A Labour government would train 80,000 people a year in a new climate apprenticeship programme, Jeremy Corbyn is expected to announce today.

It is part of a raft of apprenticeship reforms being unveiled; including allowing levy funds to be spent on a wider range of accredited training and extending the time allowed for employers to spend their allocation.

Labour has said it would also double the amount of money businesses are allowed to transfer to non-levy paying small and medium-sized businesses.

The climate apprenticeships programme, which is intended to help the UK pivot to a green economy, will be paid for by diverting 25 per cent of the apprenticeship levy and “by any dividends over the cap paid into Labour’s Inclusive Ownership Funds – expected to be £700 million by 2024”.

Jeremy Corbyn will tell the Confederation of British Industry conference today: “Climate apprenticeships will offer training to school leavers and workers looking to change jobs mid-career, creating the engineers, technicians and construction workers we need to transition to a green economy.”

Labour says they will deliver 320,000 apprenticeships in England during their first term in government, and by 2030, the programme will have created 886,000 apprenticeships.

Corbyn will argue only Labour “will deliver real change” as the government has “failed to deliver apprenticeships” after a 20 per cent fall in starts since the levy reforms were introduced in 2017.

Apprenticeships on the climate programme will be trained as engineers and technicians in renewable energy and transport; civil engineers and skilled tradespeople in sustainable construction; designers, welders and fabricators in low carbon industries; and sustainable agriculture and forestry specialists.

Labour said the global green economy is currently valued at $4 trillion, and is projected to grow to $9 trillion in value by 2030.

Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive Mark Dawe said: “Labour have obviously given careful consideration to reforming the levy and the climate apprenticeships target for a whole term doesn’t seem unrealistic.  These apprenticeships are vital for the future and we support investment in the training of our young people and workforce for this important sector.”

Although it is not yet clear how much extra time Labour will grant, employers currently have 24 months to spend their levy allocation.

But one area Labour might run into more difficulty is widening the levy: the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has estimated the apprenticeships budget will be overspent this year and by up to £1.5 billion by 2021/22.

The National Audit Office has also warned of a “clear risk” to the financial sustainability of the apprenticeship programme, after finding the average cost of training hit double what the government had predicted.

Dawe said it is “premature to start talking about the levy being used for other forms of training” considering the levy is already being overspent on apprenticeships.

This evening the Department for Education (DfE) has said there remains “no immediate safety concerns” at a college halls of residence with cladding that has failed a safety test, despite a university student halls catching fire.

It is understood that around 100 people were evacuated and two people suffered minor injuries at a Bolton University halls of residence last night.

An investigation by FE Week in October revealed Highbury College, in Portsmouth, has requested up to £5m in financial support from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to replace Grenfell-style cladding that had ‘failed’ a safety test.

The DfE spokesperson also said tonight that they are still considering the funding application and a decision “will be made in due course.”

A spokesperson for Highbury College confirmed The Tower, which is clad in the same aluminium composite material as the Grenfell Tower which caught fire in June 2017, has had resident students under 18-years-old since September 2016.

Students under 18-years-old in onsite residential accommodation would be in-scope for an Ofsted social care inspection.

But when FE Week asked Ofsted last month why they had not inspected the residential provision at The Tower Ofsted said the ESFA had not made them aware of it.

Highbury College also blamed the ESFA for not telling Ofsted that they had resident students under 18-years-old on the premises, because they claim they had “declared in the college Individual Learner Record from 2016/17 onwards and as such would have been accessible to the ESFA.”

The college had also been telling parents that the Tower was regulated by Ofsted.

And with Ofsted not being made aware, the college has saved around £5,000 over the past three years in what the inspectorate calls an “annual routine fee, set in regulations by the DfE, for the inspection of the college’s residential provision.”

This afternoon Ofsted told FE Week that the DfE had still not asked them to undertake an inspection of the residential provision at The Tower.

A spokesperson said: “We inspect residential provision in colleges at the request of DfE. When they inform us that a college has residential provision, we will inspect it within the timescale in our policy. But, if they want us to go in sooner, they can ask us.”

The fire at Bolton University halls, which is understood to have involved a different type of cladding, prompted the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, to write “to all university vice chancellors” this afternoon.

Williamson tweeted that he had asked them to “review fire safety procedures and safeguards across residential, teaching & research accommodation.” And “report back to me as swiftly as possible.”

A bitter dispute that involved extensive strikes at Nottingham College has officially ended after a deal was reached which will ensure no staff see their pay cut as a result of new contracts.

The agreement will also retain workload protections and rules out proposed cuts to sick pay and annual leave.

Staff who are members of the University and College Union walked out for 15 days in September and October and passed votes of no confidence in their chief executive and chair of governors.

They were due to strike for a further 14 days this month, but last week agreed to suspend the action after college leaders offered a new deal.

The dispute centred on what the UCU said were the college’s attempts to impose “inferior” contracts that would have cut holiday entitlement and left some staff over £1,000 worse off.

UCU head of further education Andrew Harden said the dispute should never have got to this stage and questioned why students had lost 15 days of lessons at such a crucial time of year.

“Nobody ever wants to take strike action, but this deal is a testament to members’ determination to fight threats to their pay and working conditions,” he added.

“The college has finally recognised that it needs to work with its staff and not against them and we hope this deal will now pave the way for more positive future negotiations on pay and conditions at the college.”

A spokesperson from Nottingham College said: “The college is pleased to confirm that the dispute with UCU has been resolved and further strike action has been called off.

“We now have the opportunity to put the industrial action behind us, learn from the experience and work together, as one college, to deliver the excellent teaching and learning and create the outstanding college experience that our students deserve.”

Two healthcare providers have been told to get in shape while one college was found to be ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted this week.

Divad Training will likely be struck off from new apprenticeship starts after inspectors found it had made ‘insufficient progress’ in two areas.

It trains 425 learners in mostly health and social care and childcare sectors, but inspectors said leaders and managers do not ensure the apprentices, recruited by brokers, “understand they are on an apprenticeship programme”.

The inspectorate also found Divad’s tutors and managers have been adapting training and assessment from frameworks to their equivalent standards by redesigning paperwork, rather than developing high-quality training.

The independent training provider did make ‘reasonable progress’ in safeguarding.

Fairway Training (Healthcare) Ltd was also delivered some bad news this week, making the same progress as Divad.

Inspectors found most of the provider’s 14 apprentices make slow progress and “leaders and managers do not have a clear oversight of apprenticeship training”.

The report reads that although appointing a well-qualified and experienced trainer has improved this area, “for almost a year apprentices did not receive high-quality off-the-job training”.

This week marked the first grade one for a further education college – Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group – under Ofsted’s new inspection framework.

Principal Karen Dobson called the result “absolutely brilliant” and a testament to the “hard work, talent and total commitment of our staff team”.

Elsewhere, Leeds College of Building went up from a grade three to a two, with inspectors writing it is “well-led” and students and apprentices enjoy their time there and “the inclusive environment in which they study and learn”.

The curriculum meets the specific needs of the construction and the built environment sectors, and is informed and developed through “highly-effective” links with employer groups.

Birmingham Metropolitan College has recovered some ground from its grade three with a monitoring visit that found it making ‘reasonable progress’ in all areas.

A new chair has led the board to “increase its level of focus and scrutiny of the actions being taken by leaders and managers to raise standards and promote improvement across the institution”.

Specialist provider Strathmore College, which has 35 learners, received a grade two this week after previously receiving a grade three.

This was attributed to strong leadership and governance having led to rapid improvements since the previous inspection.

National College for the Creative and Cultural Industries earned a grade three this week from its first full inspection.

The report also exposed how the college, which received a £600,000 bailout in 2018, had only 24 classroom students.

Meanwhile Stoke-on-Trent College was slapped with its third consecutive grade three.

Leaders and managers have not had enough time to develop their curriculum for the 2,600 learners and 583 apprentices, so “too many courses are not sufficiently challenging for learners’ ambitions”.

But most learners enjoy their time there and inspectors noted how leaders have now created a sound financial basis to improve the quality of provision.

Several independent providers scored grade two this week, including Firebrand Training with its 558 apprentices.

Those 558 were studying IT courses and were reported as being “exemplary,” with “an appetite to learn” and “impeccable” conduct which earned their provider an ‘outstanding’ grade for behaviour and attitudes.

Ginger Nut Media, which has 180 apprentices, scored ‘good’ across the board in its first full inspection.

Many apprentices progress in their careers because of the training, the report reads, gaining greater responsibilities or promotions.

JCB Academy’s strong reputation for supplying well-trained engineering apprentices, of which it has 258, would not have been hurt by a grade two this week.

“Owing to the thorough preparation and precise delivery of theory and practical training,” inspectors wrote, the apprentices “make good progress and achieve good results”.

Another independent provider which earned a grade two this week was Skills North East.

Its 91 adult learners hone their skills in professional salon and gym environments by performing treatments on each other or paying clients.

Aside from Birmingham Metropolitan College, the other providers which received all ‘reasonable progress’ ratings in monitoring visits were Training 4 Careers (UK), Guard Business Solutions, Clifford College, Eden Training and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.

GFE Colleges	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Birmingham Metropolitan College	15/10/2019	11/11/2019	M	3
Leeds College of Building	22/10/2019	12/11/2019	2	3
Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group	22/10/2019	14/11/2019	1	N/A
Stoke-on-Trent College	08/10/2019	11/11/2019	3	3

 

Independent Learning Providers	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Clifford College	15/10/2019	11/11/2019	M	N/A
Divad Training Limited	22/10/2019	15/11/2019	M	N/A
Eden Training Limited	16/10/2019	15/11/2019	M	M
Fairway Training (Healthcare) Limited	23/10/2019	11/11/2019	M	N/A
Firebrand Training Limited	08/10/2019	13/11/2019	2	M
Ginger Nut Media Limited	17/09/2019	14/11/2019	2	M
Guard Business Solutions Limited	29/10/2019	15/11/2019	M	N/A
JCB Academy	08/10/2019	13/11/2019	2	N/A
Skills North East	22/10/2019	13/11/2019	2	3
Training 4 Careers (UK) Limited	03/10/2019	11/11/2019	M	N/A

 

Employer providers	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust	23/10/2019	13/11/2019	M	N/A

 

Other (including UTCs)	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
National College for the Creative and Cultural Industries	08/10/2019	13/11/2019	3	N/A

 

Specialist colleges	Inspected	Published	Grade	Previous grade
Strathmore College	22/10/2019	12/11/2019	2	3

Colleges across the country have been entering more students for GCSE maths and English re-sits than government policy requires.

The Department for Education’s condition of funding rule means all students in England aged 16 to 19 who have achieved a grade 3 in English or maths are required to retake the subject while those with a grade 2 or lower have the option of taking Functional Skills qualifications instead.

These “forced re-sits” have been controversial in the sector, so FE Week investigated the reasons behind colleges’ decisions to go above and beyond the regulation.

Analysis by this newspaper showed 18 colleges entered more than 1,000 students for GCSE maths re-sits and 26 colleges did so for GCSE English in 2017/18, when the DfE’s latest national achievement rates tables were available.

Colleges claimed they did not want to “to limit our learners’ progress” and highlighted “the strong emphasis that employers and education establishments put on GCSEs” as part of their reasoning.

Criticism was also directed towards the alternative Functional Skills qualification for its “cliff-edge pass or fail”.

Even the Association of Colleges conceded that the “jury is out” on the appropriateness of the new Functional Skills qualifications.

Leeds City College entered the most students for re-sits in both subjects in 2017/18.

Bill Jones, the college principal, said: “Although Functional Skills is a viable option for many of our students, we recognise the strong emphasis that employers and education establishments put on GCSEs.

“With this in mind, it’s in our students’ interest that we provide as many of them as possible the opportunity to resit English and maths GCSE to increase successful destinations upon completion of their courses.”

According to the government’s tables, only 8 per cent of the 2,560 students at Leeds City College who re-sat GCSE maths and 15.3 per cent of the 2,320 students who took GCSE English gained an A*-C (grades 9 – 4).

The general FE college is now part of the Luminate Education Group.

Jeanne Rogers, vice-principal for quality teaching and learning, tweeted photos of the college’s preparation for GCSE English exams this summer and said there were “3,332 students sitting English today. Attendance has been high, stress levels low; as a result of a college ‘I’m In’ approach”.

Under Education and Skills Funding Agency rules, any student aged 16 to 18 who has a grade 3 as their highest level of achievement, one grade off a 4 (C) in their English and maths GCSEs, must retake the subjects.

Colleges who fail to enrol 95 per cent of eligible students have funding withdrawn from a future allocation. South and City College Birmingham entered the second-most students for re-sits in maths and English in 2017/18.

Principal Mike Hopkins said the college put “nearly all” its students aged 16 to 18 and young adults who are hoping to go to university into GCSE re-sits rather than Functional Skills because it recognised this was “an examination and course that students are already familiar with (in the main) and we are looking for progression over time for those students with grade 1 upwards”.

However, just 7.7 per cent of the 2,340 South and City College Birmingham students who re-sat GCSE maths were awarded an A*-C grade and 15.1 per cent of the 2,200 who re-sat GCSE English received an A*-C grade.

Hopkins said the college planned to review this policy “in light of the introduction of technical courses” to determine whether studying Functional Skills English and maths would better serve students in those areas.

Students who join Activate Learning without a grade 4 “normally” re-sit the core subjects because the general FE college based in Oxford does not “wish to limit our learners’ progress”.

A total of 1,940 students re-sat GCSE maths and 1,670 students re-sat GCSE English in 2017/18.

Francis Lawson, Activate Learning’s director of English, told FE Week: “The rationale for the strong focus on GCSE is that our data shows learners from modest starting points often make greater progress on a GCSE than a Functional Skills pathway.

“Some learners improve several grades to achieve GCSE grade 4 within a year.

“We do not wish to limit our learners’ progress because of modest prior achievement, which might not fairly reflect their capabilities.”

However, only 12.6 per cent of maths entrants and 21.4 per cent of English entrants achieved an A*-C grade after their re-sits.

Lawson added that Functional Skills was available to learners “for whom it is most appropriate,” highlighting learners on apprenticeship programmes and in supported learning environments.

Data provided by Activate Learning showed 314 16-18-year-old students, excluding apprentices, took Functional Skills English in 2017/18 and 483 were entered into Functional Skills maths in the same year. The figures supplied by the college include Bracknell and Wokingham College, which merged with the Activate Learning in January 2019.

Capital City College Group entered the fifth-highest number of students to re-sit both GCSE maths and English respectively in 2017/18, with 14.1 per cent of 1,810 students achieving an A*-C in the former and 27.4 per cent out of 1,750 doing so in the latter.

A spokesperson for the group said: “What the data doesn’t show is that, in addition, we enrolled just over 2,000 16 to 18-year-olds on a Functional Skills course that year.

“We would generally put a student in for whichever level qualification they are most suited to. For us it’s about what level the student can best work at, rather than the qualification per se.”

The South Essex College entered the sixth and seventh largest number of students to re-sit GCSE maths and English in 2017/18.

Around 8 per cent out of 1,500 South Essex College students achieved an A*-C in GCSE maths while 17.1 per cent of the 1,460 entered into GCSE English received an A*-C.

A spokesperson told FE Week: “The majority of students who gain a grade 3 or below in GCSE English and or maths are entered for English and maths qualifications at the college.

“Some students do gain a grade 4 or higher in GCSE English literature, but not in English language.

“In this case, the students are offered the opportunity to take English language even though they are not eligible for government funding.

“We do this because of the fact that English literature is not as widely recognised for university entry compared to English language and it offers our students better progression opportunities.

“We have made this decision to benefit our students and give them the best opportunity to progress on to their chosen careers or higher education study programmes.”

A spokesperson from the Colchester Institute said the reason behind its decision to enter more pupils into the two GCSEs was that the college found “the cliff-edge pass/fail in Functional Skills did not recognise progress, and was demotivating for those who did not pass”.

In 2017/18, 1,310 students re-sat GCSE maths with a 7.5 per cent A*-C success rate and 1,300 re-sat GCSE English with 13.4 per cent achieving grades A*-C.

“While the GCSE grading system has imperfections, it does at least allow us to demonstrate and recognise incremental improvement,” the spokesperson added.

HCUC, a merger between Uxbridge College and Harrow College, entered the fourth and eighth-most students to re-sit GCSE English and maths respectively in 2017/18.

A spokesperson said: “Our intention is that students will be appropriately stretched to support their progress, progression and aspirations through GCSE and Functional Skill pathways.”

Moreover, a spokesperson from NCG, which has seven colleges across the country, told FE Week that the curriculum at each was “designed to respond to the needs of the students at each individual college”.

“In some cases this does include entering students with a grade 2 for GCSE exams if their progression route requires them to have GCSE.”

A spokesperson for BMet in the West Midlands added: “Like other colleges we believe it’s important that all of our students have access to GSCE maths and English and have the opportunity to re-sit their exams, which is why we have adopted this approach.”

A Nottingham College spokesperson also said: “The College continues to refine its approach to meet the needs of individual learners and maximise their opportunities to achieve English and maths qualifications. This includes offering a range of study opportunities including GCSE and Functional skills.”

Figures for City College Norwich reveal that 1,200 studied GCSE Maths and 1,150 took English. When asked why more were re-sitting the exam than the government policy required, a spokesperson said: “In many cases, GCSE English and maths are the correct qualifications for their intended destination as they are widely recognised and understood by employers and often a formal entry requirement of Higher Education providers.”

The Association of College’s senior policy manager, Catherine Sezen, said the reasons for entering students into the exams varied according to individual profiles: “For some, re-taking GCSE and improving your grade, even from a grade 2 to a grade 3, can be seen as a positive step in the right direction.

“For others, re-taking GCSE several times is regarded as a negative, demotivating experience.”

She said “the jury is out” on how appropriate Functional Skills specifications are in meeting students’ needs.

Cheshire College South and West was approached for comment.