New Institutes of Technology (IoTs) will require greater collaboration between colleges and set more ambitious student recruitment targets, FE Week can reveal.

A bidding process for wave two, to open a further eight IoTs, on top of the 12 existing institutes, was launched by education secretary Gavin Williamson (pictured) last week with the backing of £120 million.

The goal is to ensure every area of the country has an IoT, after FE Week revealed that wave one had left a number of cold spots. The Department for Education plans to announce winners of the current twostage procurement in summer 2021, with the rollout of the successful bids to get under way that autumn.

Tender documents, not available in the public domain but obtained by this publication, show that eligibility criteria have been bolstered this time round.

One of the most notable changes is that all bids must now have at least two FE and three employer “core” partners, along with one university. Wave one applications only required one FE provider and two employers to be what the DfE then called “anchor” partners.

Four successful bids in wave one involved only one FE partner. These were bids led by: Barking and Dagenham College; Dudley College; HCUC (Harrow College and Uxbridge College); and Queen Mary University of London.

Student number targets have also been increased, from a goal of achieving 1,000 learners by the end of the fifth academic year for wave one IoTs, to 1,500 for wave two. Last week, FE Week revealed that Covid-19 was being blamed for recruitment concerns among wave one IoTs.

Other changes to eligibility criteria include setting a target of 85 per cent of provision at level 4 and above by the end of year five of each IoT’s operation (up from 80 per cent in wave one), and only allowing bids from areas of the country that do not currently have an IoT.

As with wave one, each FE core partner must be rated at least ‘good’ by Ofsted, and they will also need to meet the DfE’s definition of being “financially credible” – which will be detailed in stage two of the bidding process.

A DfE spokesperson confirmed that the eligibility requirements “have been strengthened” and developed “based on the typical wave one IoT performance and wider lessons learnt”.

“We have developed the guidance in close consultation with the sector, including the eligibility conditions,” the spokesperson added. “They have raised no significant concerns around meeting the wave two eligibility conditions.”

Julian Gravatt, deputy chief executive at the Association of Colleges, said it is “too early to tell” if these additional requirements will cause a problem.

He told FE Week: “Colleges have made a good start with the first wave of IoTs but the DfE requirements were already quite complicated and this contributed to the long period of time between the invitations to bid in 2018 and the launch in 2020.

“It’s too early to say that these additional requirements are a problem, particularly as the latest prospectus provides more detail on other issues, but let’s hope that the DfE can stick to the newer timetable to get the wave two institutes up and running by 2021/22.”

IoTs are a flagship government programme. They involve collaboration between colleges, universities and employers, and specialise in delivering higher level technical training at level 4 and 5 in STEM subjects, including digital, advanced manufacturing and engineering.

The decision to open up a further eight was announced at the Conservative Party conference last year after FE Week revealed geographical issues with the first 12 IoTs – there were none planned for the north-west and the east of England.

Bids for wave two will only be open to parts of the country without an IoT, including the north-west, Midlands, east of England and parts of the south-east.

The deadline for applications is noon on December 14, 2020.

A multi-million-pound flagship national retraining service has been scrapped by the Department for Education after several mayors, including London’s, declined the opportunity to take part, FE Week can reveal.

The Get Help to Retrain website was the first of several “products” planned to make up the national retraining scheme pilot, which was announced to much fanfare in the 2017 budget with the backing of £100 million.

In early April the DfE cancelled all national retraining scheme tender activities for all products, and this week the skills minister, Gillian Keegan, announced the scheme was to be “integrated”.

The Get Help to Retrain website, which acted as a course and job directory, took two years to get off the ground and then was only piloted in six areas of England.

On October 15, the DfE added a note to the website that reads: “This service will no longer be available from November 11, 2020. You can continue to access services for support with skills and training through the National Careers Service.”

Tender documents suggest the firm chosen to pilot the Get Help to Retrain website held a nine-month contract for £1.8 million, which started in May 2019.

Around 3,600 people used the website, according to the government, but their outcomes, such as enrolling on a maths or English course, are not known because the site does not capture contact information.

The DfE confirmed to FE Week the service would now cease to exist following a move to merge the national retraining scheme with the £2.5 billion national skills fund to “reduce complexity” in the skills system.

The news comes just weeks after prime minister Boris Johnson announced major plans for a Lifetime Skills Guarantee to help adults retrain.

But it appears the writing was on the wall for Get Help to Retrain six months ago.

Tender documents seen by this publication show that plans were afoot to roll out the Get Help to Retrain nationally as well as to develop a “find and apply for a job” service at a cost of between £5 million and £6 million.

The tender received 28 applications before it was “cancelled” in April.

And according to the national retraining scheme timeline (pictured in full below) there would be further tenders for the remaining products, which never materialised, at a total cost of £20 million over the next 24 months.

FE Week has spoken to insiders close to Get Help to Retrain who said the DfE had approached various regions of the country asking them to sign up to the service, but relevant authorities rejected the pleas after hearing that it had faltered in pilot areas.

The Greater London Authority is one of those areas and confirmed that “we didn’t feel the pilot would add value beyond the important [adult education] work already being done in the capital”.

The DfE said it chose to pause the further rollout of Get Help to Retrain at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic but that it remained open to users in the six existing locations.

The department would not say how much funding has been spent on the service overall.

A spokesperson said the digital tool was developed to “support individuals who may be at risk of losing their job as a result of automation” and that while this is “still a challenge”, DfE needed to “refocus” its efforts following Covid-19 to “make sure as many adults as possible are supported to gain the skills that we know employers value and that will in turn help our economy to recover”.

Sector leaders have hit out at the government over the fiasco, insisting the funding would have been better spent on existing and proven provision.

Labour’s shadow apprenticeships and lifelong learning minister Toby Perkins said this is “another example of the government devoting a great deal of time and resources to a scheme that has been made available to a tiny minority of individuals, whilst largely neglecting the rest of the sector”.

Association of Employment and Learning Providers managing director Jane Hickie said that after the “disastrous” employer ownership pilots under the coalition government, there were “always going to be serious questions about repeating something similar, and AELP is not at all surprised that a line has been drawn on another sorry chapter for skills initiatives”.

Susan Pember, a former director of FE at the DfE and now policy director of adult education network HOLEX, added: “Although I can appreciate why DfE were keen to establish a new targeted education programme to reach the adult learners who most needed support, it would have been more effective and a better use of public funds to go through the established routes, such as the adult education budget.”

Get Help to Retrain allowed users to identify and input their current skills and then based on those skills, offer suggestions for training and alternative employment. The service then directed users to vacancies in their area based on the suggestions provided.

It was trialled in the West Midlands, the north-east, Liverpool City Region, Leeds City Region, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough combined authority, and the Heart of the South West LEP.

But a “question and answer” pack with the tender documents for expanding the service from earlier this year suggested the government did not have a tight grip on its plans.

“Products are not yet very clearly defined. We have a theory of change we are developing, which involves a lot of assumption testing throughout the lifecycle to get the outcome we want,” it said.

“In terms of departmental digital maturity, we are more reliant on suppliers than we would like at this point… The department is open to what the solutions look like.”

The Confederation of British Industry and Trades Union Congress were key partners in the development of Get Help to Retrain and the national retraining scheme more generally. But neither would shed more light on the decision to scrap the service.

Matthew Percival, CBI people and skills director, said: “The government’s engagement with businesses and trade unions provided key insight into individual retraining needs. The National Skills Fund must build on the National Retraining Scheme pilots, adding investment in skills provision as well as helping learners to navigate the system.”

TUC head of organising and services, Kevin Rowan, said: “A crucial part of the design of the National Retraining Scheme was the partnership between government, business and unions. This must be continued through the National Skills Fund.”

The DfE said they are considering how they can provide further details of how else the £100 million earmarked for the national retraining scheme has been spent.

A spokesperson told FE Week that the “valuable insights and evidence we have gathered, and the engagement we have had with employers and stakeholders” from the scheme has “already helped inform the development of new initiatives” including The Skills Toolkit (a page on the National Careers Service website that signposts visitors to existing free courses) and “digital bootcamps” announced by the prime minister last month.

“We now have an opportunity to build on this further by using the evidence and insights to help shape the National Skills Fund and make sure everyone can get the skills they need, at every stage of their life,” they added.

A college representative body has marked the start of an annual celebration of the sector with a survey highlighting the plight of small-to-medium enterprises trying to access skilled personnel and training for employees.

A survey of 503 such businesses by the Association of Colleges (AoC) comes ahead of Colleges Week on Monday, and as education secretary Gavin Williamson thanked college leaders and staff “for their dedicated efforts during these unprecedented times”.

Forty per cent of SMEs were found by the survey, conducted by Opinium, to believe it is more difficult to find employees with the right skills now than it was five years ago.

Meanwhile, 53 per cent do not think enough is being done to help their businesses skill and reskill their workforce as Britain nears the end of Brexit transition period in December. 

Once that transition period ends, 45 per cent believe it will become even more difficult to hire people with the right skills.

But Brexit has been supplanted as businesses’ greatest worry by Covid-19, with 53 per cent citing the virus as most present on their minds. 

“Skills gaps did not emerge in this pandemic,” says AoC chief executive David Hughes, “they are long-standing challenges that have been exacerbated by Covid-19 and the UK nearing the end of the transition period”.

Forty-four per cent say the skills gap in their sector is likely to increase because of threats like the virus, and 54 per cent believe they will need to train workers to adapt to it.

This need has been reinforced by the British Chambers of Commerce head of people policy Jane Gratton, who said employers will need to invest in upskilling and reskilling their workforce “to remain competitive in a global business environment”.

She added that the business communities want to see a “more agile” skills system, which is “more responsive” to their training needs.

Colleges are “key to boosting skills levels,” she said and the SMEs agree: more of them would turn to colleges to train their staff than would turn to universities or online learning.

Hughes commended the government for committing to prioritising skills, following announcements of £1.5 billion in college capital funding and the £2.5 billion National Skills Fund, but said: “We need the investment to flow quickly to the right people and places. People and businesses need skills and training as an urgent priority if they are going to survive the coming months and thrive in the coming years.”

Williamson acknowledged it had been a “difficult and uncertain time for businesses, particularly SMEs”. 

“We need to make sure we can unlock talent in every corner of the country, which is why the prime minister announced the Lifetime Skills Guarantee.”

Colleges Week, a national celebration of the college sector, is this year running between October 19 and 23.

Each day of the week will revolve around a theme, including rebuilding the economy and responding to Covid-19. 

To mark it, Williamson has said the sector has “gone above and beyond to make sure their students are supported, can continue learning and return to onsite delivery”.

Colleges, he added, would be at the “centre” of the effort to “teach the skills that learners and communities need, while also matching businesses with the talent they need for the future”.

As well as local events colleges will be running, there will be a debate in the House of Commons on “the role of colleges in a skills-led recovery”, hosted by Peter Aldous MP, vice chair of the all-party parliamentary group for further education and lifelong learning.

The chair of the education select committee Robert Halfon has also put forward a motion for the House to “recognise the unique role that colleges play in supporting people, employers and communities”.

Colleges in high and very high Covid-19 risk areas will be forced to close entire campuses to cater for “substantially high” GCSE resit student exams in November, the Association of Colleges has warned.

In a letter to schools minister Nick Gibb today, AoC chief executive David Hughes (pictured) said the resits for maths and English pose “potential public health risks”.

He explained that normally there are over 50,000 GCSE English and maths college entries in each subject in November, but a number of colleges and awarding organisations were reporting “substantially higher entries” for next month, with several in the “500 plus bracket”.

Many of those colleges are in “high or very high tier areas in the North West, Yorkshire and West Midlands”, Hughes continued, saying that while they will apply the social distancing and health measures, for “many” it will result in the “closure of entire campuses to other students on the exam days to manage numbers safely”.

“Controlling entry and exit points will be a particular issue because exams have fixed start and end times.”

Hughes added: “We have serious concerns about the potential public health risks this presents and would welcome urgent discussion about whether going ahead with this series of exams is the right thing to do.”

Earlier this week, advice made on 21 September by scientists from the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) was released and recommended that teaching at all colleges and universities should be online unless “face-to-face teaching is absolutely essential”. The government has since maintained that all colleges should stay open for face-to-face delivery.

Hughes said the rapid spread of the coronavirus second wave, and the SAGE advice “are worrying college leaders who want to make the right balance between safety of students and supporting them to take these [resit] exams.

“If the November resits do go ahead, we would welcome a rapid review of the guidance, particularly for the highest risk areas and I would ask you to extend the support funding available for the autumn series to include post-16 ‘Condition of Funding’ (resit) candidates.”

End-point assessments for around 30 apprenticeship standards could be scrapped under new plans announced today.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education said it is preparing to “simplify and strengthen” apprenticeships that have a “statutory regulator” and an “established professional competency test”.

It would mean that in situations where an apprentice has met a statutory regulator’s requirements to practice, this will be counted as that apprentice’s end-point assessment (EPA) in the future.

Currently, just 28 standards (see full list below) out of a possible 500 that are approved for delivery could be impacted, most of which are in the healthcare sector.

The move is likely to lead to making permanent some of the EPA flexibilities that were introduced as a result of Covid-19, particularly nursing.

In April, the institute announced that registered nurse degree apprentices and nursing associate apprentices who have been assessed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council as having permanently met the requirements for professional registration and have passed through gateway “will be regarded to have met the end-point assessment requirements and have achieved their apprenticeship”.

The IfATE explained that “statutory regulators” are those that admit professionals into occupations that parliament has said must be regulated. In such instances, entry into the profession can only occur when an individual is added to the regulator’s register. 

Any statutory regulators delivering the integrated assessments will need to be admitted to the register of end point assessment organisations, held by the Education and Skills Funding Agency. 

Tom Bewick, chief executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, warned that “we can’t allow those with a material interest in the outcome of an apprenticeship marking their own homework” if this move is implemented.

The IfATE said that going forward, it will be working with employers to consider how integrated assessment could be extended to other statutory regulators, but added that there will be “no blanket approach”.

“Integrated EPA will only be considered where a statutory regulator, which admits professionals into occupations that parliament has said must be regulated, sets established tests of professional competency,” a spokesperson added.

A consultation will take place on each standard this applies to before any change. Where the decision is taken to integrate the EPA with professional competency tests, there will be at least three months’ notice given to end-point assessment organisations.

The institute told end point assessment organisations for nursing and other relevant apprenticeships on 14 October that work will start on introducing the changes in the coming weeks.

Jennifer Coupland, chief executive of the IfATE, said: “This innovative new approach will build on lessons learned from the assessment flexibilities introduced around Covid-19.  This will simplify the system and make it work better for both employers and apprentices, particularly in professions such as nursing.”

Bewick said: “Federation members were only briefed on these changes recently, so we think three months to implement the changes is unrealistic.

“We understand the need to avoid duplication in the assessment of apprentice competence. However, we also believe it is vital that a level regulatory playing field, from a quality assurance perspective, is maintained. It’s worth recalling the whole point of these reforms: to give greater public confidence in the quality of apprenticeships, which is why we can’t allow those with a material interest in the outcome of an apprenticeship marking their own homework.

“We can see how regulatory alignment between IfATE and statutory bodies is both pragmatic and sensible, but the timescales should be revisited.”

The apprenticeship standards affected:  

Dental Technician  

Clinical Dental Technician  

Orthodontic Therapist  

Dental Nurse  

Optometrist  

Pharmacy Technician  

Arts Therapist (Degree)  

Diagnostic Radiographer (Degree)  

Dietitian (Degree)  

Healthcare Science Practitioner (Degree)  

Occupational Therapist (Degree)  

Operating Department Practitioner (Degree)  

Paramedic (Degree)  

Physiotherapist (Degree)  

Podiatrist (Degree)  

Prosthetist and Orthotist (Degree)  

Speech and Language Therapist (Degree)  

Therapeutic Radiographer (Degree)  

Hearing Aid Dispenser  

Officer of the watch: boatmaster  

Probation officer

District Nurse  

Specialist Community Public Health Nurse  

Midwife (Degree)  

Registered Nurse – Degree (NMC 2010)  

Registered Nurse Degree (NMC 2018)  

Nursing Associate (NMC 2018)  

Social worker

Two new members have been appointed to the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education’s (IfATE) board.

John Cope and Dayle Bayliss will serve as non-executive board members for three years starting from next month, the government’s apprenticeship quango announced today.

Bayliss has worked in the construction sector for over 20 years and is currently a chartered surveyor, director, and project manager for Dayle Bayliss Ltd construction consultancy, based in Ipswich.

She is a former member of the IfATE’s construction route panel, which oversees approvals of new apprenticeships, and was chair of its construction: design, surveying and planning T Level development panel.

Bayliss, who is also a board member of the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership Skills Advisory Panel and a member of the Suffolk Chamber Business Women Board, said her new role at the IfATE “feels like a natural progression”.

Cope is a former head of education and skills policy at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), and deputy director of education practice at the thinktank Public First. He joined the University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) as director of strategy, policy and public affairs in September this year.

Cope, who is also a non-executive director of the Activate Learning Group and an advisory member of the board of the Education Policy Institute, said: “I want to use my experience at the CBI to help engage employers more effectively. My day job at UCAS will help better link the two organisations to ensure all education options are promoted, not just higher education.”

Each will be paid £15,000 a year for a commitment of two days a month.

The number of people on the IfATE’s board is now up to 12, but it continues to have no black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) representation. The institute’s last BAME board member left in October 2018.

The Department for Education, which officially makes the appointments for the institute, said: “These appointments have been made as a result of an open competition which was conducted in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

“Diversity is a principle of the public appointments process and the Code require that all appointments are made on merit.

“The DfE particularly welcomed applications from women, people with disabilities, LGBT candidates and those from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.”

Increasing diversity in apprenticeships is key goal for the DfE, which set up the Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network three years ago, setting a target of increasing the proportion of apprentices from BAME communities by 20 per cent.

The proportion of BAME apprentices sat at 10.7 per cent in 2015/16. This increased in 2018/19 to 11.8 per cent compared to 30.1 per cent for other FE programmes excluding apprenticeships. The latest figures for 2019/20 only show from August to January, at which point 12.1 per cent of apprentices were BAME.

New groups to tackle discrimination in the FE sector have been set up recently, including the Association of Colleges’ Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) steering group, and the Black Further Education Leadership Group (BFELG) – created by a number of existing and former college leaders.

The BFELG wrote to prime minister Boris Johnson and education secretary Gavin Williamson in August to warn that racism was undermining FE. Skills minister Gillian Keegan replied to the letter this month and pledged “to eliminate racism and to address racial inequalities in our further education sector”, as reported by FE News.

A spokesperson for the IfATE said it is a “firm supporter of BAME engagement” and works with “thousands of diverse employers to create opportunities for all different apprentices”.

“Of our total staff, 21 per cent have identified themselves as BAME – which is well above the national average,” they added.

“Our Diversity and Inclusion network promotes diversity across the Institute, presenting opportunities to discuss relevant topics and help change things for the better.”

A flexibility that allows apprentices to take their end-point assessment before their functional skills exam is set to be reintroduced, FE Week understands.

It follows an investigation by this publication that found thousands of apprentices “stuck in limbo” as awarding bodies struggle to adapt their functional skills assessments in the face of Covid-19.

Ministers are understood to be sympathetic to the situation and are looking at ways to mitigate this impact.

While there is currently no suggestion that Ofqual will return to centre-assessed grades for functional skills – as many training providers have called for – flexibilities are expected to be extended to apprenticeship rules.

In May, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education announced a temporary flexibility that enabled apprentices who would otherwise be stuck at gateway to take EPA ahead of receiving their functional skills qualification, which was calculated following the cancellation of exams due to Covid-19, later on in the summer.

The rule applied to all apprentices due to take a functional skills test and receive a result between 20 March and 31 July.

FE Week understands minister Gillian Keegan has now ordered the IfATE to partly reintroduce this flexibility – allowing apprentices to sit their end-point assessment before their functional skills exam.

A timeframe for implementing this is not yet known.

It is also understood that the government will extend the regulation end date for legacy functional skills qualifications, which currently have a deadline of 31 December.

Since 1 August 2020, Ofqual has banned the use of centre-assessed grades for all vocational and technical qualifications, including functional skills.

All functional skills exams must now either be sat in the traditional manner, or awarding bodies must adapt their assessment arrangements to mitigate any impact of the pandemic.

But coming up with an adapted assessment solution for all affected learners has been an issue for most awarding bodies, with remote or ‘at-home’ assessments some way off being made available. Many apprentices are being instructed to work from home in line with government guidelines and are being instructed not to travel to centres for exams due to risk of spreading Covid-19.

Some workplaces that are open will not allow assessors to visit as their employees are having to use all available space which is restricted because of social distancing and safety measures. This is a particular issue in the health and care sectors.

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers estimates that tens of thousands of functional skills exams, mostly for apprentices but also for some learners funded by the adult education budget, could be delayed from now until Christmas as a result.

Jill Whittaker, the managing director of independent provider HIT Training, previously told FE Week there is a particularly urgent need to act on this now as learners on legacy qualifications, which are about to expire, will “miss the opportunity to achieve their functional skills and will be forced to enrol on the reformed functional skills”.

City & Guilds is one major awarding body struggling to launch remote functional skills assessments. The organisation had announced it was set to roll out functional skills tests to be sat at home prior to lockdown but it was forced to divert its resource into dealing with the exams fiasco throughout the summer. The at-home tests are still being worked on, but there is no date for their rollout.

Some awarding bodies have however been successful in rollout out remote or “at-home” functional skills tests.

One of them is Open Awards, which told FE Week it has included an option for remotely invigilated online assessments as part of its “controlled assessment policy” for a number of years.

“Our centres are able to apply to deliver remotely invigilated online functional skills at levels 1 and 2 on a one-to-one ratio using our existing assessment platform integrated with remote video-call software,” a spokesperson explained.

“Feedback so far has been positive and it is proving to provide a flexible and robust alternative to classroom-based assessments.”

Highfield is another awarding body that successfully offers remote assessment. It launched a “Qualify at Home” service in April 2020 and over 9,000 exams have since been invigilated via the service.

The assessments are taken online and Highfield invigilators “remotely monitor candidates ensuring their compliance with all of our examination conditions”, a spokesperson told FE Week.

“We achieve this by using four pieces of technology which we believe to be the most robust available in the market: screen share; webcam; digital audio; and a tethered smart device (usually a mobile phone).

“We’re extremely proud that we’ve successfully demonstrated our ability to adapt to changing circumstances and that we’ve created change within the industry during the biggest challenge we’ve all faced in decades.”

 

ESFA confirms some flexibilities

After this article was published, the ESFA confrimed two flexibilities for functional skills.

Skills minister Gillian Keegan said: “We have extended the end dates for legacy functional skills qualifications through to July 2021 to ensure learners have enough time to complete their outstanding assessments.

“Alongside this we have temporarily suspended the requirement within the apprenticeship funding rules for level 2 apprentices to study towards, and attempt level 2 functional skills assessments, making sure they can complete their programmes.”

The proportion of staff being trained has dropped to its lowest level since 2011, according to the government’s latest employer skills survey.

More than 81,000 employers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland took part in the biennial survey for 2019 – the results for which have been published today by the Department for Education.

It states that the proportion of staff being trained in the last 12 months decreased, from 62 per cent in 2017 to 60 per cent in 2019; adding that this was the “lowest proportion reported since 2011” when 54 per cent was achieved.

The research report explains that this decrease was predominantly driven by a lower proportion of staff being trained in England (60 per cent vs 62 per cent in 2017).

In contrast, there was a sharp increase in the proportion of staff trained in Wales (up 7 percentage points to 65 per cent), and a smaller increase in Northern Ireland (up 2 percentage points to 62 per cent.

Despite this, investment in training in England has risen but fallen overall mainly due to Wales.

The report states: “Employer expenditure on training and development over the previous 12 months was £42 billion. As well as such elements as fees to external providers and expenditure on equipment or materials, a substantial proportion of this expenditure covered the wages of staff while being trained, and of staff delivering training. Overall, employer investment was fairly evenly split between on- and off-the-job training (21.1 billion and 20.9 billion respectively).

“The 2019 training expenditure of £42 billion represents a 0.5 per cent decrease in real terms on the 2017 figure of £42.2 billion.

“While training expenditure has gradually increased in England since 2015 (from £38.9 billion in 2015 to £39.2 billion in 2019) and remained stable in Northern Ireland (£1.1 billion), it has fallen in Wales to £1.7 billion (compared with £2.1bn in 2015 and 2017); this is despite the proportion of staff trained in Wales increasing, and is due to a reduction in training days.”

The employer skills survey says the largest increase in total training expenditure occurred in the business services sector, from £9.4 billion in 2017 to £11.4 billion in 2019 (an increase of 21 per cent).

In contrast, there has been a continued downward trend in total training expenditure in the education sector; £3.5 billion was spent on training over the last 12 months in 2019, compared with £3.7 billion in 2017 and £4.2 billion in 2015.

A similar story was also true for arts and “other services”; training spend in this sector has fallen to £1.7 billion, down from 2.2 billion in 2017 and 2.6 billion in 2015.

Employers’ total investment in training over the previous 12 months was equivalent to around £2,540 per person trained and £1,530 per employee. “These figures have decreased by 1 per cent and 5 per cent respectively since 2017,” the report states, but adds: “However, across the employer skills survey series since 2011 the per employee and per trainee training spends have been relatively stable.”

Neil Bentley-Gockmann, the chief executive of WorldSkills UK, said these survey results underline the “urgent need for a high-quality skills pipeline which is adaptable to the rapidly shifting economic landscape”.

He added: “Employers have suggested that 63 per cent of skills-shortage vacancies were attributed to a lack of specialist skills or knowledge needed by candidates to perform their role.

“While we share the government’s commitment to skills and to Build Back Better, we must ensure this drive focuses on quality as well as quantity. By supporting high-quality apprenticeships and technical education we can shift the focus to excellence, not just competence, and provide young people and employers with the skills they need to succeed.”