The number of apprenticeship starts in England plunged by 12 per cent in December, according to government figures published this morning.

Provisional figures for December 2019, when compared to the same publication last February, reveal a fall of 1,900 in a single month.

The analysis by FE Week shows starts for those under the age of 19 decreased the most, from 3,600 to 2,800, a 22 per cent drop.

Level two saw the largest percentage decrease in December, with a 21 percent fall.

Meanwhile, higher apprenticeships went up by 4 per cent from 2,500 to 2,600.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Thanks to our reforms, apprenticeships are now longer, higher-quality, with more off-the-job training and have an independent assessment at the end. Our higher quality apprenticeships are also ensuring employers can invest in the people and skills they need.

“We do recognise there is more work to do and we are continuing to look at how the apprenticeship programme can best support the changing needs of businesses so more people can get ahead and all employers can benefit.”

The education secretary has demanded a review into the controversial MBA apprenticeship “to safeguard the integrity of the apprenticeship brand and value for money of the levy.”

The letter, sent today from Gavin Williamson to the new boss at the Institute for Apprenticeships, Jennifer Coupland, sets 1 June as a deadline for determining whether the level 7 senior leader standard will continue to be funded.

The letter comes less than a month after Coupland told FE Week that public funding for management apprenticeships is “perfectly legitimate”.

Coupland was calling on the government to find an extra £750 million to invest in apprenticeships for small employers, those that do not pay the levy.

When asked about the spiraling cost of the controversial management apprenticeships she said: “It is not government money, it comes from the levy that was levied directly to support apprenticeships.”

The Department for Education told FE Week 34 of their staff are currently studying towards the apprenticeship MBA.

The then-director of the DfE’s National Apprenticeship Service, Sue Husband, told a House of Lords enquiry in 2018 she was on a level 6 chartered management degree apprenticeship and was finding it “hugely beneficial”. She confirmed to FE Week this morning she was carrying on the apprenticeship with her new employer.

FE Week was first to report, back in 2016, that management apprenticeships were already the third most popular, proving to be “unstoppable” and would likely “rocket to the top spot once the apprenticeship levy kicks in next year.”

In early 2019, our analysis found management taking the top-spot,  including 1,220 starts on the level 7 MBA. 

The levy is paid to the Treasury, which means it is technically public funding, and its use for management qualifications has come under criticism from Ofsted’s chief inspection, Amanda Spielman, who said “we see levy funding subsidising re-packaged graduate schemes and MBAs that just don’t need it”.

The National Audit Office last year reported that these “new types of apprenticeship raise questions about whether public money is being used to pay for training that already existed in other forms”.

And more than a year ago, the then skills minister, Anne Milton, told the chief executive of the Association of Colleges David Hughes: “We will need to look ahead, when the system is really running well – and I think we’re nearly at that stage – when we need to look at do we continue to fund apprenticeships for people who are already in work, people doing second degrees.”

In a statement to the media that accompanied the letter, Williamson said: “The levy funds apprenticeships for businesses of all sizes, helping people of all ages and backgrounds make the most of their talents.

“I am committed to maintaining an employer-led system, but I’m not convinced the levy should be used to pay for staff, who are often already highly qualified and highly paid, to receive an MBA.

“I’d rather see funding helping to kick-start careers or level up skills and opportunities. That’s why I’ve asked for a review of the senior leader apprenticeship standard to ensure it is meeting its aims.”

Read Gavin Williamson’s letter in full:

Dear Jennifer,

I know the Institute and its Board share my commitment for apprenticeships to support learners to develop and progress and employers to build a talent pipeline and increase the productivity of their business.

I am absolutely determined to make sure levy funds are being used to support the people that can benefit most from an apprenticeship, such as those starting out in their careers or helping more people from disadvantaged backgrounds to get ahead, and that we ensure good value for money in the apprenticeships offer. My officials will be working closely with you through the Spending Review process to make sure that we achieve that balance.

In that context, I am unconvinced that having an apprenticeship standard that includes an MBA paid for by the levy is in the spirit of our reformed apprenticeships or provides value for money. I question whether an MBA is an essential regulatory or professional requirement to work in this field of senior leadership. It is of the utmost importance for the integrity of the programme and the apprenticeships brand that each and every standard meets our highest possible expectations. I recognise that looking again at this standard may be unpopular with some levy payers. Whilst respecting the decisions that employers make about which apprenticeships and apprentices are best for their organisation, I am of the view that we absolutely need to safeguard the integrity of the apprenticeship brand and value for money of the levy.

Therefore, I am asking the Institute, as the body responsible for the quality and content of those standards, to bring forward a formal review of the Senior Leader Level 7 standard. You should ensure that the standard meets the current policy intent and rules, including the mandatory qualifications policy, and provides value for money.

I have every confidence that notwithstanding your range of priorities you will be able to take forward this review with your employer-led groups at pace. Therefore, I look forward to hearing back from you by 1 June about the outcome of your considerations.

I am copying this letter to Antony Jenkins, Chair of the Institute.

The education secretary Gavin Williamson is launching a new £9 million “collaboration” fund in a bid to improve governance and leadership at colleges which aren’t “getting it right”.

Bids of up to £500,000 can be submitted by groups of colleges to “share good practice and expertise”, but they will be required to stump up an extra 25 per cent in match funding between them.

The 12-month programme follows the Strategic College Improvement Fund – which ended last year after £12.3 million of the £15 million up for grabs was used to help 80 colleges rated ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ team up with better performing colleges.

Williamson told FE Week the new funding, which has partly come from the Treasury, is needed because there “have been examples where colleges haven’t been getting it right and things that we are not comfortable with have been going on”.

“We mustn’t forget that is a minority,” he added. “Where we have got good we want to make them excellent, where we have got average we want to make them good and then to excellent, and where we have poor we want to make sure that they are actually really achieving the very best on that.”

Recent cases of poor governance have led to high-profile and significant failings, including at Hadlow College, which became the first college to enter education administration last year.

Each application to the collaboration fund will need a “lead” college with at least a ‘good’ rating from Ofsted, and at least one other college with a grade three or four, or one that has ‘inadequate’ financial health. The maximum number of colleges allowed in each group is four.

Colleges are expected to apply with others within a shared geographic place, for example, the “same sub-regional level”.

Merged colleges without an Ofsted rating can still apply, as long as one of the two previous colleges meets the criteria.

Each proposed programme of work must address at least one of the fund’s three “quality improvement themes” identified by DfE: governance and leadership, financial and resource management, and quality of education.

Applications are invited for grants of a value up to £500,000 and a minimum value of £80,000.

The Department for Education’s guidance states that colleges are expected to contribute match funding equal to 25 per cent of the total grant applied for, split equally between all of the colleges in each group. “In-kind” costs will not be eligible.

The fund will have two application rounds throughout the 2020-21 financial year. Bid for the first round are open from today and will close on 8 April. The second round is due to open on 15 June.

As well as the collaboration fund, the DfE has said an additional £4.5 million will be invested in bespoke continuing professional development for college leaders.

It will be developed by the Education and Training Foundation in partnership with the Oxford Said Business School, The Chartered Institute of Accountants in England and Wales and the Association of Colleges.

The DfE said the programme will aim to provide FE leaders and governors with tailored support in a range of areas including strategic planning, finance and working with employers to address local and national skills needs.

Another £200,000 is set to go towards two governance pilots (full story here).

FE Commissioner Richard Atkins said that in order to be “successful”, colleges require “excellent governance and leadership provided by well trained and well supported chairs, governors, principals, clerks and leaders, so that learners can benefit from enrolling at great colleges”.

He added: “My team and I see examples of excellent practice during our visits across the country, but we also see examples of where support is needed if standards of governance and leadership are to improve.

“I am pleased that we will now have this expanded range of development opportunities to offer to colleges where we see this as necessary.”

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges said this package will “help colleges help themselves and each other – proper peer to peer support, developing the skills and knowledge of leaders and governors across the country to strengthen the great education colleges already provide”.

The organisation behind the UK’s performance in international skills competitions is launching the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence project to train around 1,000 FE lecturers.

WorldSkills UK has today announced the three-year project backed with £1.5 million from awarding organisation NCFE.

Five training managers – fresh off mentoring WorldSkills UK competitors for various skill challenges in EuroSkills Graz this year and WorldSkills Shanghai next year – will be employed full time to work for the centre.

They will be recruited by the beginning of May and it is expected that they will be drafted into colleges and training providers from September.

WorldSkills UK said provider applications to take part in the project should come from those suited to each managers’ skill area: for instance, if it is announced a training manager from a construction background has been hired, a provider focused on construction will be expected to apply.

We know what it takes in training techniques to achieve global industry standards

The manager will work with lecturers in different subjects at the provider to “train the trainer”, while “digital masterclasses”, featuring recorded sessions with training managers from other countries delivering “top-level training”, will be offered.

WorldSkills UK chief executive Neil Bentley-Gockmann (pictured centre) said his organisation was “uniquely placed to undertake such a project” as they know “just how high the global industry standards are set and we know what it takes in training techniques to achieve them”.

Providers can apply for one of twenty places in the first year if they meet certain criteria, which includes over 1,000 16 to 18-year-olds on their roll.

NCFE chief executive David Gallagher said this first year will establish the centre’s way of working: “What is the Centre of Excellence in detail? How does it work with the sector? How do we make sure it does not become another tickbox for continuing professional development (CPD)?”

A further twenty providers will be selected for years two and three of the project, ten for each year, and Gallagher says these stages will focus on “improving educational outcomes”, such as Ofsted scores and increasing the number of people competing internationally.

WorldSkills UK aims for the project to ultimately benefit 120 FE providers and nearly 1,000 lecturers through sharing of the digital masterclasses over the three years.

Gallagher hopes the centre will encourage institutions which are not heavily involved in WorldSkills to decide if they want to be more actively involved in the movement.

WorldSkills UK deputy chief executive Ben Blackledge made clear the centre “is not about us saying we can come and fix” professional development for lecturers.

“We’re saying there is excellence in the FE sector and is there something small we can do to help facilitate best practice and invest a bit in these tutors and trainers?”

Another aim of the centre is “influencing setters of training standards” and Blackledge says his organisation has had initial conversations with the Department for Education and Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education about how this can be a “more formal and systemic approach to influencing standards”.

They are having ongoing conversations with the government’s teams on FE workforce and T-levels to help with those programmes of work as well.

All apprenticeship starts will be managed through the government’s digital apprenticeship service from 1 November 2020, the Education and Skills Funding Agency announced today.

The transition will bring an end to provider funding allocations, secured through a procurement process, being used to train apprentices with small non-levy paying businesses.

Contract extensions for the allocations will however be issued at the end of this month to cover them until the full rollout of the digital service commences.

Only larger employers with an annual total pay bill of over £3 million who pay the apprenticeship levy can draw down funding for an unlimited number of starts from the online service.

Small employers were originally expected to have access to the service in April 2019, but this was delayed for another year to “ensure a more gradual transition”.

The long-awaited transition began last month, but small employers have been capped initially and can only make reservations for up to three apprenticeship starts.

So a dual running system remains in place until November, meaning employers who do not pay the apprenticeship levy are able to access training either through a limited number of providers with an unspent funding allocation or from any of the registered providers via the online apprenticeship service.

Confirming the date for when non-levy payers will be given full access to the apprenticeship service, the ESFA said today: “It is our intention that all new apprenticeship starts, for employers of all sizes, will be managed through the apprenticeship service from 1 November 2020.

“Until 31 October 2020 smaller employers will continue to be able to access apprenticeships through the apprenticeship service or via existing procured contracts held by training providers (as well as via transferred funds from employers who pay the apprenticeship levy).”

They added: “Training providers with an existing procured contract will receive an extension to their existing contracts to cover the new financial year. The extensions will fund carry over costs for existing apprentices as well as new apprenticeship starts.

“However, to align with our intention for all starts to be through the apprenticeship service from 1 November 2020, the funding for new starts using the extended contracts will only be available up to and including 31 October 2020.”

Training providers have been told they must ensure they have signed the contract extension before the current contract expires on 31 March 2020.

An FE Commissioner report published today praised a council’s response to a grade four from Ofsted, after the result “reinvigorated” their resolve to improve adult learning with “new and enthusiastic” staff.

North Lincolnshire Council was referred to commissioner intervention after it was rated ‘inadequate’ in almost every area of a full inspection in June last year when it had 1,250 learners.

Its provision includes courses for English for Speakers of Other Languages at pre-entry level, and from entry-level to level 3 for qualifications in such subjects as mathematics, ICT, and business administration.

Commissioner Richard Atkins has reported the inspection result “reinvigorated the council’s resolve to redouble their efforts to ensure adult and community learning was at least good”.

People across the council’s service have “a renewed sense of purpose” due to a staff restructure where senior leaders made “significant changes”, such as introducing lead tutors with core responsibilities for areas like teaching and assessment, data, mathematics and English.

This restructure was managed “effectively”, the commissioner’s team found, with “shrewd” appointments at the managerial, tutor and support levels providing much needed clarity around roles and responsibilities.

But Atkins recommended the council must ensure these new staff receive sufficient support to help them grow into their managerial roles through tailored coaching and mentoring, which ought to be introduced by September.

Governance has also undergone a shake-up, after it was reported the council’s elected members and leaders were “not effective enough in monitoring the performance of the service and holding leaders and managers to account” before the Ofsted inspection.

A new governing board for the council’s adult education and community learning service has been put together, under the leadership of the “well-qualified” head of access and inclusion at the council and made up of governors with “a wide and rich skill set and significant relevant experience”.

Board members have been investigating leaders’ and managers’ knowledge, understanding and rigour, while their key performance indicators and risk measures proved to the commissioner they are dedicated to overseeing a curriculum which serves local needs well.

After Ofsted reported “too many” of the courses were just for recreational purposes only, provision was “completely overhauled” and local schools, employers such as British Steel, teachers and other staff were involved in designing the current course offer.

The council, the commissioner’s report reads, now makes much better use of labour market information and data to continually review the curriculum offer.

He wrote: “Courses are now wholly organised around the needs of the local residents, especially those living in the most deprived areas and who would otherwise not be in education.”

Former minister for the FE market Theodore Agnew wrote to the council earlier this month, after the report, and called the action they have taken following the inspection “encouraging”, while warning there is still “capacity for improvement”.

Especially in terms of the “overly optimistic” self-assessment reports, which are “insufficiently critical” about performance.

The commissioner found although achievement data improved by 4.5 per cent between 2017/18 and 2018/19, it is still well below national achievement rate levels.

Tracking and monitoring of all learners is yet to be embedded and the council has been given until the commissioner’s stocktake visit in November to do this.

As is the case with the council’s progress in accurately identifying key weaknesses in the self-assessment report, also due in November.

Since the full inspection, Ofsted has returned to the council and found it was making ‘reasonable progress’ in every area of a monitoring visit.

The council has been contacted for comment.