Five things any good devolved skills plan should contain

Sadiq Khan’s first skills strategy has lots to welcome, writes Stephen Evans, but to make a step change we need a clearer devolution deal and ambitious mayors.

The mayor of London’s been busy; criticised after FE Week reported his plan to fund 50 posts by top-slicing the soon-to-be-devolved adult education budget, he’s now set out what he wants to do with those powers.

Sadiq Khan might be first out of the blocks, but the other metro mayors are busy planning for their new powers. So is devolution much ado about nothing, an unnecessary complication, or a chance for change?
Here’s five things the Learning and Work Institute will be looking out for:

Big ambition. The AEB is relatively small compared to the cost of apprenticeships, let alone transport, housing etc. The real win is to better integrate adult learning with economic and community development. Rochdale council, for example, used our ‘Citizens’ curriculum’ programme to engage residents and save money for health, education and other public services. London’s strategy says the right things at the start, but is a bit light for example on integration with employment services and benefits. Hopefully other devolution areas will raise the bar.

Better outcomes for people and places. The ultimate purpose of devolution must be for people to get better services – otherwise what’s the point? We’ll only be able to judge this over time, and if the data is published by the government and devolved areas. The London strategy argues for a gradual shift to focus on outcomes. That’s something we’ve long called for. It should mean wider impacts on health, wellbeing and citizenship, as well as jobs and incomes. We’ve worked with some pioneering providers across England showing how to do this.

Doing something different. One person’s postcode lottery is another’s tailoring to local circumstances. London’s commitment to free learning for those earning up to £19,890 per year (compared with £15,700 in the rest of England) partly reflects the higher cost of living in the capital. Other areas might want to prioritise support for groups that miss out in their localities, or on growth sectors (e.g. media in Greater Manchester).

Raising demand for learning. The devolution debate too often boils down to who holds the purse strings rather than how to make the system work. Mayors are frustrated by the lack of devolution even for underspent apprenticeship levy funding. But if combined authorities worked with employers to raise demand for apprenticeships then increased funding would follow. The same applies to literacy and numeracy where there’s a statutory entitlement for free learning for the nine million who need it. Which mayor will be the first to launch a coordinated drive to boost adult literacy and numeracy?

What’s next?
Even with the AEB, the mayor of London’s skills powers are limited in comparison with cities like New York. Last year we worked with the Local Government Association to develop a more radical vision for devolved learning, skills and employment services. This would be underpinned by outcome agreements showing promised improvements for citizens – moving from a bureaucratic debate to one that shows the difference we can make to citizens’ lives.

Ultimately the AEB is relatively small, but it can be a catalyst for change. Of course services, whether national or local, could achieve a lot more if they were properly invested in. And some things like, I would argue, apprenticeships do need a national framework. It’s also unjustifiable to spend more money on administration; hopefully the ESFA will reach a deal with devolved areas to avoid this. We definitely need more investment and a proper learning and skills strategy. But I’d be amazed if an objective analysis suggested the status quo as the right balance of national versus local. We need to support devolved areas to make a difference, hold them to account, and work for a proper strategy that sets out who does what and why. Nothing new there, but perhaps we have the chance now to make it happen.

Stephen Evans, Chief executive, the Learning and Work Institute

Why we’re pressing ahead with T-levels

There are worries across the FE sector that T-levels are being rushed through, but Anne Milton believes there’s no time like the present

Last month we took an exciting step forward and announced the 52 colleges and post-16 providers which will be leading the way and teaching the first new T-levels. These qualifications will be on a par with A-levels, providing young people with a genuine equivalent choice between technical and academic education, and ending the long-held assumption that only A-levels and a university degree can lead to a fulfilling job.

I was thrilled by the support for T-levels shown by lots of providers, businesses and colleges – both when we published our initial consultation and when we published our response. There is a skills shortage not just in the UK, but across the world, and we need to act fast to make sure people and businesses are getting the competencies they need. To do that your continued support will be essential.

Because introducing T-levels will herald the biggest reform to technical education we have seen in 70 years, it’s one that is being created hand in hand with employers. Businesses from many different industries are working with us to develop the content for these new courses, because they know about the skills that are needed to grow their businesses and compete in a fast-changing global market.

Over 200 employers have worked with the Department for Education on T-level panels to design the T-level content, and to help prepare employers for the new industry placements. Up to 2,000 students will be taking part in work placements pilots at around 1,000 employers this year, and there are a further 23,000 placements planned from September this year.

T-levels will help end the perception that university provides the only route to success. I’ve met so many people of all ages and backgrounds who have changed their lives through technical education, and I want to make sure even more people are given the chance to do so. I am delighted that more people will have that chance at last from 2020.

Some have suggested the timeframe for rolling out T-levels is ambitious. That is absolutely right and we are pressing ahead with the first few T-levels because we know we have a significant skills shortage and we believe these courses are part of the answer. These reforms are part of our long-term shake-up of technical education. The work has been ongoing for several years and we will continue to assess our plans and work with those who will be delivering T-levels

Our priority has always been to deliver high-quality programmes. So while the first three T-levels in construction, digital, and education and childcare will be taught by the first 52 colleges and providers from 2020, the rest will be developed and rolled out in phases through to 2023 – in areas such as engineering and manufacturing, and creative and design. That means employers will have the chance to be at the centre of developing the T-levels and they will be of the quality our young people deserve to get on in their careers. This is in direct response to the feedback we received.

Now let’s all pull together, put our weight behind these new courses and get on with the job. Let’s create a technical education system that will rival the very best in the world – and open up a world of opportunities for young people.

Anne Milton is Minister for skills and apprenticeships

UCU strikes end at New City College with new pay deal

Staff at one of London’s larger college groups will earn a one-off payment and a minor annual salary increase in a new pay deal following strikes.

The offer, which has been agreed between the University and College Union and New City College, puts an end to a dispute which involved three days of walkouts last month.

Staff at Hackney College and Tower Hamlets College, both part of the group, will receive £800 as a part of the deal. This amounts to a one-off payment of £400, with £400 added on to their pay each year.

Hourly-paid staff at the group’s campus in Hackney will also be moved onto the “teachers’ pay spine”, bolstering their terms and conditions.

However, Gerry McDonald, chief executive of NCC, said it was “important to note” that this is “not a pay deal, and is not linked to any national UCU campaign or any organised union action”.

“This is a productivity agreement made as a result of internal discussions and negotiations around out-of-date teaching contracts,” he claimed. “The agreement was reached due to teachers on legacy contracts agreeing to increase their contact hours and adapt working practices in line with the needs of the organisation.”

The new pay offer comes after UCU reached an agreement with Capital City College Group – London’s largest college group – last week, also over staff pay and contracts.

This put an end to industrial action after staff were offered a “modest, non-consolidated payment” of £500 and more secure contracts.

Despite Mr McDonald’s claim that NCC’s offer has nothing to do with union action, the UCU believes members at the colleges “should be proud of their action, which led to pay increases after management told them there was no extra money available”.

The union wants the deals to now prompt the Association of Colleges to bring a “decent national pay offer for all college staff to negotiating table”.

The AoC recently made a “U-turn” on college pay and said it would accept a pay claim from the trade unions for 2018/19, having previously said it wouldn’t while strikes were happening.

“UCU members took action because they were fed up of being told once again that the cupboard was bare,” said UCU general secretary Sally Hunt.

“In both these college groups, members have secured deals on pay and contracts as a result of the action they took. 

“The Association of Colleges should take note. Staff will not put up with their pay being held down any longer and the AoC must bring a fair national deal to the negotiating table.”

New City College is made up on Hackney Community College, Tower Hamlets College, and Redbridge College. Redbridge has not been involved in the strikes.

Mr McDonald said it was “not relevant” to compare its agreement to a “percentage increase, nor to any national negotiation”.

He added that NCC awarded its staff the agreed AoC pay award for 17/18 of one per cent.

How the IfA assigns apprenticeship funding bands

There’s plenty going on at the Institute for Apprenticeships at the moment, and its boss Sir Gerry Berragan is using the first instalment of his exclusive new column for FE Week to tell you all about it over the coming months

The Institute is a “crown non-departmental public body”, putting employers at the heart of decision-making processes, to improve the quality of apprenticeship standards in England.

We do that through our work to approve new apprenticeship standards and assessment plans, and by making recommendations to the Department for Education on the appropriate level of funding high-quality delivery and value for money.

We’re just over a year old and have achieved a lot; there are now 276 standards approved for delivery across 15 occupational routes. A further 268 standards are currently in development. We’ve worked with over 2,500 businesses of all sizes to develop apprenticeship standards that are rigorous, future-proofed and meet the needs of employers and apprentices alike.

We’ve built up a network of over 100 industry leaders across 15 sectors to make up our route panels – ensuring each approved standard meets robust industry requirements.

On the funding side, there is a lot of change at present. In February, we made improvements to our funding band recommendation process to make it swifter as a result of employer feedback.

Alongside this, the DfE reviewed the existing 15 funding bands between £1,500 and £27,000, and will be replaced them with a 30-band structure within the same range from August. We will also review the funding bands of 31 standards that are already approved for delivery using our new funding approach.

With all of these changes going on, it’s really important that we communicate effectively. To that end, we held three webinars in May for trailblazer groups to explain the new funding process.

We received a lot of interest and more than 100 people joined the sessions, representing sectors including finance, healthcare, travel, emergency services, catering, energy and technology.

Initial feedback has been positive and we hope viewers gained a better insight into the new funding process, and the role of the Institute and DfE in making funding decisions. During the sessions we gave trailblazers the opportunity to ask us questions, and there are some common themes around the initial funding band and final banding.

What are the main changes?

Funding will still be a two-step process: an initial funding band will be generated alongside the approval of the proposal, and then we’ll make a final funding band recommendation alongside the approval of the assessment plan

How is the initial band assigned?
We make an initial funding band allocation when we agree an occupation proposal for development.

We do this using a calculation based on:
An estimate of the amount of training needed to complete the apprenticeship standard (based on the length of the standard and the requirement that 20 per cent of an apprentice’s time is spent on off-the-job training). The sector subject area of the training . An allowance for end-point assessment

What should I do if I think my initial band is wrong?
If you think your initial funding band allocation is wrong, you can submit funding evidence alongside your end-point assessment plan to inform our final funding band recommendation.

How are final funding bands assigned?
In making our final funding band recommendation we consider a range of factors in addition to the initial funding band. We will consider: The evidence submitted on your funding form, taking into account only those costs which are eligible for public funding according to the existing funding rules.

The cost and funding bands of any equivalent apprenticeship frameworks.The level and nature of the training or end-point assessment, and consistency across similar types of apprenticeship standards. Affordability within the wider apprenticeship programme, and other factors in the Institute’s strategic guidance.

The initial funding band allocated to the apprenticeship standard at the occupation proposal stage. The expertise of our route panels. For more information about the Institute, please visit our website.

Sir Gerry Berragan, Chief executive, the Institute of Apprenticeships

Monthly update: apprenticeship starts down 52 per cent in March

Apprenticeship starts for March are down 52 per cent compared with the same period in 2017.

There have been 23,900 starts recorded so far in March 2018, compared with 50,000 in March 2017 according to the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s monthly apprenticeship statistics update, published this morning.

Overall starts for the year to date stand at 261,200, compared with 362,400 for the same period in 2016/17 – a fall of 28 per cent. 

That means the government is now 230,300 or 17 per cent off the 3m trajectory.

Today’s figures come the day after the government went on the defensive over the apprenticeship levy.

An open letter signed by skills minister Anne Milton, Institute for Apprenticeships boss Sir Gerry Berragan and dozens of senior figures from business schools, businesses and other organisations urged the sector to “support employers in making use of the levy”.

“We believe that the apprenticeship levy gives employers a real opportunity to invest in training, bringing the well-recognised enthusiasm and new ideas of apprentices to their business,” the letter said.

Other signatories to the letter include Euan Blair, the son of former prime minister Tony Blair and co-founder of apprenticeship agency WhiteHat, and leaders from businesses including Airbus, Barclays, Siemens and Aston Martin.

Mark Dawe, boss of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said he understood why the skills minister had gone on the defensive – and that the AELP also “strongly supports” the levy.

“But we hope that when she addresses the AELP conference in a few days’ time, she will signal a suspension of charging SMEs for apprenticeships for 16-24 year olds at levels two and three,” he said. 

“With the government showing no intention of abandoning its 3 million target, start numbers are now so far behind the curve, action has to be take now to reverse the falls. 

“They are damaging to productivity, social mobility and the labour market response to Brexit.”

Gordon Marsden, shadow skills minister, said the figures were “further damning evidence of the deep concerns” from many across the sector.

“Government must get a grip on the starts fiasco and the concerns about the levy rapidly. Otherwise they will jeopardise the huge life chances apprenticeships offer young people and also the long term prosperity of our economy,” he said.

“The government will claim quality is rising, but we think it’s far too early to say that. Critics will say the levy isn’t working, but we’re clear it was the right move,” said Stephen Evans, chief executive of the Learning and Work Institute.

“Changes are needed to make apprenticeships work better. But this should be about reforming the current system, not ripping it up,” he said. 

According to the commentary that went alongside today’s figures, “care should be taken when comparing individual months with previous years as they are unlikely to provide a meaningful year on year trend” as the “profile of apprenticeship starts changed significantly in the run up to the introduction of the levy and beyond”.

“This is especially the case when trying to compare starts in March 2018 to starts in March 2017, as there was an unusually large increase in starts in March (and April) 2017 ahead of the introduction of the apprenticeship levy, and then an unusually large decrease in starts in May 2017 when compared to previous years,” it said.

 

 

Provider bites back at ‘factually inaccurate’ Ofsted monitoring report

An apprenticeship provider has hit out at how Ofsted conducted an early monitoring visit, and said the ensuing report is based on “factual inaccuracies” and “questionable judgements”.

Watertrain Limited, a private provider in Warrington which has delivered apprenticeships as a subcontractor for 10 years, has been making “insufficient progress” in two of the three headline fields the inspectorate is investigating at “new” apprenticeship providers.

But the company claims inspectors had made up their mind within the first morning and then looked for issues to support that position.

Watertrain’s owner, Neil Davies, told FE Week that he had appealed the grade and wording of the first draft. There have since been two more versions, and “factual inaccuracies” have been introduced each time.

He is now filing a formal complaint. While Ofsted did not deny his claims, a spokesperson said the inspectorate had “not received a complaint”.

She insisted that all inspection reports go through “robust quality-assurance checks before they are published”. These are “carried out by inspectors who were not involved with the inspection itself”.

The ramifications of a bad report can be severe. If inspectors turn in an ‘insufficient progress’ verdict, a provider could be taken off the ESFA’s register of apprenticeship training providers.

Watertrain teaches nearly 200 learners for a large water company funded through the apprenticeship levy. More than three quarters are on water process technician standards and the rest are enrolled on apprenticeship frameworks for the water industry.

Mr Davies said Ofsted’s lead inspector had “no understanding” of the new standard, and the team “arrived to undertake the inspection with predetermined views as to the appropriate use of apprenticeships and an employer’s use of the levy”.

As a result, they “failed to recognise the key importance of the new standard in the highly regulated water sector that is employer led as part of the government’s strategy and agenda”.

He is particularly aggrieved at Ofsted’s “refusal” to revisit its judgment despite “having evidenced that they were based on numerous factual inaccuracies”.

The final report states that “for too many employees, the employer is using the apprenticeship programme to enable employees to gain qualifications in existing skills and knowledge”, for example. Mr Davies said there are no such qualifications in the standard.

He was “appalled” to be told that Watertrain’s historical pedigree was “irrelevant” to the visit. This includes average sector completion rates of over 82 per cent in each of the last ten years.

In one employer visited, 86 per cent of learners rated their training as “good or excellent” in feedback forms that were available but ignored by Ofsted, according to the owner.

He believes that Ofsted has no “scoring criteria” behind its three themes, “so it is entirely down to the lead inspectors’ own interpretation”.

There was also “no effort to understand our delivery model” with judgments made “after a very short observation on the first morning from a two day scheduled delivery session”.

Mr Davies is complaining further as the report could cause “huge damage to reputation and potentially to the very business itself”.

Watertrain was found to be making “reasonable progress” in its safeguarding procedures.

The Ofsted spokesperson said all inspectors have “relevant expertise in the sector they inspect and they receive regular training to make sure they are up to date with any new schemes that have been introduced”.

Merger partner found for FE college incorporated just four years ago

An FE college incorporated in 2014 has found a merger partner, after the FE commissioner decreed it would no longer be sustainable as a standalone institution.

Prospects College of Advanced Technology plans to join forces with South Essex College of Further and Higher Education.

It only converted from an independent training provider to college status four years ago, becoming the first college to be instituted in 20 years.

Its brand will be “retained” with further investment going towards developing its headquarters in Basildon, Essex, as the “combined group seeks to establish itself as a leading specialist technical, engineering and construction training provider”.

In an FE commissioner report published last month, Richard Atkins revealed the extent of PROCAT’s troubled finances.

Matters were so bad that he warned it was “extremely unlikely to be able to deal with its financial challenges alone” and recommended the college merge by the end of 2018.

PROCAT’s chair, David Sherlock, described the new partnership as an “exciting merger” to mark its “next step in our progress since changing from a private training provider”.

“Our dream has been to create a technical university for Basildon,” he said. “To do that we need larger scale as well as excellence. We are confident that this merger will provide that, establishing a powerhouse of technical creativity for the thriving Thames Gateway.”

The merger process in itself still has a number of stages to complete, before seeking the approval of the education secretary later this year. The merger will formally start in the new year.

“Our decision to merge with PROCAT has been underpinned by our shared commitment in providing technical training opportunities up to degree level in Basildon to meet the skills needs in the Thames Estuary and beyond,” said SEC principal Angela O’Donoghue.

“These are truly exciting times for all within this region and beyond and we look forward to working with PROCAT, to achieve our joint vision.”

The commissioner’s report noted a “very small” turnover of £9 million, around three times less than the average for FE colleges in England, and said it was “difficult to envisage the college, at this size, being able to invest in sufficient high-quality people”.

It was issued a financial notice to improve in February after being assessed to have “inadequate financial health by ESFA following a review of the college’s latest outturn figures for 2016/17 and the revised budget for 2017/18 and associated information”.

PROCAT, which is rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, has around 2,000 learners and South Essex, also rated ‘good’, has over 11,500.

Open letter sees government on defensive before apprenticeship figures announced

The government is on the defensive one day before the latest apprenticeship figures appear, expected to show a continued year-on-year drop.

An open letter signed by skills minister Anne Milton, Institute for Apprenticeships boss Sir Gerry Berragan (pictured above) and dozens of senior figures from business schools, businesses and other organisations wants the sector to “support employers in making use of the levy”.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said the letter had been intended as a defence of the apprenticeship levy following recent criticism, including from the Confederation of British Industry and the manufacturers’ organisation EEF.

“We believe that the apprenticeship levy gives employers a real opportunity to invest in training, bringing the well-recognised enthusiasm and new ideas of apprentices to their business,” the letter said.

University should not be “viewed as the only route to a successful career”.

“That’s why we should support employers in making use of the levy, and in providing opportunities for people to learn, earn, and get on in life,” it concluded.

Other signatories to the letter include Euan Blair, the son of former prime minister Tony Blair and co-founder of apprenticeship agency WhiteHat, and leaders from businesses including Airbus, Barclays, Siemens and Aston Martin.

Two college leaders have also added their names: Dawn Ward, the principal of Burton and South Derbyshire College, and Garry Phillips, boss of West London College.

The levy was introduced in May 2017, set at 0.5 per cent of an employer’s payroll, and payable only by those with an annual payroll of more than £3 million.

Since its introduction starts have plummeted.

Final statistics for 2016/17 showed that starts in May were down a massive 65 per cent on the same period the year before.

This downward trend has continued into 2017/18, with provisional figures for the first seven months of the year showing a 25-per-cent drop on the period in 2016/17.

February saw the biggest year-on-year drop in six months, with starts down 40 per cent from February 2017.

The CBI said that this fall in starts is evidence that “the levy in its current form isn’t fit for purpose”.

Speaking at FE Week’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference in March, its deputy director-general Josh Hardie demanded urgent reform to the levy to make it work for businesses – including greater flexibility over how they can spend their cash.

“The levy’s design faults are serious, but not insurmountable,” he said.

And a report by the manufacturers’ organisation EEF, published in April, revealed that just five per cent of employers in the sector wanted to keep the levy as it is.

The report, called ‘A levy price to pay? The apprenticeship levy one year on’, found there were “instances where manufacturers were prepared to increase the number of apprenticeships they offered, but instead have either not done so, or had to delay or cancel those apprenticeships specifically because of the apprenticeship levy”.

It urged the government to make a number of changes, including extending the time limit for employers to use their funds from two years to four years.

 

Leading charity sector figure to lead London’s largest college group

A leading figure from the charity sector will take the reins at London’s largest college group.

Roy O’Shaughnessy, who is currently chief executive officer of the Shaw Trust, will start his new role at the Capital City College Group next term. 

Outgoing boss Andy Wilson is retiring, but will stay on for the time being “to facilitate a smooth handover”.

The Shaw Trust is a national charity that helps transform the lives of young people and adults.

Shaw Trust provides specialist services to help young people and adults gain an education, enter work, develop their career, improve their wellbeing or rebuild their lives. He has been The Shaw Trust’s CEO for the past six years, helping the charity to grow and diversify into a £250 million organisation with over 3,500 staff.

I am excited to be joining one of the UK’s largest college groups and look forward to meeting staff

“I am excited to be joining one of the UK’s largest college groups and look forward to meeting staff across the Group and its colleges,” Mr O’Shaughnessy, who is aged 62, said.

“I am sad to be leaving  Shaw Trust after a decade, but pleased that I leave it in great shape and on track to achieve its ambition of helping transform the lives of one million young people and adults each year by 2022.”

Alastair Da Costa, Chair of the Capital City College Group spoke of his delight at the announcement.

“Roy was the outstanding candidate during our extensive selection process,” he said.

“He has great leadership presence, is values-driven and has an ambitious and visionary sense” of how CCCG should develop its ambition.”

“It is an exciting time for CCCG, its staff, students and many stakeholders.

“I would like to thank our current CEO, Andy Wilson, for his role in leading the Group through its first two years.”

The Capital City College Group formed in August 2016 when City and Islington College merged with Westminster Kingsway College, rated grade one and two respectively. It also includes Capital City College Training, which was launched by CCCG earlier this year and provides around 100 apprenticeship programmes to organisations located in London.

The group has expanded again today, merging with the grade two-rated College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London.

Mr Wilson said he was “tremendously proud” of all the CCCG senior team, staff and governors and looks “forward to passing it in to such capable hands when Roy takes over the CEO role in September”.