The architect of the apprenticeship levy gives his own account of how this landmark policy was brought to fruition, and explains just how much of a “big and risky” move it was.

In an interview with the Institute for Government think-tank, the former skills minister Nick Boles revealed that his boss at the time, the then-business secretary Sajid Javid, was opposed to the idea until he realised it would actually save his department money.

His tell-all details how Mr Boles came up with the policy during the Conservative Party’s manifesto process in the build-up to the 2015 general election.

“We had delivered two million apprenticeships in the 2010–15 parliament,” he said. “So in the manifesto process, there was a classic exercise in ‘well, okay, what are we going to promise for the next parliament?’

When I presented the idea of the levy to George [Osborne] first, I could see, immediately, his eyes lit up

“There was this feeling that you can’t say two-and-a-half million – that sounds a bit tame, nobody would be excited by that – so we’re going to say three million. Then three million is really a lot of apprenticeships, it’s big growth.”

Following the Conservatives’ win, Mr Boles was reappointed as skills minister, a job which he admits he hadn’t “expected or wanted”, and realised he faced a “challenge” to find enough money to deliver on the promise.

He read a paper by the crossbench peer and economist Alison Wolf about the idea of a levy, at which point he claims he thought “ah-ha, this is my moment”.

“I’ve always been quite interested about the idea of hypothecated taxation and whether you can get greater acceptance on the part of people paying the tax if they know what it’s going towards,” he said. “Politically, it fell on very fertile ground because the chancellor and the PM felt that, in a sense, this was the time to cash in our chips with business.

“So when I presented the idea of the levy to George [Osborne] first, I could see, immediately, his eyes lit up. He thought, ‘now that’s great’, because it solves how we get the three million and how we pay for it.”

Before he presented the idea to the chancellor, Mr Boles wrote a two-page paper on the idea and shared it with Michael Gove, who was then lord chancellor, while the pair visited a friend on the late May bank holiday weekend of 2015. “He liked it,” the former skills minister recalls.

He then took the idea to Mr Javid for consideration, who wasn’t immediately sold.

“His response was, ‘I’m grateful you bring new ideas; I don’t actually like this idea that much, I’m not initially persuaded, but I’m happy for you to push it forward’, obviously totally privately,” Mr Boles said.

“So he allowed me to put it up to the two of them as did Nicky [Morgan]. And it went from there.”

Mr Boles explained that the political timing was “crucial, the position in terms of the revenues and the spending review”, and Mr Javid swung behind the idea when he “realised it was actually a big contribution towards his spending review total.

“Having been through all of the other options of what to cut, if he didn’t have this it was just totally impossible,” he added.

After he was given the go-ahead by all parties, the levy’s development “happened quite quickly” because Mr Osborne announced it in the autumn statement.

“It then became a pretty intense process with the Treasury about levels, the size of business that would be covered,” which was revealed in the Budget, he said.

I think it will work but it was big and risky

“That involved a huge amount of work with the Skills Funding Agency, key Treasury officials, and also the Cabinet Office. As soon as it became clear it was going to happen, I said ‘I want as many people in this, their hands in the fire’. But I was also trying to make sure that we devised something that worked.”

In terms of involvement with businesses, they consulted with in the run-up to the budget, and although the “normal hiccups” of implementing a policy are currently being felt, “it’s quite hard for business to attack”, he claimed.

He denies that in hindsight he would have done anything differently in establishing the levy: “It’s not because I think it’s perfect, at all, but I think it was such a bloody miracle that we got it away that I wouldn’t want to second-guess whether one could have got an even better version away. Everybody jumped on board for their own reasons and it all happened and that’s so rare. I suspect it will never happen to me again in my political career.”

As reported by FE Week in October, total apprenticeship starts since the levy was introduced in May fell a staggering 61 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The government has however since confessed they knew such a drop was going to happen, and said it “broadly” remains on track to deliver three million apprenticeships.

Mr Boles, however, appears to be a bit more tentative about its ability to reach the target.

“God knows, I hope it works,” he said. “I think it will work but it was big and risky.”

Children’s charity Barnardo’s has been left stranded without an apprenticeship training contract through the controversial non-levy tender.

The huge charitable organisation has a proud history of placing young people with barriers to work, who often come from vulnerable backgrounds, with smaller employers, and training them as apprentices. 

But its chief executive Javed Khan spoke of his disappointment over the procurement outcome, which it is claimed goes against the government’s repeatedly expressed aim of increasing social mobility.

“Barnardo’s has been delivering apprenticeships for more than 30 years,” he said. “However, we have been penalised for bidding for funding to deliver an apprenticeship training contract that we felt we could realistically provide, rather than overbidding for something that we could not deliver.”

He claimed they had been denied a contract “due to pro-rata rules, rather than the quality of the tender”, which means the Education and Skills Funding Agency will be “losing a great opportunity to deliver high-quality and successful apprenticeships to more young people in need”.

“We urge the agency to reconsider and award a £200,000 allocation so we can continue to provide apprenticeships next year,” he added.

It is understood that the ESFA’s lawyers would not budge on its £200,000 minimum rule for contracts through this much-delayed procurement.

Barnardo’s thinks this is unreasonable considering its long record of supporting disadvantaged youngsters, and applied for a figure it felt it could realistically deliver.

Barnardo’s Employment, Training, and Skills was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted in 2016. At the time of the inspection, 63 learners were on apprenticeship programmes and 93 were on a study programme.

Last year Barnardo’s support helped secure an 82-per-cent progression success rate for young people on its study programmes, while 74 per cent of its apprentices successfully completed their programmes. 

The positive impact of this training was felt in places such as Bradford, North Tyneside and Birmingham.

The only option available now to providers like Barnardo’s, if they want to stay in apprenticeships, is to seek to become a subcontractor of another large provider.

But they could potentially lose 20 to 40 per cent of their funding in the management fees often demanded by a prime contractor. 

The controversial procurement exercise is the second of 2017 after incoming skills minister Anne Milton scrapped the first. 

FE Week reported on December 15 that the ESFA was extending back the 10-day standstill period for the non-levy tender.

It had been expected that contracts would be awarded from December 18, but the ESFA confirmed today that this process will now begin from tomorrow.

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers complained that several good and outstanding providers stand to have missed out on contracts through the non-levy tender, putting them at risk of going into administration.  

It has called for an urgent review of the non-levy procurement outcome which requires new contracts to be issued for the start of January, and written a letter to the Department for Education saying that all providers that passed the scoring criteria and bid for over £200k should get a minimum contract of £200k. 

This, AELP claims, is “possible and appropriate” because “the wording of the tender documentation would allow this approach as it doesn’t define available budget and determine precisely the pro-rata approach”.

“If this additional allocation was made, it is very unlikely anyone will complain”, a spokesperson added, as “government procurement rules set out clearly that they should encourage more SME engagement, not put hundreds of them out of business”.

AELP boss Mark Dawe said: “It is great there are new providers involved, great that employers are more involved, and the investment in apprenticeships is amazing.  However the current implementation is damaging so many providers and it will set back progress in improving productivity and social mobility. Ministers have to think again.”

The Department for Education has been approached for comment.

Ofsted has delivered an early Christmas present to FE, with six providers climbing up the rankings including one college moving from grade four to grade two in the space of a year. 

Hereward College of Further Education was deemed to be ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted in October 2016, with particular concerns raised over the safeguarding of pupils. But the special education provider has now been officially rated ‘good’ across the board in a report published on December 20.

The regulator praised the work of leaders at the Coventry-based college, saying “swift and effective action” has been taken to improve safeguarding and remedy weaknesses including better teaching and lesson planning, successful internships and a range of support for the complex needs of learners. 

Hereward’s principal and chief executive Paul Cook, who joined the college in August, praised the “huge efforts” of staff to improve both the experience and future prospects of learners and said the college was “proud” of its work. 

He added: “We will continue to focus on preparing our learners for the next stage of their lives and provide them with outstanding employability skills and greater control over their own future.” 

Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College in Birmingham also has an extra reason to celebrate this festive season after moving from ‘good’ to ‘outstanding’ in its latest Ofsted report. 

The college received praise for the behaviour and enthusiasm of students, high quality teaching and lesson planning and support for students with special educational needs in the report published on December 21. 

It added: “Leaders, managers and staff have successfully generated a culture of high aspiration, harmonious relationships and mutual respect that is highly evident throughout all aspects of the college.” 

Four other providers made the step from grade three to grade two, with praise heaped on Macclesfield College, independent learning providers IPS International and Asphaleia and adult learning provider Appris. 

Leaders at Macclesfield College were commended for creating a “culture of high expectation” and addressing areas for improvement, including forging “extensive links” with stakeholders and employers, impartial careers guidance and high quality work experience placements. 

The report, published on December 21, warned that adult learning and 16-to-19 programmes could do with better teaching  and attendance,  but praised the behaviour of learners and the support given to them, particularly those with high needs or mental health difficulties. 

Ofsted also found that “significant improvements” had been made at Asphaleia, which works in Worthing and Uxbridge with learners who have complex needs and have had disrupted educations, many of them being newly arrived unaccompanied asylum seekers. 

The report praised staff for creating a “safe and supportive environment for learners, some of whom are particularly vulnerable” and for supporting learners to “realise their aspirations” with most progressing to FE colleges. 

The findings, published on December 21, said more could be done to improve lesson planning and attendance, but praised leaders, managers and staff for having “high expectations” of learners and being “determined to support them to develop the skills needed to study further or gain employment.” 

In another inspection report published on December 20, Ofsted congratulated leaders at IPS International for working with staff, employers and subcontractors to “bring about improvement”, with better outcomes for both developing skills and English and maths qualifications.

The Kent-based provider, with a training centres in Rochester and Dover, offers apprenticeships and adult learning programmes in a range of subjects including engineering, manufacturing, health and social care, accounts and information and digital technology. 

Ofsted found its programmes “reflect employers’ and learners’ needs well” with learners and apprentices developing “very good vocational, technical and personal skills”. 

The provider Appris also received praise for the high level of support and advice given to learners, and for helping them to develop practice skills “beyond those required for their qualification”. 

Based in Bradford, the majority of Appris’ learners are apprentices studying engineering and manufacturing programmes, with a high proportion of those achieving within the planned timescales. 

The report, published on December 19, said more could be done to improve English skills and learner understanding, but also commended the behaviour and attitudes of learners and their access to extra enrichment activities and qualifications to help them develop their careers. 

In a full inspection published on December 21, City of Wolverhampton College retained its grade two rating, although was marked down as grade three for apprenticeship provision. In a report published the next day, Merton Adult Education in south London retained its ‘requires improvement’ rating, but was praised for “bold and effective steps” to restructure the service through a subcontracting arrangement with South Thames College which has “secured the long-term future of adult education for local residents”. 

Retaining their grade two ratings after short inspections are Boston College, Wyke Sixth Form College, GHQ Training Limited, Hartlepool Borough Council and Humberside Training Engineering Association. 

A man who spent decades spearheading the fight to raise the profile of adult learning has been knighted in the Queen’s New Year honours list.

Alan Tuckett, who led the National Institute for Adult Continuing Education for 23 years and became known as FE’s “campaigner-in-chief” for lifelong learning, has been recognised with the prestigious accolade today.

The 69-year-old told FE Week he was “honoured and humbled” by the knighthood, and “really pleased” that adult learning was being recognised in such a high-profile way.

“If you look at public policy over the last 15 years it has been getting tougher and tougher for adults and learning, so anything which draws attention to the importance of this area is good,” he said.

Mr Tuckett was involved in starting the British adult literacy campaign in the 1970s and successfully campaigned during that decade to defend adult learning public spending in west Sussex, after the council’s leader attempted to abolish it.

He became the principal of Clapham Battersea Adult Education Institute in London, aged just 32, before taking over at NIACE in 1988.

Anything which draws attention to the importance of adult learning is good

It was in this role as chief executive that Mr Tuckett made his biggest mark on education.

He stayed at the institute until 2011, raising its turnover from less than £1 million to £45 million and increasing the staff from less than 20 to 300.

In 1991 he said he achieved a feat of which he is most proud of out of his whole career – launching Adult Learners’ Week.

This annual event puts the spotlight on adult learners, teachers and providers to “showcase and celebrate the life changing power adult education can wield”. It has been adopted by Unesco and is now held across over 50 countries.

Under his stewardship, NIACE which merged in 2016 into the Learning and Work Institute, was widely credited with becoming the “authoritative voice” in Parliament on adult education.

Mr Tuckett said his highlight years at NIACE were during the late 1990s, when David Blunkett was education secretary and adult learning had its “day in the sun”.

But, he says resentfully, it has been “clobbered” since then.

“Since 2003, we have seen an increasing focus on education for Labour market entry and more and more of the money going to 16 to 19 and 19 to 24,” he told FE Week.

“Secondly we’ve seen a narrowing of what people are prepared to support. There are processes thinking in education which is primarily about schools and universities and that has scuppered the role of FE in offering people proper second chances in their lives.”

I do think ‘why me’ but thank you very much

He added that the Treasury has been an “unhelpful influence” because they want “short term returns but for adult learning, it transforms people’s lives but it doesn’t necessarily do that in a straight line and by tomorrow evening”.

After retiring from NIACE in 2011 Mr Tuckett was elected President for the International Council for Adult Education, a role which he carried out until 2015.

In 2014 he was appointed as a part-time professor at Wolverhampton University, a job which he has been doing ever since.

He was recently involved in the Government Office for Science’s recent foresight project, exploring the future of skills and lifelong learning “in a changing world”.

Mr Tuckett said he will be “cutting back” his workload come Easter when he turns 70, but said he has been “privileged” to have had such an illustrious career.

“Nobody does this sort of thing without the support of their colleagues and loving family so this knighthood is a testament to all of them,” he told FE Week. “I do think ‘why me’ but thank you very much.”

Fifteen other individuals related to FE were given various other awards in this year’s honours list. You can read about them here.

Contracts from the much-delayed non-levy tender will finally be given out from tomorrow, the government has announced.

It remains to be seen, however, how long it will take for them all to be distributed.

“We said in the notification of award decision letters that we would begin entering into contracts from December 19,” said a message posted on the government’s Bravo tendering site. “We are pleased to confirm that the agency will start the process of issuing contracts from tomorrow.”

The Education and Skills Funding Agency has now confirmed this on gov.uk, saying that it will soon “start” awarding contracts to hundreds of providers for apprenticeship training to non-levy paying employers. None of these employers pays the apprenticeship levy, because they have an annual payroll of less than £3million.

“In cases where providers have been unsuccessful in the procurement, we are extending contracts by three months so businesses and apprentices have stability while completing existing training,” said a spokesperson. “Contracts for the non-levy funding will run between January 2018 and April 2019.”

“The investment announced today will ensure that all businesses are able to benefit from high-quality apprenticeship training provision,” said the apprenticeships and skills minister Anne Milton.

FE Week reported on December 15 that the ESFA was extending back the 10-day standstill period for the non-levy tender.

This meant they would not be given to successful providers in the early part of this week as had originally been expected.

The DfE claimed three days later that we were mistaken and there had “not been any change”, but the December 18 date when contracts had originally been expected subsequently passed.

The 10-day standstill period had clearly been extended.

Results of the procurement, which had already been plagued with delays and an aborted first attempt, were released on December 7.

It is standard practice for 10-day standstill period to follow, so providers have a reasonable amount of time to contest allocation decisions; the decision to extend would have been influenced by unhappiness with the results of the tender.

A total of 714 training providers won contracts in the £650 million procurement for opportunities to train apprentices between January 2018 and March 2019.

Yet almost a third did not have an apprenticeships allocation last year. One ‘outstanding’ provider was said to face a significant challenge to survive after it was only awarded a fraction of funding it needed.

Other high-profile providers, such as the ‘outstanding’ Exeter College, were denied contracts altogether.

Our investigations further found that a contract had been awarded to a provider that went bust two months ago, while at least one aggrieved provider had threatened legal action.

The Institute for Apprenticeships will take responsibility for T-levels later than planned as it recruits new board members to boost its in-house expertise.

According to the minutes of a board meeting on November 15, the IfA will not now adopt T-levels until the end of 2018, rather than in April 2018 as previously expected, as the government delayed the first courses for a year until September 2020.

The first two pathfinder qualifications were expected to be approved by February 2019, with teaching beginning that September, and the remaining routes phased in from 2020 to 2022.

This timescale was criticised as unrealistic by major awarding bodies, so in July, skills minister Anne Milton announced that “a small number” of T-levels would instead be delivered from September 2020.

The IfA is still forging ahead with plans to expand its board and hire new members by April 2018, in order to “bolster the technical and professional education expertise at board level”.

“The agreed timeline was that the new board members [would be] in post by April 2018,” the board minutes state. “The board indicated that they would be keen to input into the recruitment.”

A job listing posted on December 15 shows that the Institute wants “up to three” new board members, including a replacement for its new chief executive Sir Gerry Barragan – who was originally appointed to the board, and who has pledged to make the IfA “faster and better”.

Successful applicants will receive £15,000 a year plus expenses for working two days a month to “contribute corporately to the IfA’s successful pursuit of its mission to ensure that apprenticeships are high quality”.

According to the job description, the board is focused on streamlining the process for developing apprenticeship standards and improving employer outcomes, developing a strategy for apprenticeships with partner organisations, and delivering its “extended remit” on technical education.

The board is seeking senior figures with a background in technical education, as well as a proven track record of leadership and analytical skills, and an ability to command respect from employers.

It also seeks “personal strength and integrity” and a “proven ability to drive cultural change”.