticeship Service to raise the number of apprenticeships and so therefore if you look at how Asda is introducing young people into their business – they have a training programme, which I’m pretty sure is a good one knowing Asda – and that it’s been branded as an apprenticeship. And that’s to save money. I can’t blame Asda for doing that because it has met the targets. And that’s all good! Good for young people, good for Asda.

But what I think David Smith, the HR director of Asda was saying on national TV was that they would have spent the money and they were going to employ that 25,000. So in actual fact they haven’t created any extra jobs through that process.

Is there a concern that employers would have provided the training even if the apprenticeship funding hadn’t been available?

Absolutely. But you can’t blame Asda for taking the money and you can’t blame the National Apprenticeship Service because it lifted the statistics by 25,000. From our point of view, what it does is, it says that that short programme of training – and it’ll be very good and we need people to do those very good jobs that they do – is that it potentially erodes at the brand of our four year and two month programme at the top end of our electrotechnical and building services frameworks.

I’m not saying it is wrong, I’m saying it needs to be looked at in a different way about what is an apprenticeship and what isn’t, what are the various levels and what is the best use of government funding.

Would asking large employers to make a financial contribution to training help ensure there were new jobs and additional training?

I think that large employers can play a major role in giving opportunities for apprenticeships in work for young people. I think that the funding bodies, in particular the Skills Funding Agency, with advice as well from the National Apprenticeship Service, can work with those employers at what the best and most appropriate way is to use government funding in part of the strategic funding and plans for those large employers.

That’s a discussion that they should have. I don’t have a view other than it’s good news if it’s going to bring more people into apprenticeships and into jobs.

SFA to offer access

Views are being sought on the new Provider Access Project.

The Project will allow providers to view their contract-related data held by the Skills Funding Agency and forms part of the commitment to share information more efficiently.

A survey will be launched on March 7.

In particular, the survey will focus on types and methods of sharing information, identifying the priorities and benefits to the FE sector.

The deadline for the survey will be April 5.

Mayor candidate pledges London EMA

Following the abolition of the Education Maintenance Allowance, Labour candidate Ken Livingstone pledges to restore London-wide £30-per-week allowance if he is elected as Mayor in May. But he also tells FE Week he wants other cities to follow…

The battleground for the fight to become the next Mayor of London moved to the FE sector after the Labour candidate Ken Livingstone pledged to reinstate the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) to students in the capital.

If elected when Londoners go to the polls in May, Mr Livingstone says that he will “work to restore” a London-wide EMA of up to £30 per week.

The £560 million EMA was scrapped by the government in 2010 and replaced by the £180 million 16-19 bursary scheme.

However, Mr Livingstone says around 85,000 16-19 year olds in London now miss out on the weekly allowance.

The Mayoral candidate says the £80 million needed to fund the scheme – which represents the figure previously spent on the allowance – would be found by bringing together existing funds in colleges, universities, and local authorities.

Although previously outspoken on the government’s decision to scrap the EMA, Boris Johnson, the current Mayor of London, is yet to set a clear policy on the matter in the lead up to the election.

Some MPs don’t understand because they’re from rich upper class areas and don’t understand how much £30 can mean”

Mr Livingstone said: “I want to help young Londoners with their education by easing the squeeze the Tory-led government has imposed on them, and which the Tory Mayor has totally ignored.

“I have been deeply struck by the plight of thousands of students I have met at colleges right across the capital, who have had the lifeline that EMA offered snatched away from them by the Conservative party, whilst the part-time Tory Mayor stood by.”

Although pledging to bring back the EMA in London means it will only help students who study in the capital, Mr Livingstone hopes it will be a springboard to spur on other cities to act – if he can prove his plan is a success.

Speaking to FE Week after revealing his pledge, Mr Livingstone said: “If we demonstrate we can do it, other cities will copy it.”

The news has been met with delight by the National Union of Students (NUS).

Toni Pearce, NUS Vice-President (Further Education), said EMA provided a “vital source of support” for students.

She said: “The government’s decision to scrap it was widely condemned not only by students and their families, but by teachers, think tanks and businesses alike.

“Reintroducing EMA in London would be a huge step towards making sure that all young people in further education receive proper financial support to pay for the bare essentials associated with studying and would set a powerful example to national policy-makers.”

She also added: “Instead of washing their hands of the government’s decision to pull the plug on EMA or protesting their powerlessness, the other mayoral candidates should follow Ken’s lead and commit to reintroducing EMA.”

Mr Livingstone’s announcement was made on Thursday at City of Westminster College, where 17-year-old Brook House Sixth Form College pupil Zakariya Ahmed gave an impassioned speech about how the allowance had impacted his life.

Mr Ahmed said he has been forced to cut down on his hours volunteering with youngsters, in favour of a paid part-time job due to the financial void.

He also said he was called before the education select committee to give evidence on the decision last summer, where he told MPs “it would lead to more young people doing into crime”.

He said: “We need EMA. It’s valuable.

“But some MPs don’t understand because they’re from rich upper class areas and don’t understand how much £30 can mean.”

Steve Reed, leader of Lambeth Council, has thrown his backing behind the plan.

He said: “The government’s cuts to EMA have caused real hardship for young Londoners. Ken’s plan to reverse the cuts to EMA will make a massive difference to lives of thousands of young Londoners, giving them the chance to learn and make the most of their potential.”

James Mills, head of the Save EMA campaign, described Mr Livingstone’s pledge as “great news for tens of thousands of the poorest teenagers” in the capital.

He said: “It means that they can once again take education as far as their ability lets them and not their ability to pay.

“This will not only set down a marker for other mayoral contests across the country, but has shown it is not about money, but about priorities when it comes down to whether teenagers should have EMA payments.”

He added: “This is a big result for the campaign as it shows that through peaceful protest works, as it is possible to reverse decisions by governments if there is a will.

“We plan to continue lobbying politicians so that we can make commitments to reinstate EMA an issue in all coming election and especially the general election.”

FE Week asks learners what EMA meant to them

The London-wide EMA pledge by Mr Livingstone was witnessed by dozens of students at City of Westminster College on Thursday.

After making his announcement, FE Week spoke to five performing arts students at the college on how the EMA has affected their lives.

Chrystal Vidal (17) described Mr Livingstone’s pledge as “really good”, before adding: “I completely agree with it. Most of my friends left college as they don’t get EMA anymore.”

Meanwhile, Dreni Rezari (17) said the loss of the allowance has created added pressures, adding: “If I was able to have the EMA there would be less stress on you as a person.”

Bradley Rockall (18) was able to use the EMA two years ago.

He said: “I have to ask my mum for money normally every day. It put her under pressure because he’s been ill and hasn’t been working.”

Jody Nolan-Greenwood (18) added: “I had EMA previously and as soon as I found out it was to be scrapped, I was shocked.

“I have learning difficulties, so keeping up on work is difficult and with a job it would make it even more difficult.”

Sarah Kefi (17) said: “The EMA was a really good idea. It helped with little things like travel especially if you lived far away from college.

“The £30-a-week is good – it would really help.”

Talking rubbish at K College

Cleaning up rubbish has never been so pleasant for students at K College after a new talking bin was installed at the Brook Street campus.

When litter is placed into the bin, voices like Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden, former England cricketer Phil Tufnell or opera singer Katherine Jenkins speak – or sing – their thanks.

Some of the messages include ‘I just love rubbish’, ‘I love it when you feed me’ and a kiss.

Musical theatre students were among the first to use the talking bin – which is the South East’s first of its kind.

Lucy Leech said: “It’s fun and it’s a great way to get people to put their rubbish in the bin instead of just leaving it on the floor.”

Lilli Connelly said: “It’s amazing, I wanted to put more in – we were all trying to chuck lots in. I really like the singing response.”

Hollie Rainbow said: “We’ve just run out to try it after we heard it was here, so it shows it really works. We really need more bins like this.”

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, who paid for the bin, is an Ambassador Authority for the Love Where You Live campaign and chose the K College Tonbridge campus because of the college’s ongoing commitment to keeping litter at bay.

K College principal Bill Fearon said: “As K College is very committed to keeping its campuses tidy, we are pleased that Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council has chosen our campus in Brook Street as the site for the first talking bin in the South East.

“I’m sure the students will find it an effective reminder to do the right thing with their litter and it will be very interesting to hear what it has to say and who it sounds like.”

Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council’s cabinet member for environmental services, councillor Howard Rogers said: “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to place a talking bin in the Borough.

“The talking bins have proved that making litter bins fun things can encourage people to be responsible and to love where they live.

“They have helped to raise awareness about litter with people of all backgrounds and ages and, as a result, they have helped to reduce litter.”

Minister presents update on apprenticeship quality

The skills minister John Hayes has told partliament that the review into short duration apprenticeships is due to be finalised by April.

A total of 87 providers have so far been reviewed by the Skills Funding Agency and National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) for running programmes which last six months or less.

However, 29 have been brought to a “satisfactory conclusion” and the review has identified 10 primary contractors and three subcontractors where the Agency and NAS have unresolved concerns. At least one case has been referred to the Agency’s Special Investigations Unit.

However, the Agency said: “We are working with providers to review and adapt programmes as necessary and whilst this is ongoing it would not be appropriate to release in detail.”

The Agency also said three frameworks are under review, adding: “We are working with the relevant Sector Skills Councils to ensure these will meet the criteria that apprenticeships for 16-18 year olds should have a minimum duration of 12 months. The wider next steps and ongoing review will continue to be done in consultation with providers, sector and issuing authorities.”

The news came as part of Mr Hayes’ statement to parliament on progress to drive up quality, as well as introducing new measures for the coming months. Among those is a new ‘enquiry panel’ which has been set up to “manage contractual and quality failure” as soon as it is identified.

The panel, made up of representatives from the Agency and the NAS, has met once and will report to the minister.

Mr Hayes said: “The majority of apprenticeships are the gold standard in vocational training.

“We must be relentless in our drive to ensure all apprenticeships are as good as the best, to identify and root out any instances of poor quality provision, and to raise the bar on standards.

“I am determined to build on this momentum and go further so as more people than ever have the opportunity to undertake an apprenticeship, every one will receive the high quality training they deserve.”

Another new measure will be a requirement for sub-contractors with an aggregate contract value of more than £500,000 to pass a due diligence test.

An Agency spokesperson said the move has been made to “strengthen our oversight and management of the wider training provider organisation network”.

The spokesperson added: “This does not remove or reduce the responsibilities or due diligence processes exercised by prime training organisations when selecting or managing their subcontractors.

“If a subcontractor fails to pass the Due Diligence Assurance Gateway, we will review and alert prime contractors. Prime contractors may continue with the subcontractor, but such failure would signal the need for additional checks and a higher level of diligence, monitoring and review on the part of the prime contractor.”

The Gateway process is made up of two parts; an online questionnaire and an assessment of financial health based on latest accounts.

However, the spokesperson added: “The Agency is currently working with the sector in considering all subcontractors completing the Due Diligence Assurance Gateway of the Register regardless of size of contract.

“All subcontracting must meet the same delivery, quality and value for money as the rest of our provision. The Agency is working with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to review its policy on sub-contracting and will set out its intentions to the sector once a formal position is agreed.”

Simon Waugh, chief executive of the National Apprenticeship Service, said “sound progress” is being made.

He said: “Historically, growth in apprenticeships has been excellent but hasn’t always been matched by quality.

“The actions we are taking now are to clearly state expected standards, strengthen the processes of monitoring and assuring these standards and address any areas that fall short.”

Funding future faces further formulation

Implementation of a new streamlined and simplified funding system for adult skills that had already been delayed until 2013/14 has suffered a further setback, following a rethink on how apprenticeships might be funded.

A newly formed Skills Funding Agency advisory group has been meeting monthly since December, and has said plans to fund apprenticeship provision based on individual frameworks, rather than component learning aim level, requires further testing.

Chris McLean, vice principal of North Hertfordshire College and member of the Funding External Technical Advisory Group told FE Week: “Only two areas related to basic skills and apprenticeship rates have more work to be done and on both counts it’s the work and scrutiny of the group that is asking for extra detailed modelling to be undertaken to satisfy ourselves that the new system will work at the organisation level as well as for the sector as a whole.”

A document published this week by the SFA, entitled ‘A New Streamlined Funding System for Adult Skills’, says “following advice from the Funding External Technical Advisory Group we are reviewing this [apprenticeship funding]. We are continuing to consult and develop our approach to simplify apprenticeships funding and align it to the principles across the rest of the Adult Skills Budget.

“As a result we now expect to be able to publish the principals and rates for funding Apprenticeships no later than May 2012.”

The first version of the funding reform document was published in October 2011 and included a plan for ten apprenticeship framework funding rates within the ‘learning aim rates matrix’ of 30 rates.

This updated version now excludes apprenticeships, and the remaining provision has doubled to 40 rates.

Mick Fletcher, a visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Education and consultant, says the document shows that the government is struggling to streamline or simplify the funding system for adults.

“Once again simplification proves not to be as easy as the Department thought,” Mr Fletcher said.

“They are still struggling to accommodate basic skills, and can’t yet work out how apprenticeships fit; and they didn’t even try to cover safeguarded learning.

“The reason for the difficulties just might be that it’s not really about simplification at all, but about imposing a centrally determined, price based funding system instead of one that carefully reflects colleges’ costs.”

David Hughes, chief executive of NIACE and until recently the Director of Provider Services at the Skills Funding Agency, said: “We want to work closely with the government and the SFA to try and get a system which has the right sort of incentives for people who it should support and help them not only get into learning, but to succeed as well.

“We want to make sure that any changes do not disadvantage certain types of learners and that those changes recognise the very diverse needs of different learners in different situations.”

The SFA proposals also appear to scrap well trailed plans for Outcome Incentive Payments, and replace them with the piloting of a payment to the provider of half the 20 per cent of achievement funding where eligible unemployed learners prematurely leave their course to get a job.

The document reads: “Job outcome funding will be piloted in 2012/13 using the existing funding models, with 10 per cent job outcome funding where a learner leaves and enters work without achievement of the learning aim.

“This is straightforward in workplace learning, however, in classroom learning the funding will be factored into the year-end reconciliation.”

Plans are also outlined for introducing a funding cap for apprenticeship learners. The report states: “An annual funding cap of £4,400 (applied to the unweighted rate) per learner will be piloted during 2012/13 shadow working.

“The level of an annual funding cap for Apprenticeships is still being considered as part of the work set out above.”