Glacial progress exposed for colleges’ apprentice delivery

Colleges deliver just one in five apprenticeships last year, meaning virtually no progress has been made in the 18 months since they were told to get more involved by the minister at the time.

This figure, based on FE Week analysis of data obtained by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers through a freedom of information request, exposes widespread failure to act on former skills minister Nick Boles’ (pictured above) 2015 plea to Association of Colleges’ conference delegates to stop letting independent providers “nick your lunch”.

The data, from the Department for Education, shows that 74 per cent of all apprenticeship starts, or 376,940 of 510,070 made in 2015/16, were with independent training providers.

There were just 21 per cent (104,690) for FE colleges – one percentage point up from 2014/15.

The remaining 28,440 were delivered by local authorities, universities, sixth form and specialist colleges.

Put another way, for every 20 apprentices, 15 were trained by ITPs, four at colleges and one elsewhere.

David Hughes, the AoC’s chief executive brushed aside the lack of college progress, saying: “The next government should help employers of all sizes use apprenticeships, as part of their workforce development and ensure all apprentices get a great experience. Who delivers on the number of apprenticeships is less important.”

AELP boss Mark Dawe argued that this low percentage was “no surprise”, and insisted the government should not to try and fix the market to benefit colleges.

“With the information available including Ofsted judgements, employers are perfectly capable of choosing a training provider, college or another type of provider that will be responsive to their needs,” he said. “Let them get on with it.”

The FoI data showed colleges had subcontracted around 40 per cent (64,930) of their apprenticeships last academic year.

Nearly one in three overall apprenticeships, or 29 per cent (147,320), were subcontracted. 

FE Week invited a number of colleges that subcontract the majority of their provision to explain why they are not delivering the provision themselves.

Monica Box, the interim principal of Lambeth College, which only delivered 12 per cent of its 950 starts directly last year, said: “The college is working to increase the internal delivery of apprenticeships from 2017/18.

“This will take the form of a phased increase over three years and will be supported by staff development and quality improvement plans, that ensure the transition generates high-quality delivery.”

A spokesperson for Newham College, which delivered 13 per cent of its 1,290 starts directly, said it took “a successful approach some years ago, to subcontract apprenticeship provision, maximising its reach into local communities.

“The college group’s apprenticeship capacity has increased, and it is now focusing on delivering more apprenticeships directly.

“The amount of partnership delivery has reduced and the planned direct delivery for the college group in 2017/18 is 40 per cent.”

Mike Hopkins, the interim principal of Bournville College, which delivered 26 per cent of its 810 starts directly, conceded that it “has delivered a large proportion of its apprenticeship provision through subcontracting”.

“But this will be changing as part of the merger with South and City College Birmingham, where there are no subcontracting arrangements,” he added.

“As a merged college, we will continue to be committed to delivering high quality apprenticeship provision and we look forward to growing this area.”

Conservatives announce surprise pledge to let levy pay wages

A surprise move has been made by the Conservatives to allow large firms to use apprentice levy funds to pay wages – in a manifesto retaining the commitment to 3 million starts by 2020.

The document, launched this morning, also commits to a major review of tertiary education funding, which it is thought could review the future of advanced learning loans.

But no commitment is made to expanding university technical colleges, in stark contrast to the party’s 2015 general election manifesto.

As part of a pledge to introduce a national retraining scheme, this year’s document says: “Under the scheme, the costs of training will be met by the government, with companies able to gain access to the apprenticeship levy to support wage costs during the training period”.

The pledge will add further strain on the levy, which is also expected to fund apprenticeship training in companies not subject to the charge.

And it remains unclear whether this would prioritise young apprentices, given concern as reported in FE Week that employers would shun them over older and more experienced candidates.

There is nothing mentioned about how the Conservatives plan to support skills training for small and medium sized enterprises.

Read Editor Nick Linford’s view here

It follows concerns over providers receiving much-reduced allocations for delivering apprenticeships to smaller non-levy employers, for the next eight months.

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said he was “a little concerned” about the wages pledge, and lack of apparent support for SME apprenticeships.

“The levy is going to transform skills and productivity among large employers, but growth in the economy is heavily dependent on SMEs. We must ensure that enough funding from whichever source is being directed towards supporting the apprenticeships of these businesses,” he said.

But the proposal was welcomed by Neil Carberry, CBI director for people and skills policy, who said it was a “good first step towards creating the flexible skills levy that employers want to see: one which enables levy funds to be invested in a much broader range of training and associated cost and delivers the skills needed to boost growth and productivity in the economy”.

And David Hughes, Association of Colleges chief executive, said the proposal “has merit”, although he warned that it “must not result in employers reducing their own training spending”.

A Conservative party spokesperson said the party believed the levy funds “should be sufficient to support wage costs”.

Today’s manifesto includes a promise to “deliver on the commitment to create 3 million apprenticeships for young people by 2020” – the same target it set two years ago.

There is a commitment to “launch a major review of funding across tertiary education as a whole, looking at how students can get access to financial support that offers value for money, is available across different routes and encourages the development of the skills needed as a country”.

James Kewin, deputy chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges’ Association, was “delighted” the Conservatives had promised to carry out this funding review.

“This should focus on the growing gap between the funding made available to educate sixth formers and the actual cost of delivering an academic curriculum,” he said.

FE Week has asked for further details about this review, and whether it will focus specifically on advanced learner loans, but has not yet received a response.

Take-up on advanced learner loans, first introduced in 2013, has been slow, with the system open to fraud.

There is no mention in the manifesto of troubled UTCs, which have struggled to attract sufficient learners to their post-14 recruitment model, in contrast to the 2015 manifesto which said “We will ensure there is a UTC within reach of every city”.

A spokesperson for the Baker Dearing Trust, which promotes UTCs, said: “The UTC programme has had cross party support since it started in 2010 and we hope that the next government will continue to encourage them.”

The Conservatives have though committed this time to “introduce significantly discounted bus and train travel for apprentices”.

That comes after a pledge by Labour to cover apprentices’ travel costs dropped off its published manifesto, after it appeared in a draft version leaked to our sister paper FE Week.

The Tories have also promised to double the Immigration Skills Charge from £1,000 to £2,000.

This is a charge, introduced in April, on employers that take on skilled workers from outside the European Union, and will be invested in “higher level skills training for workers in the UK”.

FE Week has asked the Conservatives for more detail on its election pledges but has not yet received a response.

 

Breaking: Conservative manifesto pledges for FE and skills published

The Conservatives’ long-awaited general election manifesto, called ‘Forward Together’, has just been launched, outlining its plans for FE and skills.

Click here to download the full document.

Key pledges include:

  • National Productivity Investment Fund, including £250 million in funding for skills by 2020 to boost productivity
  • Double the Immigration Skills Charge for business employing skilled workers from outside the EU from £1,000 to £2,000 per employee
  • Establish new institutes of technology, backed by leading employers and linked to leading universities, in every major city in England. They will provide courses at degree level and above, specialising in technical disciplines, such as STEM, whilst also providing higher-level apprenticeships and bespoke courses for employers.
  • Launch a major review of funding across tertiary education as a whole, looking at how students can get access to financial support that offers value for money, is available across different routes and encourages the development of the skills needed as a country
  • Deal with local skills shortages and ensure that colleges deliver the skills required by local businesses through Skills Advisory Panels and Local Enterprise Partnerships working at a regional and local level.
  • Deliver commitment to create 3 million apprenticeships for young people by 2020
  • Allow large firms to pass levy funds to small firms in their supply chain, and work with the business community to develop a new programme to allow larger firms to place apprentices in their supply chains
  • Explore teaching apprenticeships sponsored by major companies, especially in STEM subjects
  • Introduce a UCAS-style portal for technical education
  • Introduce significantly discounted bus and train travel for apprentices to ensure that no young person is deterred from an apprenticeship due to travel costs
  • Help all workers seeking to develop their skills in their existing jobs by introducing a new right to request leave for training for all employees
  • Help workers to stay in secure jobs as the economy changes by introducing a national retraining scheme. Under the scheme, the costs of training will be met by the government, with companies able to gain access to the Apprenticeship Levy to support wage costs during the training period
  • Ensure that teaching assistants can become qualified teachers and healthcare assistants can become nurses via a degree apprenticeship route, in addition to other routes
  • Introduce a right to lifelong learning in digital skills
  • Replace 13,000 existing technical qualifications with new qualifications, known as T-levels, across fifteen routes in subjects including construction, creative and design, digital, engineering and manufacturing, and health and science
  • Increase the number of teaching hours by fifty per cent to an average of 900 hours per year and make sure that each student does a three-month work placement as part of their course
  • Invest in further education colleges to make sure they have world-class equipment and facilities and will create a new national programme to attract experienced industry professionals to work in FE colleges
  • Make a modern technical education available to everyone, throughout their lives, to provide the skills they need

More to follow

Breaking: Updated register of apprenticeship training providers published

The updated register of apprenticeship training providers has now been published.

An extra 507 providers have been added by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

It comes after many established apprenticeship providers were left disappointed, when they were not accepted through the first round in March – when 1,708 providers were accepted as eligible to deliver from this month.

More to come…

 

Exclusive: Providers finally successful in apprentice register applications

Hundreds of providers including a college from the nation’s second largest city, which largely missed out last time, have made it onto the register of apprenticeship training providers at the second time of asking.

FE Week understands providers have been finding out this morning if they’ve been successful or not, in the second round of applications to RoATP.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency subsequently published the new register this afternoon.

Among the major players who told us they’ve been added was Birmingham Metropolitan College, rated ‘good’ for apprenticeships by Ofsted in March, and Hartlepool College of FE, rated ‘outstanding’ for apprenticeships in April.

Andrew Cleaves, principal at BMet, told FE Week today: “It has been confirmed that we are on RoATP and we’re really pleased that we can get on with growing and developing our successful Apprenticeship provision with our fantastic business partners.”

Darren Hankey, principal of Hartlepool College of FE, added: “We’re absolutely delighted. We have a long and well-established track record of delivering high quality apprenticeships and this was recognised in our recent Ofsted inspection.

“The employers with whom we work have been unwavering in their support for the college over the last couple of months, and we look forward to working with them, and many new firms, to continue what we do best – delivering high quality professional and technical education.”

West Kent and Ashford College, which was rated as ‘requires improvement’ at its most recent inspection in March, has also told us they’ve been successful in the second round of applications to the register. 

Tracy-Anne Barker, group director of business development, said the news “reinforces the quality of our provision and expertise that we have as a provider of apprenticeships across a range of subject disciplines”.

The independent training providers that also told FE Week they have been added so far, are Acacia Training, rated ‘good’ for apprenticeships by Ofsted last January, and Paragon Skills, most recently rated grade three for such training.

Other providers, including Protrain Solutions, have taken to Twitter to share their success.

Anne-Marie Morris, assessor at Acacia, said they had “been informed by ESFA that we are on the register which will be updated shortly”.

FE Week reported in March that the former Skills Funding Agency had  published the full list of 1,708 providers on the new register which will be eligible to deliver apprenticeships from May, whittled down from 2,327 applications.

Many colleges with significant current apprenticeship allocations, including Hartlepool College, Birmingham Metropolitan College and Northbrook College, expressed dismay at the time after they didn’t make it.

Exclusive FE Week analysis also found that a number of much smaller providers with little or no experience of running apprenticeships had been accepted.

The shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden told FE Week that the register was “looking like an omnishambles”, and there was widespread concern that no general FE colleges had made it on from Britain’s second largest city Birmingham.

But we revealed in April that after significant political pressure, the Department for Education had quietly added South & City College Birmingham.

Two further additions at the time were private training providers: Norfolk Training Services Limited and The IT Skills Management Company Limited.

 

Just three new recruits for chartered status in six months

The Chartered Institution for FE has recruited just one new college and two independent training providers in the last six months.

The two ITPs welcomed into the CIFE today are Steadfast Training Ltd, rated ‘good’ by Ofsted in 2014, and Skills Group, rated ‘outstanding’ in 2011.

The identity of the new college member will be revealed next week.

The CIFE grants FE providers chartered status – which they hope will become a respected, sector-wide quality mark – if they pass its rigorous entrance process.

This requires evidence of qualities such as “an exemplary record of corporate governance”, “satisfactory financial health”, and a reputation for “honesty, openness and transparency” within the sector.

The three new additions will bring the total membership of the 18-month old institution to just seven at present, alongside existing members Hawk Training, Blackpool and the Fylde College, Bridgwater College, and Furness College.

But CIFE chief executive Dan Wright is focused on dramatically boosting the body’s intake, and plans for at least 80 members overall in the next two years.

This would allow the CIFE to be financially “self-sufficient”, he said, while it currently still relies on some Department for Education funding alongside its membership fees.

The annual subscription fee for members who have achieved chartered status is £5,000, but for interested parties there is also a £3,000 non-refundable fee to have an application reviewed in the first place.

Speaking to FE Week, Mr Wright acknowledged that in terms of outreach the CIFE had not got off to flying start.

“A lot was achieved in setting up the chartered institution but in terms of getting out there and moving it forward, we had made some progress but we’re beginning to see quite a lot of traction in that now,” he said.

Alongside the three new members already approved, he says a further is “under review”, and is likely to become a member soon.

He added: “Right now I’ve got somewhere in the region of at least a dozen [applications], with more that are on the blocks.

“There has been quite a lot of activity in terms of those that have expressed an interest and we are now trying to move that forward at a pace.”

No applicants have been turned away so far he said, adding that a “pre-assessment” process has helped to determine whether providers are ready to formally submit an application.

“We are managing to bring together some very high-performing, well-managed, well-governed organisations equally from the private and public sector,” he said.

He added that the focus of the institution going forward will be on disseminating best practice.

Mr Wright, who joined the CIFE in January, said one of the barriers preventing providers from being ready to apply was a lack of engagement with employers.

But gaining chartered status could be an advantage in the current climate he added.

“I think quite a lot of interested potential members see this as a way of being able to demonstrate to employers that they are a well-run, well-managed, high-performing and sustainable organisation,” he said.

Commenting on joining the CIFE, Jason Parnell, managing director of Steadfast Training Ltd, said: “We look forward to working with colleagues and member organisations of the institution to support the further development of the potential and reputation of the FE sector, and to address the inevitable challenges facing the sector at this time.”

Speaking for Skills Group, managing director Mark Boulting said: “This latest step demonstrates our commitment to raise standards, and the profile, of not only our own organisation but the sector as a whole.”

Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive Mark Dawe also congratulated the new CIFE members on their achievement. 

He said: “These AELP member providers have gone through a rigorous process to achieve chartered status and the standards of professionalism embodied in it should further enhance their standing in the eyes of employers and learners.  

“Achieving chartered status is voluntary and it is for individual providers to make a judgement about the cost, but it represents another opportunity to demonstrate a commitment to excellence as part of the sector’s key role in driving improved productivity throughout the economy.”

The Queen approved the grant of a Royal Charter to the Institution for FE in June 2015. The body was then given the Great Seal of the Realm in October of the same year and opened for applications the following month in November.

Lib Dems pledge to double businesses that hire apprentices

A pledge to double the number of businesses that hire apprentices has been announced by the Liberal Democrats, ahead of its full manifesto launch tomorrow.

The policy was unveiled tonight and FE Week asked, before publication, what the party was taking to be its start figure for this. We were told in response that they plan to double 190,153.

This ambitious base figure was originally provided by the government in February, for the number of firms expected to hire apprentices in next 12 months, following the launch of the apprenticeship levy last month.

The Liberal Democrats spokesperson said the party will aim to achieve its target, in part by boosting the number of apprenticeships in “new sectors of our economy, like creative and digital industries”.

Most recently available government figures showed that 22,980 employers posted vacancies between last August and March this year – which was actually down by 810 from the same period the previous year.

The total number of employers that posted vacancies over the whole of 2015/16 was 37,560.

The party’s press briefing note added the party would invest £7 billion “in our schools and colleges”.

“The Liberal Democrats will reverse cuts to frontline school and college budgets by protecting per pupil funding in real terms and introduce a fairer national funding system, which includes protection so that no school loses out,” the spokesperson said.

The pledge follows a “real-terms” commitment to protect 16 to 19 FE funding per pupil announced by the Liberal Democrats last week.

The party said it will protect FE per pupil funding “in real terms” at £660 million, and “invest in continuous professional development for teachers” through a £165 million cash commitment.

The party’s shadow education spokesperson Sarah Olney told FE Week at the time of the announcement: “Students are being left behind as our educational system is cut to the bone.

“This extra £660 million to protect FE will ensure that students are not taken for granted.”

FE Week checked that this was just referring to 16 to 19-year-old learners, and what in that case did that mean for older FE learners.

A spokesperson said: “The figure is for pupils up to the age 19. But we will be setting out other commitments to support adult learners in our manifesto, which will be out in due course.”

FE Week previously asked the Liberal Democrats if they supported the Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ own manifesto call, made on May 3, for the next government to commit to four million quality apprenticeships over the life of the next parliament.

This would be up from the conservatives’ pledge, before the 2015 general election to create three million by 2020.

A Liberal Democrats spokesperson said in response: “We welcome this ambitious target to grow the number of high quality apprenticeships in the next parliament, and will be setting out our own plans to for an increase in apprentice numbers when we publish our manifesto.

“In the coalition government, Liberal Democrats championed apprenticeships and were proud that more than two million apprenticeships started over that time.

“We believe that high quality apprenticeships are an essential part of building the UK skills base.”

Labour announced, in its manifesto published today, that it would set a target of doubling the number of completed apprenticeships at NVQ level three by 2022.

It would also “set targets to increase apprenticeships for people with disabilities, care leavers and veterans, and ensure broad representation of women, ethnic minority groups, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community, and people with disabilities in all kinds of apprenticeships”.

The Conservative Party is expected to unveil its manifesto later this week.

 

Update, May 17:

The Liberal Democrats have unveiled their full manifesto plans for FE.

The party said that in government it would:

  • Create individual accounts for funding mature adult and part-time learning and training, and provide for all adults individual access to all necessary career information, advice and guidance.
  • Aim to double the number of businesses which hire apprentices, including by extending apprenticeships to new sectors of our economy, like creative and digital industries.
  • Develop National Colleges as national centres of expertise for key sectors, such as renewable energy, to deliver the high-level vocational skills that businesses need.
  • Work with the Apprenticeship Advisory Group to increase the number of apprentices from BAME backgrounds, ensure gender balance across industry sectors, and encourage underrepresented groups to apply.
  • Identify and seek to solve skills gaps such as the lack of advanced technicians by expanding higher vocational training like foundation degrees, Higher National Diplomas, Higher National Certificates and Higher Apprenticeships.
  • Ensure that all the receipts from the Apprenticeship Levy in England are spent on training, aiming to fund a wider range of types of training.
  • Aim to meet all basic skills needs including literacy, numeracy and digital skills by 2030.
  • Facilitate across the UK an effective and comprehensive system for credit transfer and recognition of prior learning and qualifications.

Colleges scrap merger plans less than 3 months after announced

Two colleges have scrapped merger plans less than three months after they were announced.

Stanmore College and West Hertfordshire College formally declared their intention to join forces in February, following the West London area review.

But both have now confirmed the merger has fallen at the first hurdle.

Gill Morgan, West Herts College principal, told FE Week: “Whenever structural change is considered it must bring benefits to local people and businesses as well as local colleges.

“Following a period of due diligence, the decision has been taken to no longer progress towards a merger with Stanmore College.”

Sarbdip Noonan, Stanmore College principal, confirmed the planned link-up had been scrapped, but that the college had built up “positive relationships” with West Herts which it “looked forward to building on”.

She added: “Stanmore College is now in a much stronger academic and financial position than it has been for some years, having improved its Ofsted rating to grade two in just one year”.

The option for Stanmore to merge with West Herts came after the north-west London college rejected the recommendation from the West London area review, which ended in November, for it to join forces with three of its neighbours.

The report into the review, published February, said the college had turned down the four-way merger involving Harrow, Uxbridge and West Thames colleges following a structure and prospects appraisal.

A link-up with West Herts was the college’s “preferred option”, and the decision had been taken “after taking account of the deliberations of a panel meeting to review the options which included local stakeholders”, the report said.

Stanmore bounced back to a ‘good’ Ofsted rating in March, just 18 months after it was branded inadequate by the education watchdog.

The college was applauded for its “rapid and significant improvement” since the previous inspection, in September 2015.

That ‘inadequate’ rating led to a visit from the FE commissioner, Sir David Collins, in December 2015.

His report singled out the previous principal, Jacqui Mace, for the college’s failings and placed Stanmore in administered status.

Ms Mace was subsequently replaced as leader of the college by Ms Noonan, following the publication of the damning Ofsted report.

West Herts College, which was rated outstanding at its most recent inspection in March 2010, took part in the Hertfordshire area review.

That review is understand to have completed in March, but the recommendations have yet to be published.

 

Subsidised apprentice travel plan falls off Labour manifesto

A long-term pledge to cover the cost of apprentice travel has not made it into Labour’s final general election manifesto – despite it featuring in a leaked draft version.

Last week, the draft version first leaked to our sister paper FE Week, included a commitment to paying for apprentices’ travel costs, “which currently run to an average of £24 a week – a quarter of earnings if apprentices are on the minimum wage”.

The costings for this were called into question, with a Conservative Party spokesman telling FE Week that it demonstrated “Labour’s manifesto is a total shambles”.

We calculated at the time that £24 per week would have worked out at around £1,200 per apprentice every year. If applied to all 899,400 apprentices who participated last academic year, that would have amounted to just over £1 billion.

But shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden, who previously committed to funding apprentice travel at FE Week’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference in March, tempered that last week by explaining the pledge would only cover transport for 16-to-19 starts, at a cost of around £99 million.

When asked today why the commitment had been dropped from the final manifesto, published under the slogan “For the many, not the few”, a Labour spokesperson would only say: “I’m afraid we don’t comment on leaks [what was in the leaked manifesto]”.

Mr Marsden (pictured above) previously told AAC delegates that “specific support” to cover transport costs was one of his key pledges to the sector.

The £24-per-week transport cost estimate came from research by the National Society of Apprentices, and president-elect of its parent body the National Union of Students Shakira Martin told us last week that she welcomed Labour’s decision to subsidise this.

But after learning it was not in the manifesto, Shane Chowen, head of policy and public affairs at the Learning and Work Institute said: “I know it was only in the draft manifesto, but I’d be interested in understanding now why Labour changed their minds on this.

“For example, perhaps Labour believe that the reintroduction of education maintenance allowance would enable apprentices to cover these costs.

“We know from the debate around apprentices’ families losing child benefit that there are participation penalties for some young people from low income households, so Labour should be joining the dots.”

The manifesto published today confirmed that Labour would restore the EMA “for 16 to 18-year-olds from lower and middle income backgrounds”, as first reported by FE Week last month.

A separate costing document to go with the manifesto said the combined cost of restoring EMA, introducing free FE tuition, and equalising 16-19 funding would be £2.5 billion.

Labour first revealed its education plans last week.

Mr Marsden told FE Week at the time: “We will increase the adult skills budget by £1.5 billion, so it will go up to £3 billion per year by 2021/22, the end of the next parliament.”

He added it would include extra funding for ESOL (English speakers of other languages) courses.

This was confirmed in the manifesto today which stated that Labour would “replace advanced learner loans and upfront course fees with direct funding, making FE courses free at the point of use, including ESOL courses.

After the full manifesto was published today, Mr Marsden added: “I am delighted to see a number of the ideas we have developed over the past 18 months endorsed in the manifesto, and in particular ending the historic neglect of the FE sector, giving parity of esteem across the sector, and backing that up, particularly on EMA, apprenticeships and lifelong learning, with the funding and strategic direction they need.

“Ending the treatment of support for apprentices as second class is another key objective, which the manifesto lays out in line with our offering of opportunities to all, whether 16-19 year olds or adult skills into the 40’s, 50’s and beyond.”