The Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) has announced Tim Bennett-Hart as its new chair.
Bennett-Hart (pictured), chief executive of RSL Awards, will take over from current chair and CEO of Lifetime Training Charlotte Bosworth on February 10 when the federation’s next annual general meeting is held.
NCFE CEO David Gallagher was due to replace Bosworth as FAB chair following an election in November but he has informed the federation of his intention to step down due to health reasons.
A re-election process was subsequently held with the federation’s board this month, with Bennett-Hart confirmed as chair and Kelle McQuade, chief operating officer of Training Qualifications UK (TQUK), elected as vice chair.
Bennett-Hart said he was “honoured” to take on the role at a critical moment for awarding bodies.
“This is a hugely important time for the industry and the federation has a key role to play in representing the views of members and fashioning outcomes that will deliver betterment for learners,” he said.
“I am looking forward to the challenge and continuing the great work Charlotte Bosworth has done for our membership.”
Bennett-Hart joined RSL Awards, a specialist education body for the creative arts, in 2018 as academic director and was promoted to CEO in 2022. RSL works across 50 countries offering graded and vocational qualifications, and has subsidiary businesses in Spain, India and China.
FAB’s website said Bennett-Hart has had a diverse career as a commercial songwriter and an academic at the University of Sussex, before focusing on vocational creative education in FE and HE.
McQuade, who joined TQUK in 2017 after spending 13 years at Milton Keynes College where she oversaw curriculum planning and quality assurance, said: “Awarding organisations are in the midst of unprecedented change. It could not be more important for the federation to play its part and represent the views of members in a balanced and impactful manner.
Kelle McQuade
“I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to play a part as the vice chair of the federation’s board and am looking forward to the challenge.”
Significant items of reform facing the awarding sector currently include a shake up to apprenticeship assessment and major changes to the level 3 and below landscape amid the creation of V Levels and defunding of competing qualifications.
Rob Nitsch, FAB’s CEO, said: “I am delighted that Tim and Kelle have been elected as the chair and vice chair of the federation respectively. They represent the breadth of our membership and are absolutely committed to the collective and individual success of awarding organisations and contributing to this.
“This is a pivotal time for our industry; we are all looking forward to working even more closely with them in the coming months and years.”
FAB currently has a record number of members – 161, which is just over 85 per cent of the government technical qualifications in the UK.
Disadvantaged apprentices are significantly more likely to drop out from their training, research has found, sparking calls for greater support for learners from poorer and ethnic minority backgrounds.
New findings from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) today also revealed apprentices who withdraw face lasting consequences and “wage penalties” compared to their peers who complete.
Researchers found that apprentice dropouts went on to earn significantly lower salaries and are more likely to be unemployed over the three subsequent years of withdrawal, suggesting they are not quitting to take up better paid work elsewhere.
The apprenticeship drop out rate, which hit a worrying 53.4 per cent in 2019-20 but improved to 38.1 per cent in 2023-24, has concerned ministers in recent years, prompting investigations.
NFER’s report, funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, analysed the Department for Education’s longitudinal educational outcomes dataset from 2013-14 to 2020-21 and took learning aims and prior educational attainment data from the national pupil database to determine which characteristics are linked to withdrawals.
The study examined apprenticeship dropouts between 2014-15 and 2019-20.
Here are the key takeaways from the report:
Disadvantaged apprentices ‘most likely’ to struggle
Learners who were registered as eligible for free school meals (FSM) at some point at school were 10 percentage points more likely to withdraw from their apprenticeship than their peers, the report found.
Researchers also examined apprentices living in the areas of highest deprivation as measured by the index of income deprivation affecting children and found they were nine percentage points more likely to drop out than those in the least deprived areas.
Jude Hillary, NFER’s co-head of policy and practice, said the findings show that government and the sector need to ensure disadvantaged apprentices receive “earlier, more targeted support – not just during training, but right from the point they start considering an apprenticeship pathway”.
Ethnic minority apprentices face additional barriers
The report found learners from black and mixed ethnic backgrounds, and learners with English as a second language (EAL) face higher withdrawal rates.
Black apprentices had a withdrawal rate of 66 per cent between 2014-15 and 2019-20, mixed ethnicity learners had a 64 per cent drop out rate and white apprentices withdrew at a 58 per cent rate.
Once they accounted for variables such as GCSE attainment, qualification levels and socioeconomic deprivation, the NFER said the findings indicates that “ethnicity has a relationship with learners’ probability of withdrawal over and above the effect it has via other factors”.
Meanwhile, EAL apprentices had a 62 per cent drop out rate compared to 58 per cent for non-EAL speakers.
In terms of age, apprentices aged 16 to 17 and over the age of 25 were more likely to leave early (over 60 per cent) than those aged 18 to 20 (52 per cent).
Low prior attainment contributes to dropouts
NFER also found that apprentices who already hold a level 3 qualification are eight percentage points less likely to withdraw from their programme compared to learners with no prior qualifications.
Similarly, the report said apprentices who have a grade C or 5+ in GCSE English and maths have been around four and six percentage points respectively less likely to withdraw than their peers without, after controlling for differences in other observed characteristics including overall GCSE scores.
“This suggests that learners’ maths and English prior attainment affect withdrawal over and above the effects of learners’ overall GCSE attainment,” NFER added.
No ‘great’ impact of functional skills requirements
From 2016, functional skills rules have required apprentices without ‘standard passes’ (grade 4 or C) in GCSE maths and English to continue studying these subjects.
Prior research, including a recent 2024 report based on interviews with 71 employers, has claimed that functional skills requirements have been a key barrier to apprentice completion.
NFER said its analysis suggested that the effects of learners’ GCSE maths and English results on their probability of withdrawal “did not change greatly between those that started in 2014-15 and 2018-19”.
These results “appear to suggest that the relationship between learners’ maths and English GCSE results and withdrawal may not have changed greatly after the introduction of functional skills requirements”.
However, researchers acknowledged it could be that the effects of functional requirements on withdrawal were “lagged, and/or functional skills requirements may have influenced employers’ choices about who to accept onto apprenticeships in the first place”.
Last year, DfE scrapped the functional skills rule for adult apprentices, but kept the requirement for 16 to 18-year-old apprentices.
EPA introduction did not impact withdrawal timings
The introduction of the end point assessment (EPA) in 2017 through standards, which replaced frameworks, did not appear to affect the timing of apprenticeship withdrawals, NFER said.
Researchers had expected to see an increase in dropouts towards the end of the apprenticeship standard from learners concerned about taking the EPA.
However, apprentices got a similar proportion of the way through their apprenticeship (47 per cent for standards compared to 43 per cent for frameworks on average) before quitting, the analysis found.
This finding does not, however, “preclude EPA contributing to the higher average withdrawal rate observed for apprenticeship standards compared to frameworks”.
NFER noted that qualitative research insights have suggested that EPA “may be leading some apprentices to withdraw”.
Size and quality matters
The report found apprentices employed by smaller organisations or employers new to apprenticeships are more likely to withdraw than those working for larger, more experienced employers.
Learners working for organisations with 250+ employees are four percentage points less likely to withdraw than learners at organisations that employ less than 50 people.
The report also revealed more experienced training providers (with three or more years in the sector) are associated with lower withdrawal rates, according to regression analysis which factored in differences in apprenticeship, individual, provider and employer characteristics.
“This highlights the benefits of supporting existing providers to scale and avoiding experienced providers exiting the apprenticeship market, particularly in occupational sectors associated with higher withdrawal rates,” researchers said.
Meanwhile, apprentices trained by Ofsted-rated ‘outstanding’ providers are 16 percentage points less likely to withdraw compared to learners trained by providers with an ‘inadequate’ rating (54 percent compared to 70 percent), the research found.
However, the difference in withdrawal rates between ‘outstanding’ and ‘requires improvement’ providers was a more modest five percentage points.
Apprentices not quitting for better paid work
The study examined apprentices’ earnings before, during and after their apprenticeship, drawing upon data from HMRC, their employers from the inter-departmental business register (IDBR), and their apprenticeship providers.
The report found apprentices that are paid more in the first year of their apprenticeship are less likely to withdraw, but effect sizes are small.
NFER calculated that for every 10 per cent increase in earnings in the first year of learners’ apprenticeship, their probability of dropping out decreased by around half a percentage point.
However, the study showed learners who did not complete appear to suffer significantly lower wages and are more likely to be unemployed in the three years after dropping out compared with their peers who finished.
“This suggests that apprentices who withdraw are not quitting to take up better paid work outside of the apprenticeship system in the medium-term (as we are comparing outcomes once both groups finish their apprenticeship),” it said.
Additionally, the wage gap was much wider when apprentices dropped out under standards than it was for apprenticeship frameworks.
Researchers did add that wage differentials may “partially” reflect dropouts having less experience than completers.
Apprenticeships ‘clearly harder’ to get onto and complete
NFER called for targeted additional support towards apprentices, employers and providers that have a higher chance of dropping out.
It also recommended assurance that there are adequate pre-apprenticeship programmes that prepare learners to fully complete the qualification, particularly targeted towards those with low prior attainment.
NFER suggested that further support could be towards apprentices on level 2 programmes and ethnic minority learners, but did not specify how officials should improve support.
Ministers in the past have sought to better understand why apprentices drop out such as introducing an exit feedback tool and more recently, foundation apprenticeships.
“Apprenticeships are clearly now harder for young people to get onto and complete, particularly for learners with lower prior attainment and low or no prior qualifications. New foundation apprenticeships may be one way of effectively responding to this challenge,” the report said.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “This government is committed to ensuring people of all backgrounds can access, and benefit from apprenticeships.
“Our recent £725 million investment will simplify and modernise the apprenticeship system, making it more efficient and responsive to the needs of employers and learners.
“We are creating an apprenticeships system that addresses the nation’s skills challenges head on and are simplifying it to give businesses the flexibility to develop the skills they need.”
Welcome to FE Week live blog of work and pensions questions on January 26, 2026. The session will begin at around 2.30pm.
This is a new function we are testing following our decision to stop posting on the social media website X.
Instead of live reporting key events via our social channels, we will host these blogs on our website, making it easier for our readers to see all updates in one place.
The announcement of £283 million to boost post-16 capacity is both timely and necessary. With 67,000 more 16 to 17-year-olds expected to be in education by 2028, alongside persistent skills shortages across multiple sectors, expanding high-quality provision is no longer optional.
FE colleges are central to this effort and continue to deliver at scale under increasing demographic, financial and workforce pressures.
Recent evidence illustrates the challenge. The Association of Colleges’ post-enrolment survey shows 60 per cent of colleges reported limited or closed enrolments in construction, with similar pressures in electrical, engineering and education.
Overall, 77 per cent of providers reported a significant increase in learner demand, while staffing and space constraints limited their ability to respond.
These pressures are not a reflection of college performance, but of a system stretched by rapid change.
What is less frequently acknowledged is that not everybody wants to become a construction worker. The population bulge means that demand is rising not just in construction and engineering, but across a much broader range of sectors.
Sport, business administration, education, retail, hospitality, creative industries and health-related roles all face workforce shortages, high turnover or changing skills requirements.
These sectors require different types of facilities, delivery models and learner experiences, many of which sit outside traditional classroom-based provision.
This is where independent training providers play a critical role. ITPs already deliver high-quality curriculum across these sectors, often from entry level through to levels 4 and 5 for young people, apprentices and adults, creating clear and coherent progression routes into employment.
They are particularly effective in industries where demand for jobs is strong but learners require a more applied, vocationally immersive pathway to succeed.
ITPs also bring pace and adaptability. Many have a strong track record of establishing, refurbishing or repurposing vacant facilities to create industry-relevant learning environments, whether that is fitness and performance spaces for sport, simulated early years and education settings, commercial kitchens for hospitality, studios for creative industries, or health and care training hubs aligned to local workforce needs.
These facilities are intentionally different to traditional FE estates and are often closer to how learners will experience the workplace itself.
This distinction matters because a significant volume of young people and adults are actively seeking something different from mainstream provision.
For some, large college campuses and traditional timetables are exactly right. For others, particularly those who have disengaged previously or who want a clearer line of sight to employment, smaller, sector-focused environments with strong employer involvement are more effective.
ITPs are frequently the vehicle through which these learners re-engage and progress.
The implications for the NEET challenge are clear. When capacity decisions are too narrow, learners who are ready to train are left without suitable options.
Over time, this contributes to disengagement and economic inactivity, particularly in communities where alternative provision is limited.
By contrast, enabling ITPs to expand provision at pace can unlock immediate capacity in priority sectors and keep learners connected to education and work.
None of this detracts from the vital role of FE colleges. Rather, it strengthens the case for a genuinely system-wide approach to capital investment.
The government’s decision to place greater control in the hands of mayors and local leaders is welcome, but that devolution must come with flexibility.
Capital funding should be able to support colleges and ITPs alike, where they can demonstrate strong outcomes, employer alignment and the ability to deliver quickly.
Post-16 sufficiency will not be achieved through a single type of institution. It will be delivered by backing a diverse ecosystem that reflects the diversity of learners, sectors and local economies.
If the aim is to meet demand, reduce NEET figures and support growth across construction, sport, health, creative and service industries, then ITPs must be part of the solution and not an afterthought.
Building capacity means building the whole system.
Local authorities face cuts of up to 75 per cent to their skills bootcamp budgets under a new government funding model that is based on historic delivery rather than forecast demand.
FE Week has learned that at least 19 of the mayoral combined authorities (MCAs) and local authorities that were handed funding for the short courses in 2025-26 will see their allocations cut by 20 per cent or more for the financial year 2026-27.
One authority will receive an increase, and the remaining 16 areas either haven’t received their allocations yet or did not respond to FE Week at the time of going to press.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which took over the skills brief from the Department for Education (DfE) in September, said it was switching from a “demand-led” to “budget-led” approach, meaning local and combined authorities are receiving allocations for 2026-27 based on their “historical spend” in 2024-25.
A spokesperson for the DWP claimed the department was “increasing investment” for skills bootcamps in 2026-27, but refused to explain how.
Some local authorities have complained this “perverse” new approach fails to recognise that their training programmes had not yet reached “maturity” in the year they were judged on.
But the government argues that using the previous demand-led approach, which allocated funding based on maximum potential uptake, has become unsustainable as the programme has evolved.
The “payment-by-results” model of the courses, which splits payments to training providers into three milestones, one of which is a “positive” job outcome, means local areas have historically only spent 50 to 60 per cent of their maximum allocations.
The DWP spokesperson said the move would ensure the programme “remains fit for purpose” and insisted the government was “committed” to continuing the courses, launched by the Conservatives in 2020.
‘Perverse’ and ‘concerning’
Only one of the 20 areas that confirmed their allocations with FE Week will receive an increase.
The West Midlands Combined Authority’s allocation will increase by 7 per cent to £12,854,658 for 2026-27. But this is still less than half the £26.7 million it had at its disposal in 2023-24.
While many areas gave muted responses when approached for comment, others said the “disappointing” reduction will mean fewer learners benefit from the courses.
Alan Amos, cabinet member for skills at Worcestershire County Council, told FE Week he expects a 42 per cent cut to his authority’s £2.6 million bootcamps pot, despite it being a “great success” in the county.
He described the government’s explanation for the funding cut “convoluted”.
He added: “They gave us a complicated formula for calculating the allocation, which I didn’t understand.
“On demand alone you can see we should be getting more money, not less”.
Somerset County Council, which also manages skills bootcamp delivery for neighbouring Dorset, Bournemouth and Christchurch, called the new funding model “perverse”.
The council said its budget would drop 68 per cent, or £3.2 million, to £1.5 million based on its delivery in 2024-25, before the local training programme had “reached full maturity” of delivery.
Somerset said it is expecting to exceed its target of 1,190 learners this year, and that 95.5 per cent of learners in 2024-25 achieved a positive outcome such as a new job or progression in their career.
Suffolk County Council, which also manages skills bootcamps for neighbouring Norfolk, said its 75 per cent funding cut from £4.9 million to £1.2 million was “deeply concerning” given the number of significant national infrastructure projects in its region, including the Sizewell C nuclear power plant, which is expected to require 7,900 jobs at its peak.
The county council’s deputy leader, Richard Smith, said: “Skills bootcamps have been a proven success in Suffolk and Norfolk, but this cut is a real setback. It means around 1,000 fewer local people will benefit compared to the previous round.
“Government must recognise the long-term benefits – for individuals, employers and the wider economy – and keep investing in skills.”
Stephen Evans, chief executive at the Learning and Work Institute, argued that the DWP’s new funding approach “makes sense” as it avoids returning underspend funding to the Treasury.
However, he echoed Somerset County Council’s concerns that the system “bakes in” patterns of provision based on “historical experience rather than future need”.
Evans added: “In any case, a programme where early data shows more than half of participants already have a degree-level qualification is one that is not helping those that public funding should be focused on.
“Rather than looking at programmes in isolation, we need a more rounded approach to thinking about skills investment by government, people and employers and the outcomes we want to achieve.”
‘Increasing investment’?
The government told FE Week it was “increasing investment” in skills bootcamps in the next financial year, but declined to confirm the size of the national budget or how many areas would be allocated funding.
Its commissioning has undergone several changes since the courses were launched five years ago, with responsibility split between central government, MCAs, local authorities and now-abolished local enterprise partnerships.
In the last financial year, Labour chose to restrict its £100 million national contract to construction-related courses and handed up to £250 million – the largest budget so far – for direct commissioning by 36 MCAs and local authorities.
Earlier this month, FE Week revealed that two MCAs have chosen to reduce funding for skills bootcamps after gaining more independence over their skills funding policies through devolution.
Skills bootcamps typically last up to 16 weeks, usually providing level 2 to 5 training for priority skills such as digital, construction or engineering, followed by a “guaranteed” job interview.
Data for the 2023-24 financial year, the most recent available, suggests that about 47 per cent of the 66,000 learners who started a course completed it and recorded a positive outcome, such as a new or better job.
A pay deal has been struck in a long-running clash between sixth form teachers and bosses of their large London college group.
The agreement ends a dispute between Capital City College (CCC) and teachers at its sixth-form campus in Angel – formerly known as City and Islington College – over whether their pay should match national rates recommended by the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) or put in line with their general FE college colleagues.
This week, CCC management agreed that pay for teaching staff at the campus will increase in line with other sixth form college teachers, but for the rest of the academic year only, in exchange for strike action ending.
National Education Union (NEU) members have accepted that from September 2026 pay will be negotiated locally, without the expectation that SFCA pay scales will apply automatically.
Terry Sullivan, joint branch secretary of Islington’s NEU branch, said: “We can’t pretend that this aspect of the deal isn’t a setback.
“However, in voting to accept the deal our members remain resolute that we will continue to fight for pay justice in future negotiations.”
It ends a dispute that is understood to have resulted in 19 of strike days since October.
Terms of the deal, agreed via ACAS negotiations on Tuesday, mean that a 4 per cent pay increase has been backdated to September, followed by SFCA rates for the rest of the academic year, equivalent to a 7 per cent rise.
NEU members balloted for strike action last year after the CCC management dropped a commitment to the SFCA bargaining framework for its Angel campus, which it had followed since the sixth form joined the wider group in 2016.
The college group instead awarded a 2.5 per cent pay rise for all teaching staff, ignoring the nationally bargained 3.5 and 5.5 per cent award for sixth-form teachers.
It also emerged that management was discussing plans to “harmonise” salaries across the group, by freezing sixth-form teacher pay until the “discrepancy” between their higher pay and other teaching staff disappeared.
At the time, union called the prospect of real terms pay cuts “levelling down” while management argued that the wider teaching staff body should not be “disadvantaged” compared to their sixth form colleagues.
A CCC spokesperson said: “We have reached an agreement with NEU resolving the current dispute involving employees on sixth-form contracts.
“We have agreed that, in addition to the 4 per cent pay award offered for all staff for the current academic year, we will also match the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA) recommended pay scale from January 2026 for this academic year only.
“The NEU has agreed that: From the academic year 2026/27, pay will be agreed locally.
“This means that national pay recommendations for further education and sixth forms will be considered, but they will not automatically apply to the college, the same as for all teaching staff at Capital City College Group.
“There will be no further strike action, with immediate effect.”
Assistant Principal: Business Growth and Skills, Solihull College and University Centre
Start date: January 2026
Previous Job: Director of Adult Skills, Solihull College and University Centre
Interesting fact: Kelly was a professional dancer before beginning her career in FE as a part-time performing arts teacher at Stratford-upon-Avon College in 2004
Mike Crowhurst
Skills Strategy Director, Historic England
Start date: January 2026
Previous Job: Director, Public First
Interesting fact: Mike asked a question about education in the 2010 prime ministerial debates when he was a history teacher in Birmingham
The UK stands at a pivotal moment for vocational education and skills. With the government’s post-16 education and skills white paper setting out ambitious measures to close skills gaps and support economic growth, and MPs calling for urgent investment to “power growth and boost young people’s life chances”, the message is clear: skills are the engine of our economic future.
As someone who has dedicated their career to education and assessment, I understand the weight of this responsibility. Collectively, we serve more than 53,500 leading organisations (including 82 per cent of the Fortune 500), 800 government agencies, and 7,500 partners across more than 200 countries and have provided more than 5 million certifications worldwide.
PeopleCert is the custodian for PRINCE2 and ITIL – both UK government-created global best-practice frameworks – now stewarded by PeopleCert since 2021, alongside LanguageCert, our English language certification portfolio and, of course, City & Guilds, one of Britain’s most recognised and respected names in vocational qualifications.
This gives us both a privileged vantage point and a profound obligation to lead, which I accept personally and seriously.
The changing skills landscape
Our work with thousands of the world’s biggest employers shows us that the nature of work is transforming and at unprecedented speed.
Employers no longer simply seek workers with static qualifications – they need adaptable individuals equipped with skills that evolve alongside technology and market demands.
This evolution demands that learners can “upskill throughout their working life with access to short, modular courses or longer periods of training”. For awarding organisations such as City & Guilds, this isn’t simply a policy shift to accommodate – it’s a fundamental reimagining of what we do and how we do it.
The imperative to modernise
At this week’s City & Guilds leadership conference in London, I shared our vision for transformation and presented the start of our evolving roadmap for how we will meet these challenges. Our vision is clear: to build a future-ready, financially strong organisation that scales impact through people, performance, and technology, as part of an AI-enabled, innovation-led, global business.
This means embracing new technologies – particularly artificial intelligence – as enablers, not threats. AI has the potential to revolutionise how we create qualifications, deliver learning experiences, and assess competence. When deployed responsibly, it allows us to personalise learning at scale, provide faster feedback to learners, and free up educators to focus on the human elements of teaching that no algorithm can replicate.
But technology alone isn’t the answer. We must also be commercially viable, accountable and a great employer. Financial sustainability enables us to invest in innovation, attract talent, and deliver consistent impact over the long term. This is not about profit for its own sake – it’s about building the resilience to serve learners and employers for generations to come.
Putting customers at the centre
Central to our transformation is an unwavering focus on customers – the learners, employers, colleges, and training providers we serve. Every decision we make must start with their needs, with the ultimate goal of empowering people to achieve what they are capable of and enhancing the lives and careers of people.
This customer focus extends to collaboration. No single organisation can address the skills challenge alone. We are committed to being a genuine partner – listening, adapting, and co-creating solutions.
Governance, standards and accountability
In a rapidly changing landscape, learners, employers and policymakers must also have confidence in the qualifications they trust and the organisations behind them. This requires transparent governance, an absolute commitment to maintaining high standards and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
That’s precisely why we have promptly commissioned our own internal investigation into publicity raised after the sale of City & Guilds, including the individual conduct of executives, and why we will cooperate fully with the Charity Commission’s own statutory inquiry if required.
At PeopleCert, we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standard. We welcome scrutiny because we believe that robust oversight ultimately strengthens the entire system. Providers that resist transparency do a disservice to learners and undermine public trust in vocational education.
Looking ahead
The opportunities before us are immense. With the right investment, innovation and collaboration, we can build a skills system that delivers on the government’s growth mission while genuinely transforming lives. The £8.5 billion allocated for 16 to 19 programme funding in 2025-26 signals serious intent – now providers must match that ambition.
City & Guilds, with the support of PeopleCert as a global, UK-rooted partner inskilling, upskilling and reskilling – is ready to play its part: anticipating change, strengthening its role and leadership in the UK, scaling its impact globally, flying the flag for UK assessment standards throughout the world and, above all, never losing sight of the learners and employers it exists to serve.
Ministers insist no decisions have been made “yet” on streamlining England’s suite of apprenticeships, as employer anxiety grows over potential cuts to popular management courses and industry progression routes amid mounting budget pressure.
Skills England and officials at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) held a series of meetings with businesses before Christmas to discuss a review of the more than 700 apprenticeship standards currently available.
Several attendees told FE Week they left with a “real fear” that ministers would strip away employer choice by removing programmes that are not directly linked to government priorities.
The review was signalled by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in November’s budget, when she reiterated that the government would refocus apprenticeships on young people and simplify the system to ensure better value for money.
England has more than twice as many apprenticeships approved for delivery compared with Switzerland and Germany – two countries that are often referred to as having world-class technical education systems.
Baroness Alison Wolf, who served as an adviser on skills to the prime minister from 2020 to 2023, said rationalising the number of apprenticeships is “way overdue”, adding that the “trailblazer” system adopted by the former Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education “outlived its usefulness a decade ago”.
But critics fear the current streamlining effort is motivated less by simplification and more by the need to free up funding in England’s already stretched budget for new, untested initiatives such as foundation apprenticeships and short courses dubbed “apprenticeship units”.
Management cull?
FE Week understands that officials are scrutinising apprenticeships that resemble continuing professional development instead of discrete occupations, and are questioning whether employers should pay for them outside the levy as part of normal learning and development.
Employers and sector bodies fear that widely used management apprenticeships could be among the casualties, such as the level 5 operations manager and the level 5 people professional standards.
The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) launched a petition last week to act as an “evidence gathering tool” to show the removal of management apprenticeships would undermine productivity in industrial strategy sectors as well as other critical areas such as retail and hospitality.
The petition argues that “we must not ‘streamline’ away the very leadership skills that drive productivity and support the next generation of workers” and includes statistics from a Skills England assessment that shows “management is a critical occupation – accounting for 25 per cent of all roles in ‘critical demand’”.
It has over 4,000 signatures so far, including testimonies from big-name employers such as Amazon, BAE Systems, Heathrow, Barnardo’s, John Lewis, Kier, Lloyds Bank and Marie Curie.
The soaring popularity of management apprenticeships has, however, been controversial since the introduction of the apprenticeship levy in 2017, with critics arguing that companies are spending money on apprenticeships that might otherwise come from a regular training budget.
Tom Richmond, a former adviser to education ministers, published a briefing paper last year which showed that three management courses for existing staff that have been “rebadged” as apprenticeships – level 3 team leader, level 5 operations manager and level 7 senior leader – used an estimated £150 million of funding in 2023-24.
Richmond claimed the training offered by these management apprenticeships is “already available through standalone qualifications that are considerably cheaper and more flexible than an apprenticeship, yet they offer the same outcomes in terms of upskilling and reskilling the workforce”.
Industry casualties
Streamlining concerns extend beyond management. Employers in individual industries, such as hospitality, say they have been asked by officials to justify why senior-level apprenticeships should continue to attract levy funding.
UKHospitality skills director Sandra Kelly said officials have questioned, for example, whether standards such as the level 3 senior production chef and level 4 senior culinary chef apprenticeships should remain in scope.
She told FE Week the hospitality sector had 12 apprenticeships in total, and the proposed removal of the two senior standards would “dismantle a critical progression point”, adding that total funding committed for the two apprenticeships in 2023-24 was less than £4 million.
Kelly argued that defunding the two senior standards would deliver “disproportionate damage relative to the savings achieved”, saying: “This is not efficiency; it is false economy.”
Several employers, including catering giant Elior UK, are now lobbying the DWP to retain all hospitality apprenticeships.
They also warn that replacing senior apprenticeships with short courses in the form of “apprenticeship units” would “dilute quality and undermine professional standards”.
The power of ‘yet’
Labour MP Lauren Edwards brought the issue to the House of Commons during education questions on Monday. She said industries such as hospitality are a “key means” by which the country can tackle its NEET (not in education, employment or training) challenge, but to “deliver positive long-term change, we must have an apprenticeship system that allows young people to progress, not just give them a foot in the door”.
She added: “So may I urge the minister to continue to support these apprenticeships, which should be a high priority for both our labour market and our economy.”
Josh MacAlister, the Department for Education’s children’s and families’ minister, responded by saying “nothing has been decided on defunding apprenticeships, yet”, and added: “We share her ambition that the apprenticeship system in the future is entirely designed around progression as well as one-off learning.”
Stretched resources
The review comes as pressure on England’s apprenticeship budget intensifies. The budget has been fully spent in recent years, with officials now scrambling to manage costs following a surge in the number of people starting level 7 apprenticeships ahead of levy funding being withdrawn at this level for people aged 22 and over this month.
Further strain is expected as foundation apprenticeships and shorter “apprenticeship units” are introduced through the reformed growth and skills levy from April 2026 – intended to give employers more choice over how they spend their levy pots in line with Labour’s manifesto commitment.
READ MORE: The 24-25 apprenticeships budget was overspent for the first time
Rob West, former head of skills at the Confederation of British Industry and now associate director at the Education and Training Foundation, attended a meeting with the DWP in December and heard how the government “is struggling to stretch limited apprenticeship resources to meet the needs of learners, employers, providers, and the economy”.
He said “earlier engagement” with the skills sector as policies develop “is welcome”, but added it can also “draw providers and employers into responding to ideas that are still speculative, rather than addressing the real, immediate pressures in the system”.
West added: “What’s needed now is clarity, stability and a shared focus on the practical issues holding apprenticeship delivery back.”
The government has released minimal information about apprenticeship units, despite their impending introduction. Skills minister Jacqui Smith has previously said they could be as short as one week.
Wolf said she did not “understand the point of apprenticeship units other than to make it easier for levy-payers to use even more of the levy for existing staff”.
She added: “If the government really thinks this fragmentation of training is the answer to the declining number of young apprentices, I think they are in for a nasty surprise.”
Surplus required
The levy is generating more cash contributions than expected and is estimated to raise £4.4 billion this financial year.
England’s apprenticeship budget for 2025-26 is set at £3.075 billion, while the devolved nations receive over £500 million. It means the top slice the Treasury takes between how much the levy generates and how much is dished out for apprenticeship spending hits close to £840 million.
Forecasts for 2026-27 show the levy intake should rise to £4.6 billion. If the Treasury fails to increase apprenticeship spending budgets the Treasury margin will hit £1 billion.
The chancellor’s budget did announce an extra £725 million over the rest of this Parliament to be injected into the apprenticeship system, but £140 million of this will be going to mayors to help to connect NEETs to local employers.
Some of the additional cash will also go towards fully fund apprenticeships for under-25s in small and medium-sized businesses.
The DWP, which took over control of apprenticeships from the DfE last year, refused to tell FE Week what England’s apprenticeship budget is for 2026-27, claiming it hasn’t gone through final processes.
Meanwhile, Reeves’ budget red book also revealed the government will remove a 10 per cent uplift for levy payers, halve the time levy payers have to use their levy funds from 24 to 12 months, and slash the co-investment rate offered to big businesses when they exhaust their funds to 75 per cent. The changes will kick in from the 2026-27 academic year.
Matthew Percival, the CBI’s future of work and skills director, said businesses were “frustrated about continued speculation that apprenticeships could be further restricted or defunded, particularly as we know that the government is making significant profits on the growth and skills levy”.
He added: “Taken together with the immigration skills charge, hundreds of millions of pounds more is currently being raised for skills than is being spent on it.
“This money should urgently be released for its intended purpose so that businesses aren’t forced to ration the training opportunities they offer their staff.”
Watch out for heritage skills
Officials are understood to be considering removing apprenticeships with low starts as part of a housekeeping exercise that will also involve slashing apprenticeships in areas where there is too much overlap and duplication between standards.
An analysis by FE Week shows that there are 162 apprenticeship standards that have been approved for delivery for at least a year but which recorded fewer than 50 starts.
Experts have urged DWP officials to recognise that there are heritage skills and niche apprenticeships where small numbers were to be expected and which they said must not be disproportionately affected.
David Poole, education officer at the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, said specialist apprenticeships such as the level 3 watchmaker, for example, are “fundamental to the public”, adding that this training route must be kept open to meet demand as industry professionals retire.
Wolf added that simply taking out apprenticeships based solely on their number of new starters would be “lazy and counter-productive”.
She said: “Many key small occupations need apprentices and we are facing skill crises in them. The problem tends to be the impossibility, in our pseudo-market system, of finding a good local provider. Sorting that out is another core government responsibility, as other countries recognise.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “We are committed to creating an apprenticeships system that addresses the nation’s skills challenges head on and are simplifying it to give businesses the flexibility to develop the skills they need.
“We have been working intensively with businesses on the next stages of reform and will consider their feedback before making any decisions about changes to funding apprenticeship standards.”
