The 10-per-cent fee that small businesses must pay when they take on apprentices will be halved from April 1, the chancellor has finally revealed.

In his Budget speech in October, Philip Hammond announced that the contribution non-levy paying companies pay towards apprenticeship training would fall to 5 per cent.

But since then no start date has been forthcoming leaving the sector and skills minister Anne Milton frustrated, and concerns have grown that small businesses may be putting off taking on apprentices until the change is made.

Today, during his Spring statement, four months after the announcement, the chancellor said: “To help small businesses take on more apprentices I can announce that I am bringing forward the £700 million package of reforms I announced at the budget to the start of the new financial year in April.”

The Treasury later confirmed: “From April 1st employers will see the co-investment rate they pay cut by a half from 10 per cent to 5 per cent, at the same time as levy-paying employers are able to share more levy funds across their supply chains, with the maximum amount rising from 10 per cent to 25 per cent.”

The Department for Education told FE Week that the 5 per cent contribution will also apply to levy-paying employers when their levy pot is empty.

The government predicts that cutting the co-investment in half will cost the Treasury an extra £70 million a year by 2022.

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers said: “Our evidence was that employers were holding back on apprenticeship starts since the autumn budget announcement which might explain the overall falls happening again, so we welcome the fact that this measure is being introduced.”

He added: “Given the overall fall in numbers, there is a case for the low-end levy payers benefiting from the cut.”

 

The managing director of the Federation of Industry Sector Skills and Standards (FISSS) has stepped down with immediate effect, FE Week can reveal.

Mark Froud has left the federation, which represents the 21 sector skills councils across England, after six years at the helm.

In an email seen by FE Week, the FISSS independent chair Dame Julie Mellor said: “Mark Froud will be leaving the Federation at the end of March 2019 and will be on leave until then. 

“The chair and board wish him well in his next endeavour and thank him for his time and undertakings on behalf of the business across the last six years.”

FE Week asked FISSS why Froud was leaving immediately, but it would not provide any further comment.

Mellor added that the board has already started looking for his replacement.

Sector skills councils are employer-led organisations who work with over 550,000 employers to define skills needs and skills standards in their industry, according to FISSS’ website.

FISSS verifies whether apprenticeships have been completed successfully before handing out certificates, but lost responsibility for issuing certificates for completed apprenticeship standards in 2017.

This was due to the Deregulation Act of 2015, which introduced apprenticeship standards and made the business secretary responsible for issuing certificates, a responsibility which could be delegated.

For apprentices on frameworks, providers still need to apply to FISSS for certificates, although the last of these are expected to be handed out in 2021/22.

Froud was previously chief executive of Sussex Enterprise and Lancashire Enterprise, as well as principal policy consultant for the Policy Research Institute.

The government will fund free sanitary products for all students in colleges and secondary schools from September.

Chancellor Philip Hammond made the announcement in his Spring statement today in an effort to tackle period poverty.

“In response to rising concern by headteachers that some girls are missing school attendance due to an inability to afford sanitary products, I have decided to fund the provision of free sanitary products in secondary schools and colleges in England from the next school year,” he told MPs.

“I congratulate those honourable members who have campaigned on this issue on all sides of the House, and the education secretary will announce further details in due course.”

Newcastle College became the first college in England to offer tampons and other such products for free in October.

It followed a successful fight in Scotland when its government committed £5.2 million to fund the initiative. The announcement, made last August, made Scotland the “first in the world” to offer free tampons and sanitary towels to all students.

The Treasury told FE Week today it has not costed the plan for England, but confirmed it will be fully funded for all secondary schools and colleges – not just sixth forms.

A survey conducted by development charity Plan International in 2017 found that one in 10 young women aged 14 to 21 had been unable to afford sanitary products. It also discovered that 12 per cent of those surveyed had to improvise sanitary wear and one in five had changed to a less suitable sanitary product due to cost.

Following today’s announcement, University and College Union acting general secretary, Paul Cottrell, said: “Having a period should not be a barrier to education and we welcome the chancellor’s promise to provide free sanitary products in schools and colleges.

“Ensuring that sanitary products are available to all students will enable women and girls facing real hardship to be able to attend their classes in comfort and dignity.”

Ofqual has ruled itself out of delivering the apprenticeship external quality assurance service for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.

Sally Collier, the chief executive of the exams regulator, told the Commons education committee during an accountability hearing this morning that her organisation would like to expand its role in monitoring apprenticeship end-point assessment organisations.

However, when asked by committee chair Robert Halfon if Ofqual bid in the institute’s recent tender to do the quality assurance on its behalf, for 262 of the 410 standards approved for delivery, Collier revealed they had not.

It would not seem appropriate for a regulator to bid for a contract with another part of government

“No, it would not seem appropriate for a regulator to bid for a contract with another part of government,” she said.

There are currently 18 approved external quality assurance (EQA) bodies that monitor end-point assessment organisations, to ensure the process is “fair, consistent and robust”.

Ofqual is the external quality assurer for 61 standards, but many in the sector have questioned why the whole job isn’t given to the exams regulator.

Collier told the education committee today that her organisation has done a “good job in proving that as the regulator we can do this job and can do it well” and they are “ready to take on a larger role”.

“It is complex and confusing in places, I think we can bring some clarity to the process,” she explained.

“As the independent regulator and having end-point assessments independently regulated in the same way that other types of qualifications are I think that would help public trust and confidence in the system.”

But to expand their role, Ofqual would “need more people and more resource to do that”.

She agreed with Halfon that it is “unnecessary” to have so many different bodies doing apprenticeship regulation.

Concerns have been raised that EQA has added “another unnecessary administration cost” to the apprenticeships system, after FE Week last month revealed the “ridiculous variability” in approved external quality assurance charges.

EQA bodies are allowed to apply a charge as long as it is on a “cost-recovery basis” – the amount of which is taken directly from the government funding given to training providers to deliver the apprenticeship.

But FE Week found the charges range from a free service to a whopping £179 per apprentice.

Ofqual does not charge for the service.

I think we can bring some clarity to the process

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education also does not currently charge for its EQA service, but this will change come May.

It launched a tender at the end of January for an organisation to provide quality assurance for apprenticeships assessment on its behalf until the end of March 2021.

Open Awards has held the contract to deliver this service since August 2017, which was worth an initial £160,000 and did not charge per apprentice, but this will end in March.

Tender documents for the new contract, seen by FE Week, state that “legislation allows the institute to charge end point assessment organisations (EPAOs) a fee per apprentice that undertakes an end-point assessment and it is these fees that will pay for the EQA service”.

The winning bidder is expected to earn at least half a million pounds over the two-year contract period.

The new contract doesn’t start until May, meaning there is a month-long gap where no permanent organisation is in place to do the EQA for the institute.

It has been forced into hastily finding “interim” arrangements for the month, but in a recent interview with FE Week, the institute’s boss Sir Gerry Berragan remained tight-lipped about the plans, other than to say: “Rest assured there are arrangements in place.”

PICTURED: Ofqual chair Roger Taylor and chief executive Sally Collier in front of the Commons education committee

The chair of the boards of governors for the troubled Hadlow College and West Kent and Ashford College has resigned with two other governors, FE Week can reveal.

FE Week reported earlier this month the boards at The Hadlow Group, which controls both colleges, went into meltdown as serious governance failings and financial inexperience were put in the spotlight.

It came after the government and FE Commissioner launched investigations into financial irregularities at the group, which subsequently suspended its principal Paul Hannan and deputy principal Mark Lumsdon-Taylor.

It is understood that the FE Commissioner met the ESFA on Friday, ahead of a decision on whether the education secretary should continue to financially support the colleges, or let either of them go into administration.

Today, Theresa Bruton, who has served on the Hadlow board for seven years; Bob McNicoll, the chair of the audit committee; and April McMahon all handed in their resignations as governors at the group.

They follow Paul Dubrow, the former chair of West Kent and Ashford College’s board, who resigned in February, as did governors George Jessel, Harvey Guntrip and Chris Hearn.

Last week, FE Week revealed The Hadlow Group had refused to comment on whether the boards of each college had confidence in Bruton.

She was leading the investigation into Hannan and Lumsdon-Taylor and was also chair of the remuneration committee for both colleges; chair of West Kent & Ashford College curriculum and quality committee; and chair of governance and search committee for both colleges.

The West Kent and Ashford College board had been due to decide on a new chair to replace the interim Bruton, however her term as board chair of Hadlow College was not due to run out until July.

Bruton previously worked as head of regeneration projects for Kent County Council and as a director of Visit Kent.

Bob McNicoll had been a governor at West Kent and Ashford College since 2014 and a governor of Hadlow College since 2007. He works in private equity funding for small businesses that provide electric vehicle technologies.

April McMahon, a member of the curriculum and quality committee, has been on the West Kent & Ashford College board since 2017. She is a deputy vice chancellor of education at the University of Kent and is an honorary fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge.

Pictured (left to right): Theresa Bruton, Bob McNicoll, April McMahon.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency has reminded providers to conduct prior learning assessments when taking on apprentices, and warned they will be audited to ensure price reductions are being made.

New guidance on the rule was published today, and follows the launch of a tender by the agency in February to find a researcher that can explore whether the policy is being complied with.

Prior learning refers to skills and knowledge gained by learners before they start their apprenticeship, and must be taken into account by providers when negotiating a price with an employer to ensure cash is not being used to teach an apprentice something they already know.

Today’s guidance reiterates what the funding rules state: that funds “may be recovered” where initial assessment of prior learning has not taken place.

“Apprentices should not be spending paid time doing training they do not need, and the apprentice will not have a good experience if they are repeating training,” it says.

“Apprenticeship funding should not be used to pay for, or accredit, existing knowledge, skills and behaviours.”

Initial assessments need to be carried out before the apprenticeship starts, which checks how much of the apprenticeship programme the individual requires to reach occupational competency.

“Assuming there is some relevant prior learning, the training provider must assess whether the individual still needs an apprenticeship with a minimum duration of 12 months with at least 20 per cent off-the-job training,” the guidance explains.

“In some circumstances, this amount of training will not be necessary for the individual so the learner is ineligible for the apprenticeship programme and an alternative should be considered.”

Prior learning can include “work experience, prior education, training or associated qualifications in a related sector subject area (this goes beyond just English and maths); and any previous apprenticeship undertaken”.

The guidance adds that there are audit checks to “ensure a price reduction has been made to account for prior learning and the reduced training content required”.

Earlier this month a highly respected funding auditor told FE Week that apprenticeship providers are typically not complying with the rule.

“The ESFA strengthened their funding rules this year and make it very clear that they will claw back funding when providers fail to reduce apprenticeship funding for prior knowledge, skills and behaviour,” said Stephanie Mason, head of further education and skills at the audit firm RSM.

“When conducting reviews since the introduction of the levy, we typically find providers have not fully accounted for prior learning.”

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education also “flagged concerns” about the policy in their the minutes from a meeting of its approval and funding committee last June.

Last March it was revealed that employers were paying the maximum amount in more than 95 per cent of apprenticeship starts since May 2017, when maximum funding rate caps were introduced.

And Ofsted has been finding problems at many new apprenticeship providers like Citrus Training Solutions, where inspectors found last December that many of its 188 apprentices were enrolled on “inappropriate” programmes which merely accredited existing knowledge, skills and behaviours.

DfE has intervened in providers that are not teaching apprentices new skills before.

Last year, the ESFA terminated its contract of Premier People Solutions Limited after Ofsted found many of its 686 civil service apprentices were not developing substantial new skills, knowledge or behaviours.

In her annual report for 2018, Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman highlighted how apprentices were “not learning anything new”, but were just getting accreditation for knowledge and skills they already had.

 

More than 30 of the country’s best and brightest young skilled people have been chosen to represent the UK at WorldSkills Kazan later this year.

The team [see below] of young professional from sectors including engineering, hospitality and professional services, construction and digital and IT will fly to Russia in August to compete in the competition known as the ‘Skills Olympics’.

They’ll battle it out with their counterparts from more than 60 countries and go for bronze, silver and gold in 56 different skills disciplines.

Neil Bentley-Gockmann, chief executive of WorldSkills UK, which selects and trains the team, said: “Think Olympic Games – but much more important to the economic future of the United Kingdom.

“This is a life-changing opportunity for all those involved.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these extraordinary young people who will be on the plane to Russia.  They have worked tirelessly for weeks, months and years to be the best – they are a shining example to the next generation – let’s celebrate their spirit, commitment, and success.”

While 32 members of Team UK have now been announced, more will join them in April when the cyber security, cloud computing, chemical lab technician, floristry, cooking and car painting competitors are selected.

All competitors will then undergo a rigorous regime of Olympic-style training in preparation for the most intense week of competition imaginable.

These skilled young people have undergone a two-year challenge to get this far, and have already triumphed in regional and national competition, as well as a grueling team selection event that took place last week.

The 45th WorldSkills event will take place in Kazan from August 22 to 27.

At the last WorldSkills, which took place two years ago in Abu Dhabi, saw Team UK retain its top-10 position, after our competitors bagged one gold, three silvers, three bronzes, and 13 medallions of excellence.

FE Week is proud to be the official media partner for WorldSkills UK and Team UK.

Team UK for WorldSkills Kazan:

Competition	Forename	Employer and Training Provider
3D Digital Game Art	Patrick Buckley	West Cheshire College
Aircraft Maintenance	Haydn Jakes	Nottingham University
Architectural Stonemasonry	Ethan Conlon	Bath College and APS Masonry
Beauty Therapy	Rebecca West	East Sussex College and Bespoke You
Bricklaying	Lewis Greenwood	York College and PDS construction
Cabinet Making	Owen Aldous	Chichester College and Callow & Co
Car Painting	Conor McKevitt	Riverpark Training and Wrights Accident Repair Centre
Carpentry	Jack Goodrum	The College of West Anglia and Peter Goodrum Ltd
CNC Milling	Elliott Dawson	Training 2000 Limited and Fort Vale
CNC Turning	Jack McCarthy	DMG MORI UK
Confectioner/Pastry Cook	Connor Stow	Hull College and Compass Restaurant Association
Construction Metal Work	Tyler Atkinson	Burnley College and WEC Group LTD
Cooking	Sam Everton	Pembrokeshire College and Crwst
Electrical Installation	Thomas Lewis	Cardiff and Vale College and Blues Electrical
Electronics	Thomas Andrews	Alton College and Sonardyne Int Ltd
Hairdressing	Phoebe McLavy	Coleg Sir Gar and Morgan Edward Salon
Jewellery	Samuel McMahon	The Goldsmiths Centre and Mappin & Webb (Aurum Holdings)
Joinery	Christopher Caine	Pembrokeshire College and DH Carpentry & Joinery
Landscape Gardening	Samuel Taylor	Myerscough College and Garden TLC
Landscape Gardening	Shea McFerran	CAFRE and Logan Landscape
Manufacturing Team Challenge	Andrew Joyce	Carnaud metalbox
Manufacturing Team Challenge	Isaac Khan	Carnaud metalbox
Manufacturing Team Challenge	James Thomason	Carnaud MetalBox
Mechanical Engineering: CAD	Ross Megahy	New College Lanarkshire
Mechatronics	Jack Dakin	Toyota Manufacturing UK
Mechatronics	Danny Slater	Toyota Manufacturing UK
Painting and Decorating	Callum Bonner	Forth Valley College of Further and Higher Education and Clackmannanshire council
Plastering and Drywall Systems	Curtis Johnston	SERC and SB Plastering
Refrigeration	Orlando Rawlings	Grimsby Institute of Further Education and Higher Education and Daikin UK
Restaurant Services	Collette Gorvett	Gower College Swansea
Visual Merchandising	Konnar Doyle	City of Glasgow College
Wall and Floor Tiling	Mark Scott	City of Glasgow College and J McGoldrick & Sons Ltd