First apprenticeship units limited to ‘strong’ providers

A limited group of “strong” apprenticeship providers will be eligible to deliver the first apprenticeship units when they launch next month, the government has announced.

Officials have also confirmed that each unit will last between one and 16 weeks, can only be taken by employed people aged 19 and over, learners will need to pass a “skills test” validated by their employer – with independent assessment optional, and providers will be paid on two milestones.

Draft funding rules can be read here. Here’s what we know so far.

7 units to start

Apprenticeship units are new short courses to be funded through the reformed growth and skills levy for both large and small employers.

This is the first time levy funds can be used for non-apprenticeship training – a move that was promised by Labour in the party’s 2024 general election manifesto.

The government announced last night that from April 2026, apprenticeship units will be available for delivery in seven areas:

  • AI leadership
  • Electric vehicle charging point installation and maintenance
  • Electrical fitting and assembly
  • Mechanical fitting and assembly
  • Permanent modular building assembly
  • Solar PV installation and maintenance
  • Welding

The government said the content for apprenticeship units comes from the knowledge and skills from existing apprenticeship occupational standards “needed to address specific critical skills gaps”.

Details of each apprenticeship unit, including content and assessment requirements, are available on Skills England’s website here.

A ‘controlled’ rollout

Initial delivery will be restricted to a “targeted group” of existing apprenticeship providers that already show “strong performance” in the occupational standards linked to the units.

Providers must have delivered the apprenticeship standards or sector subject areas from which apprenticeship units are drawn in 2024-25, be on the apprenticeship provider and assessment register (APAR), not have any indicators rated as ‘at risk’ on the apprenticeship accountability framework and have no contractual funding restrictions.

Officials said they will carry out a “verification check against the published eligibility criteria” and then contact eligible training providers at the end of March to invite them to indicate their interest in delivering apprenticeship units.

The government said this phased approach enables the new offer to be introduced in a “controlled way”, ensuring “consistent implementation” and early insights before scaling up.

Apprenticeship units will be accounted for in the apprenticeship training provider accountability framework, with officials tracking the ratio of starts to completion and average durations, without setting intervention thresholds while the offer is in its early development phase.

Subcontracting of apprenticeship units is forbidden.

19+ age restriction

The government said apprenticeship units will only be for employed learners aged 19 and over whose employer has “identified a need to upskill them quickly to meet business needs and remain competitive”.

Units will not be eligible for learners “seeking to start a new career or occupation”.

Funding bands and durations TBC 

Funding bands and delivery hours are still being tested with “critical stakeholders”.

Final figures are expected to be published from April 1, despite the units launching next month.

Officials have confirmed, however, that units will involve 30 to 140 hours of training, delivered over one to 16 weeks.

Delivery hours can include in-person and virtual teaching of theory, practical training, project work and one-to-one tuition. However, if both the tutor and learner are not present at the same time, the activity cannot count toward delivery hours.

Non-levy employers will be fully funded, while levy payers can use their levy funds.

2 milestone payments

Funding for an apprenticeship unit will be paid on two milestones to providers.

The first will be made once the learner has been successfully onboarded and completed 30 per cent of the planned delivery hours. This payment will “reflect 30 per cent of the price up to the funding band”.

The second milestone payment will be made once the learner has completed 100 per cent of the planned delivery hours, and achieved a “successful outcome” – described in the funding rules as when they have “passed their skills test and once the provider, learner and employer has confirmed that the training plan has been delivered”.

This payment will reflect the remaining 70 per cent of the price up to the funding band.

Independent assessment will be an option

There has been widespread concern that providers will be able to deliver apprenticeship unit training without an element of independent assessment.

The government suggested today that this approach will be the go-to, but an option for independent assessment will be available.

Officials said learners will need to pass a “skills test” for each apprenticeship unit. This test will be delivered by the training provider to demonstrate the learner has “acquired the skills and knowledge”. The result will then be “validated” by employers.

If an employer or learner “feels external independent assessment is needed, for example to meet regulatory requirements, they can work with their training provider to arrange this”. 

There are no standalone English or maths requirements.

What you missed in the post-16 consultation response

V Levels and the new Level 2 pathways remain broadly unchanged, but there’s more than meets the eye to this response document. So, if you just had a chance to skim read it, or only managed to read the summary articles, what might you have missed?

Double V Levels?

V Levels are the small qualification for a mix and match programme. T Levels are the big qualification for single-subject delivery. But what about the 720GLH ‘double BTEC’, often paired with one A Level in sixth forms? Are they truly gone forever?

The concept of ‘partner V Levels’ has appeared in the Government response – here’s the lowdown straight from the text: “In a limited number of exceptional cases, we can see that study of more than one subject within the same employment route would be beneficial to students. Therefore, we propose that students should have the option to study two closely associated ‘partner’ V Levels (for example, in the way A Level students can study Maths and Further Maths) in the same employment route. This means that students could focus on a single employment route for 720 GLH.”

But what are these exceptional cases? Earlier in the response we can find a clue in the statement that “representative bodies suggested that, for some higher education routes, including science, engineering, sport, social science and creative degrees, a larger volume of applied subject learning was important for preparation and admissions confidence, and that 360 GLH alone might not provide sufficient depth.”

So, can we expect partner V Levels in subjects leading to these degrees? It remains to be seen, but this appears to signal that flexibility within the system is being considered, which would be a welcome development.

Where has Criminology gone?

The original white paper listed 23 potential V Level subjects, and teachers will have been pleased to see things like ‘Animation, games design and visual effects’, ‘Music and music performance’, and ‘Criminology’. The latter is one of the most popular vocational subjects in FE and was left out the last reforms.

So, in the outline timetable for reform set out in the response, there was much dismay to see that these subjects had all disappeared. Where are they? It was widely reported that this timeline showed the 18 new V Levels to launch, but this was not the full picture.

The confusion lies in the fact that the response document set out the V Level routes, not the subjects, and it clearly states that “the government aims to have only one V Level in a subject” but that “there could be more than one V Level subject in a route”.

So where’s Criminology? Whilst it’s not officially confirmed yet, it’s likely to be one of the subjects in the Protective Services route, launching in 2029/30.

A safety net for T Level learners?

T Levels really are going to be the only large option, so are there changes on the horizon to help grow to meet the demand for large qualifications? Three words came out loud and clear in the response: accessibility, manageability, and scalability.

The DfE outlined several practical solutions, particularly around managing down the size of T Levels to remove “unnecessary content and complexity”. The big one, which will hopefully be music to the ears of providers is “reducing the staff hours required to deliver and administer assessments”.

Another hugely welcome change, particularly for those subjects with age-restricted work experience, was the introduction of more flexibility in industry placements such as “group projects” and “remote working opportunities”.

Something which went largely unnoticed though, was the creation of a new T Level improvement group to “consider whether we have struck the right balance of recognising the performance of students who complete some, but not all, of a T Level”.

Are we about to see a safety net after year 1? Could it function just like foundation diplomas underneath an extended diploma? We will wait and see.

What next?

There is still much to understand, but with a first teach of September 2027 planned, we’re going to have to move quickly if we are to ensure the best outcomes for learners and those that teach them.

For the latest updates and practical guidance on post-16 reforms, visit NCFE’s dedicated support page. You can also book a curriculum consultation with the NCFE team to explore what these changes mean for your organisation and how they may affect your delivery.

Reclaiming apprenticeships for the next generation

Apprenticeships offer a chance to change someone’s life.  

With an apprenticeship you get a wage coming in, skills developed and a career taking shape. That is why getting more young people into them matters so much. 

As it stands, the apprenticeships system has strayed from its intended purpose of lifting young people up.   

Apprenticeship starts have fallen across the board, with uptake for under 25s dropping by 40 per cent in the last decade. Fewer than half of new apprenticeships are currently taken up by young people, and when you dig into why, the same frustrations come up again and again.  

The system is hard to navigate. The options aren’t clear. Some apprenticeships on offer don’t match where the economy is actually heading.  

This comes at a time when nearly a million young people aged 16-24 aren’t in education, employment or training. That figure has been growing since 2022, and precisely the moment young people have needed opportunity more than ever, they have found the drawbridge being drawn up. We are unapologetic about changing this.  

Young people want to work, and they want to have opportunities to earn or learn and start building their future. And that’s why we’re tilting the growth and skills levy towards youth, taking the difficult decisions about what standards to streamline, moving away from management and other lower priority standards.  

There is nothing wrong with management training, it is of course of benefit to the economy. But it can’t come at the expense of a young person’s first opportunity in life, especially when there are so many other routes to getting that training. The public rightly expect apprenticeships to provide young people with a genuine route into skilled work and provide value for money. 

Addressing this historic failure requires ambition to meet the scale of the challenge. That’s why we’re going to back employers that are stepping up to the plate, with new suite of hiring incentives, including for SMEs. 

This is alongside the new foundation apprenticeships in hospitality and retail that will open up entry level routes for young people looking to get their foot in the door. Altogether, that means up to £8,000 of support available to the employer, depending on the circumstances of the young apprentice. It is a straightforward recognition that bringing someone into the workforce for the first time takes investment, and we want to make that easier. 

But beyond opening more doors, we need those doors to lead somewhere worth going. We should reject the false choice that more opportunities for our young people must come at the expense of growth for our economy.  

That’s why, taking advantage of the flexibility on offer with a reformed levy, Skills England has led the development of new short courses, called apprenticeship units, which meet needs as varied as AI, Solar panel installation and welding. This comes off the back of our announcement last month to ‘fast track’ approval of new standards that open up opportunities for young people and address skills gaps for critical infrastructure and major investment projects.  

Early unemployment is not just an inconvenience. It can shape a person’s confidence and prospects for years. A job is good, but an apprenticeship offers the better route to progression. Young people deserve chances to gain skills, carve out a career and succeed in their chosen field. 

Giving young people a genuine, navigable route into good work is one of the most important things we can do – for them, for the country and for the economy. And we can build a skills system that not only meets the needs of young people but also can adapt at pace to new innovations and developments like AI. 

We are committed to making that happen. Young people cannot afford for us to let up until it does. And the country stands to win if we succeed.

New level 2 admin apprenticeship limited to under-25s

A long-awaited level 2 administration assistant apprenticeship will only be available to learners aged under 25.

Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden has now signed off the new standard, with starts expected from August 2026 and a funding band set at £4,000.

The approval forms part of a wider government drive to refocus apprenticeships on young people and those out of work. Ministers have today also confirmed controversial plans to withdraw funding from multiple popular management standards.

The new administration assistant apprenticeship follows six years of lobbying from large employers, including the NHS and local authorities. They have argued the programme would help tackle rising numbers of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).

However, ministers have agreed to the standard with an age restriction.

Only learners aged 16 to 24 will be eligible to take the apprenticeship with public funding.

It is the first time an apprenticeship has been given an age limit, aside from the government’s decision to withdraw funding for level 7 apprenticeships for people aged over 21, which came into force in January.

The Department for Work and Pensions told FE Week there are “currently” no plans to apply age restrictions to other apprenticeships.

Level 2 business administration was one of the most widely used apprenticeships under the previous framework system, recording around 30,000 starts each year. About 83 per cent of those starts were by under-19s.

The framework was closed to new starts in 2020, and several attempts to introduce a replacement standard were rejected until now.

A source close to the trailblazer group that developed the new standard said the age restriction was a “shame” but understandable given pressure on the apprenticeship budget.

“While we understand the plans to pivot apprenticeships back to young people, the level 2 business administration framework was utilised very well across a wide range of employers and sectors offering in work progression especially for those who had not achieved maths and English at school or ESOL learners,” the source said.

“It is a shame they will not have the same opportunities with this standard but we know there will be huge appetite and demand and therefore even more pressure on the levy.”

England’s apprenticeship budget overspent for the first time last year. FE Week previously reported that £43 million has been added in-year to the 2025-26 budget, bringing the total to £3.118 billion.

Ministers have become increasingly concerned about the rising cost of higher-level apprenticeships taken up by older workers, while starts at lower levels and among young people have fallen sharply.

The government is now attempting to “streamline” the system to control costs. Sixteen apprenticeships – mostly popular management programmes – were confirmed today for defunding.

A level 3 business administrator standard has been live since 2017 and remains consistently among the five most popular apprenticeships, with around 12,000 starts each year.

The introduction of a level 2 administration assistant apprenticeship is also expected to be popular – and potentially expensive – even with a relatively modest £4,000 funding band.

Apprenticeships purge: Team leader and chartered manager among 16 axed standards

Sixteen apprenticeships, including popular management standards with tens of thousands of annual starts, will be defunded as ministers attempt to divert training funding towards young people.

Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden will tomorrow (Monday) use a speech at Waltham Forest College to announce the “biggest transformation of apprenticeships in a decade” alongside a £2.5 billion expansion of the youth guarantee and growth and skills levy. 

McFadden will also confirm the first wave of seven apprenticeship units, a £2,000 apprenticeship incentive for small businesses and the introduction of foundation apprenticeships in retail and hospitality. 

To resolve the decade-long decline in the number of young people taking apprenticeships, McFadden will take aim at standards the government believes are better suited to other forms of workplace training.

Among those standards to be defunded are the level 3 team leader, level 5 operations manager, level 4 lead practitioner in adult care, level 5 coaching professional and level 6 chartered manager (full list below).

It comes two months after funding was removed from over 21 year olds taking level 7 apprenticeships.

McFadden said: “We are focusing funding where it’s needed most and giving employers the flexibility and support they’ve asked for.  

“These reforms will give young people a vital first step on the career ladder and help business leaders recruit the talent that will grow their companies.”

Stream if you want to go faster

The announcement ends months of sector speculation and concern from employer groups over a “streamlining” exercise designed to divert finite apprenticeship funding towards younger learners, first signalled by the chancellor in last year’s budget. 

Ministers are concerned about spiralling numbers of expensive higher-level apprenticeships being taken up by older workers, while starts at lower levels and among young people have crashed.

Apprenticeships in leadership and management quickly emerged as likely targets. Skills minister Jacqui Smith previously told FE Week those programmes were “not only not what people would traditionally think of as apprenticeships” but were areas employers should fund themselves.

FE Week found 619 independent training providers, colleges and universities currently deliver the apprenticeships targeted for defunding.

DWP told FE Week each affected training provider will be contacted following the announcement and will receive reasonable notice before funding is withdrawn. Defunding will not take place before September 1, 2026.

Team leader is the most popular apprenticeship to lose funding. Approved for delivery in 2016, it clocked 12,670 starts in the last full academic year (2024-25) across 450 training providers. Only 80 of those 12,670 apprentice starters were aged under 19.

Another popular apprenticeship, operations manager, was also introduced a decade ago. It had 12,530 starts last year across 398 training providers.

defunded apprenticeships
Click to enlarge

Ben Rowland, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said: “Short-term subsidies and incentives, while welcome as an emergency measure, are not the basis for a sustainable and effective system.

“The government is dismantling the current system with the defunding of a number of cherished employer-led programmes, such as the team leader and management apprenticeships, but has not yet shown what their vision for the replacement system is.”

Click to enlarge

7 apprenticeship units unveiled

Seven short courses funded through the growth and skills levy are set to launch next month, but ministers have only now revealed what programmes will be available.

DWP said this first batch of units are aligned to the government’s industrial strategy priorities, adding that more will be developed in the future.

It’s not yet clear how many teaching hours these courses will require, how they will be assessed or how they will be funded, despite April’s launch date.

The first apprenticeship units are: 

  • AI leadership – developing AI strategy
  • Electric vehicle charging point installation and maintenance
  • Electrical fitting and assembly
  • Mechanical fitting and assembly
  • Permanent modular building assembly
  • Solar PV installation and maintenance
  • Welding

Hospitable foundations

The first seven foundation apprenticeships, which are level 2 apprenticeships aimed at young people lasting eight months, were launched in August 2025 in the construction sector, digital, engineering and manufacturing and health and social care.

However, official data covering the first few months of starts on foundation apprenticeships showed there were just 36. Two programmes, finishing trades and software and data, didn’t recruit at all.

Ministers previously came under fire for excluding high-demand industries from the offer.

McFadden will confirm foundation apprenticeships in hospitality and retail will launch this April.

Small and medium sized employers will have access to an apprenticeship incentive grant worth £2,000 for each new employee aged 16-24.

Employers offered £3,000 sweeteners to hire unemployed young people

Employers will be paid £3,000 for each unemployed young person they hire in a £1 billion expansion to the government’s youth guarantee scheme.

The government will also raise the upper age limit of the jobs guarantee scheme, which fully subsidises jobs for young people who have been unemployed for 18 months, from 21 to 24.

Latest quarterly estimates showed there are around 957,000 young people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training (NEET).

Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden will announce a £2.5 billion “new deal” for young people in a speech at Waltham Forest College tomorrow (Monday).

Around £1 billion of that has been earmarked for hiring grants and subsidies for businesses to encourage them to hire young people. The rest includes reforms to apprenticeships, such as new foundation apprenticeships, alongside existing anti-NEET policies. 

Prime minister Keir Starmer said: “We are determined to tackle the rise in youth unemployment by expanding practical routes into work, boosting apprenticeships and giving employers the clarity they need.

“These reforms underpin our ambition to create an economy that works for everyone, closing the skills gap and supporting more young people into meaningful employment.”

Jobs granted

Taken together, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) hopes the new youth jobs grants and the expanded jobs guarantee will create 200,000 jobs for young people over the next three years.

The new youth jobs grants will pay businesses £3,000 for each unemployed young person aged 18 to 24 they hire. To be eligible, the young person will have to have been claiming universal credit for six months. DWP estimated this would get 60,000 young people into jobs over the next three years.

It is not yet clear when the grants will be made available, or if there will be any other criteria around how long the young person needs to be hired for.

It comes alongside an announcement of an apprenticeship incentive payment worth £2,000 for each 16 to 24 year old hired by a small or medium sized business. FE Week understands eligible businesses could claim both the youth jobs grant and the apprenticeship incentive simultaneously.

Jobs guaranteed

Around 35,000 more unemployed young people will be eligible for a government-subsidised job through the jobs guarantee, McFadden will announce. 

The scheme’s current upper age cap of 21 will be raised to 24 in August. This means the number of young people hoped to benefit from the scheme has risen from 55,000 to 90,000 over the next three years.

Pat McFadden

Once a young person has claimed universal credit for 18 months, they will be eligible for a six-month paid work placement through the jobs guarantee. 

The government is promising to cover all of each young person’s employment costs for up to 25 hours a week, alongside wraparound support to help them succeed and “transition into sustained employment”.

Phase one of the scheme is due to launch next month in six areas: Birmingham and Solihull, East Midlands, Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire and Essex, central and east Scotland and south west and south east Wales.

DWP will enlist local delivery organisations that will be paid up to £2,650 to provide jobs guarantee participants with wraparound support and training.

Stephen Evans, chief executive of Learning and Work Institute, said: “The government is right to extend help like the job guarantee to those aged 22–24, as this group is more likely to be NEET than the 18–21 year olds the policy was previously focused on. 

“There is still lots of work to be done, including proactively engaging the one in two NEET young people outside the benefits system and helping employers to give young people the first steps on their careers. If we all work together so every young person is able to make the most of their talents, we will all benefit.”

First FE provider to receive Ofsted’s lowest new grade

An apprenticeship provider with a 20 per cent achievement rate has become the first FE provider to receive Ofsted’s new lowest possible grade.

The watchdog handed an ‘urgent improvement’ rating to London-based adult care training firm JS Consult in the ‘apprenticeship achievement’ section of its report published today.

Inspectors reported that “achievement rates are too low and have been for the previous four years”, adding that too many apprentices have “not been prepared well” for their final assessments and leave their apprenticeship after they achieve their adult care diploma qualification.

JS Consult, which had 47 apprentices and 21 skills bootcamp learners at the time of the inspection in January, recorded a 20 per cent achievement rate in 2023-24, way below the 61 per cent national average.

The London-based provider’s Ofsted report also showed three ‘needs attention’ grades, including for leadership and management, and four ‘expected standard’ grades.

Leaders ‘have not acted quickly enough’

Today’s report marks the first FE provider to be awarded the lowest Ofsted grade since the watchdog abandoned overall headline grades in favour of a five-point scale in up to 16 individual areas.

Chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver has said the baseline expectation is for providers to achieve ‘expected standard’, while the highest grade of ‘exceptional’ will be awarded only in rare cases where exemplary practice in demonstrated.

JS Consult has been delivering apprenticeships in the health, social care and business sectors since it launched in 2009. It recently began offering skills bootcamps in adult social care.

Ofsted said the company’s leaders have expertise in the care sector and a clear curriculum intention of reducing skilled staff shortages. 

Apprentices also feel “well supported by tutors and value their guidance, frequent wellbeing checks and staff interest in their lives, especially when facing personal problems that affect their studies”.

But while leaders “know the strengths and areas for development of their curriculums, such as the very low-achievement rates for apprenticeships”, they have “not acted quickly enough to secure rapid improvement”. 

Inspectors made clear that achievement rates “have remained too low for too long”.

They added that although leaders now give apprentices more preparation for their final assessments and improved information and guidance on the importance of completing final assessment, it is “too early to assess the full impact of their actions”.

Staff were, however, praised for preparing apprentices appropriately to take their next steps, and noted that apprentices “move on to positive destinations such as sustained employment or promotion at work”.

Updated government accountability measures this year stipulated that apprenticeship providers will be considered ‘at risk’ if they receive an ‘urgent improvement’ judgment from Ofsted for any provision-type level evaluation area for apprenticeships.

The ‘at risk’ classification normally triggers a performance review and management conversation with the Department for Education. It can even lead to extreme measures such as contract termination.

JS Consult declined to comment.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: EDITION 526

Jamie McVey

Chief Commercial Officer, Train’d Up

Start date: January 2026

Previous Job: Sales and Marketing Director, LMP Group

Interesting fact: With his grandfather having worked on Scotland’s steam trains, joining a specialist rail training company feels like a full-circle moment

Ross Crook

Chief Revenue Officer, Lifetime Training

Start date: March 2026

Previous Job: Global Managing Director – Talent Solutions, Morgan McKinley

Interesting fact: Ross used to compete in triathlons and completed 13 half iron man distance tris. These days it’s more padel, golf, and watching rugby!

More detail to come on 16-19 funding, says Phillipson

The education secretary has said the government will have more to say on 16-19 education funding following this week’s “disappointing” below-inflation per-student rate rise for the next academic year.

Principals reacted angrily to this week’s announcement that the 16-19 funding rate would only increase by 0.5 per cent in 2026-27, despite a pledge in October’s post-16 education white paper of “increased funding to provide real-terms per-student funding in the next academic year to respond to the demographic increase in 16-19 year olds”.

DfE also told colleges this week to plan for a freeze in the rate it pays to cover free meals for disadvantaged students in colleges in 2026-27 (£2.61), even though the equivalent funding has been increased (to £2.66) for schools.

Inflation was at 3.6 per cent when the white paper promise was made. Last month, it was 3 per cent.

Population-spiked colleges scrabble for cash ahead of real-terms funding cut

College leaders described this week’s 0.5 per cent increase to the 16-19 funding rate as a “betrayal” and told FE Week it would mean diverting funding away from areas such as high-needs provision and staff pay awards to cover the gap. DfE’s lagged funding model also means colleges have to front up funding for the rising number of students, which can cause cash flow challenges.

Following her keynote speech at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) conference in Liverpool today, education secretary Bridget Phillipson told FE Week colleges should expect more detail on 16-19 funding “in due course”.

Asked specifically about the broken white paper promise, Phillipson said: “We’ll be setting out more detail around this, but we have seen a big increase in the number of young people in post-16 provision. 

“We face a demographic shift. There are more young people, but we’re also seeing a welcome increase in the number of young people who are staying on in education. That’s a good thing, because we know that too many young people are NEET at the moment. But we’ll be setting that out in due course.”