Qualifications aren’t created in a day

The government should learn from past mistakes and revise its reform timelines so it doesn’t set the sector up to fail, says Kirstie Donnelly

Asking how long it takes to develop and launch a qualification is like asking the length of a piece of string. It depends, among other factors, on whether it is a new qualification or an adaptation, on required teaching and assessment models, and on its expected duration and level.

A better question might be: how long does it take to develop qualifications that are truly fit for purpose – the purpose being to help learners gain the skills needed for meaningful employment and progression? Or, as in the present landscape, how long will it take to develop a qualification that aims to fundamentally change the way we deliver professional and technical education?

The government’s latest skills timeline answers this question. It allows just under a year from selecting an awarding organisation to finalising the content, then implies teaching will begin four months later. 

We can’t afford another Diploma fiasco

In a Whitehall office these timings might seem ambitious yet achievable but here in the real world, they are nothing short of fantasy.

Creating qualification content is not a case of sitting in a room, writing. When you set out to develop qualifications that meet the needs of employers, employers need to be consulted! Professional and technical education must genuinely reflect the latest technologies and practices in industry, but this only happens through close collaboration with employers in the development phase, which takes time.

The behavioural changes required to introduce new ways of teaching and learning must also be considered. Moving from a model of teaching underpinning theory to one that prepares learners practically for the workplace involves a mindshift that doesn’t happen overnight. Practitioners must be convinced of the value of new approaches and additional training and support are needed to embed new content and changes to assessment models. 

And what about the learners? Young people, and their parents, need time to understand the benefits new types of education can bring. The confidence to step away from traditional routes into employment doesn’t happen overnight.

I can say all this with the experience of someone who has been there recently. Over three years ago, well before the current government existed, we began to develop our City & Guilds TechBac 14-19 programme – at the heart of which sit our technical qualifications, designed to give young people deep industry knowledge through meaningful work experience, alongside the skills and behaviours needed by employers. This decision was about making the right investment and being bold in innovation, without any government intervention. 

Current government thinking doesn’t show any appreciation of real timescales or impact

Three years later, after extensive consultation with employers, engagement with the FE sector and a year of piloting, we are half way through our first year of teaching. Even now we still have a long way to go in terms of educating the sector itself, as well as end users. We always accepted it would be a significant investment (over £3 million), and a long-term one (5+ years). 

Current government thinking doesn’t show any appreciation of real timescales or impact and it’s worrying that they seem not to be learning from past mistakes. The sector still recoils fromdiplomas, remembering the well thought-through reform on which government compromised due to pre-election nerves. Then, the risk was mitigated as we still had a fully functioning qualifications market. If current government plans are allowed through, any last-minute U-turns will leave us without a system to fall back on, which would be catastrophic for the sector and the country. 

Professional and technical education really matters. It has the power to transform lives, businesses and economies and if we are to create the skilled workforce the UK needs for the future, our sector has a huge role to play. 

That is why government has to get this right. My plea to them is to look 10 years ahead: be bold, go further than your predecessors, ask for help from organisations like ours who believe the right change is needed but want it to be done properly. 

We can’t afford another diploma or Train to Gain fiasco; we need a healthy skills system focused on developing high quality professional and technical qualifications that are given time to succeed. I urge the government to learn from past mistakes, genuinely work with the sector and revisit its timelines so it doesn’t yet again set the sector up to fail.

 

Kirstie Donnelly is Managing Director at City & Guilds

Hairdressing team scoop eight medals at regional awards

Students from East Durham College’s hair and beauty department have won eight medals at the Association of Hairdressers and Therapists regional finals.

Twelve colleges from across the north-east of England competed in a range of different disciplines at the event, including hairdressing, barbering, beauty and make-up.

East Durham’s student team picked up three first-place gold medals, three silvers and a bronze, with level two hairdressing student Abbey Johnson receiving the Bobby Mukabaa memorial award. 

The first place wins went to Abbey Johnson for ladies’ evening hair, Laura Burnham for gents’ long hair finish and Natalie Lofthouse in the nail art category.

Craig Harman, Joleen Hope and Tyler Thirwell Johnson took home silvers in the gents commercial, fantasy and face painting, with Charlotte Quinn and Laurie Borgesson taking bronze in the team bridal category.

Angela Johnston, the hairdressing lecturer at the college, said: “Competition is an integral part of the training our students receive, preparing them for the world of work by building their confidence, resilience and self-belief.”

The AHT national finals will be held on the 13th March at Blackpool’s famous Winter Gardens.

 

Main photo: Cream of the crop: Angela, centre, with the team

National Apprenticeship Week is unlike any other week

This week, the skills and apprenticeships minister Robert Halfon travelled the country, meeting apprentices and employers all over the UK. Here, he argues that apprenticeships are going from strength to strength

Why are we celebrating the tenth National Apprenticeship Week? Because we want to showcase the brilliant work employers and their apprentices have been doing.

This week doesn’t just showcase the very best apprentices around our country, but is also incredibly important in raising the prestige of apprenticeships and skills – vital if we are to really build an apprenticeships and skills nation.

NAW 2017 is unlike any other week. We are highlighting the best of the best and shining a light on some of the hardworking, aspirational apprentices and employers around the country. It is good that FE Week does so much to highlight the importance of apprenticeships. Transforming the prestige of apprenticeships must be done by all of us, whether in politics, the media, business and our communities.

What makes this NAW even more special is the wonderful announcements in the budget on technical education. It has really raised the profile of non-academic routes and gives a real chance for millions of young people to climb the ladder of opportunity to get the skills and jobs they need for their future.

Skills truly are at the heart of this budget. The announcements made by the chancellor, Philip Hammond, are the most ambitious post-16 reforms since the introduction of A-levels 70 years ago.

For too long there has been an underinvestment in skills in this country. I really welcome the commitment the chancellor has made to a £500 million investment every year to increase training for 16- to 19-year-olds. This will ensure technical education is on par with our world-leading higher education system and create two genuinely equal options.

Alongside this, the chancellor has confirmed the that maintenance loans will be made available to students on higher technical education courses at levels four to six in national colleges and institutes of technology. This puts technical routes on a real level footing with university. £40 million extra will also be invested in lifelong learning so we can develop pilot schemes to see what works best for learners.

We are working hard to make apprenticeships higher quality by putting employers in the driving seat so people can get their foot on the ladder of opportunity and get the skills they need to fulfil their true potential. Groups of employers have been coming together to create new high-quality apprenticeships. This means there will be the right workforce out there for employer’s needs.

Three million more apprenticeships by 2020 means three million more life-changing opportunities for people of all backgrounds and all ages around the country.

When I attended the National Apprenticeship Awards earlier this year, I was able to meet some extraordinary apprentices from the Get In Go Far campaign, and apprenticeship ambassadors as well. It really was a celebration of the best of the best, and I hope more employers and learners will be inspired by their stories.

We want to showcase the brilliant work employers and their apprentices have been doing.

During this week, I have been travelling round the country alongside the National Apprenticeship Service and meeting some more brilliant apprentices across many diverse fields of employment. From EDF Energy to Crossrail, Sunseeker to Premier Inn, this really has been a fantastic opportunity to hear some inspirational stories.

Along the way I have met some extremely inspirational young women who are working hard to achieve their potential – Josanna at Bridgwater College, who is working hard to become a luthier (someone who crafts string instruments) and at Poole, Ellie, who has risen the ranks at Premier Inn, completing her level three and soon to move on to a level four. Already at the age of just 23, she has become an operations manager.

As part of NAW this year, I have also spoken at a Westminster Hall debate about the importance of trying to make sure everyone who wants to is able to get into an apprenticeship.

Apprenticeships work and that is a fact. The numbers speak for themselves – it is remarkable that 90 per cent of people that do apprenticeships go on to further work or additional education. This really is something to shout about.

We have been making considerable progress towards Britain becoming an apprenticeships and skills nation. Apprenticeship participation in England stands at nearly 900,000 – the highest figure on record.

It is also an important achievement that there have been 780,000 apprenticeships started in England since May 2015.

Apprenticeships really are one of the greatest success stories of the decade.

Through the new apprenticeship levy, £2.5 billion will be invested in apprenticeships by 2019-20, which is double the amount spent in 2010-11. With more money than ever, we will be helping people get into more and better-quality training schemes. Monies raised means that we can help finance small businesses so that they can get the apprenticeships they need to succeed. We also are doing everything possible to invest millions of pounds in ensuring that apprentices from all walks of life, whatever their background or disadvantage, have every possible chance to climb the ladder of opportunity. 

The levy will ensure a step change in apprenticeships numbers and quality giving employers the highly skilled workforce they have been crying out for.

We have come an extremely long way and April is going to be really significant for apprenticeships and our reforms. We will be seeing the apprenticeship levy come into force as well as the launch of the new and independently led Institute for Apprenticeships. The new register of apprenticeship training providers will be in place and trailblazers will continue to work tirelessly to ensure there is a quality apprenticeship out there in every industry.

I hope that NAW 2017 inspires more employers and people to do an apprentice. I congratulate every apprentice, every employer and every provider, whether FE or private for the work they are doing to ensure that millions of people can climb the ladder of opportunity.

More loans misery as provider goes under

Yet another training provider has gone bust, leaving dozens more blameless learners left with plenty of loans debt but no qualifications to show for it.

Focus Training & Development Ltd, a Darlington-based training provider with a £1.5 million allocation from the Skills Funding Agency, went into liquidation on November 29 last year.

It closed soon after it received an ‘inadequate’ rating in an Ofsted report earlier in the month, with administrators called in. 

The SFA terminated its funding after Ofsted’s report came out, which is standard practice when independent training providers are hit with the lowest rating, a grade four.

Of FTD’s £1.5 million SFA contract, £136,500 had been allocated for the delivery of advance learner loans.

The SFA confirmed this week that 39 learners had outstanding loans to pay for training from FTD which they would not now receive.

A spokesperson told FE Week: “We terminated our loans agreement with Focus Training & Development Ltd in November 2016 with immediate effect.

“Our priority is to support the learners affected to complete their learning with minimal disruption, working closely with the Student Loans Company.”

FE Week has recently reported on a spate of provider collapses, leaving hundreds of learners who took out loans to pay for training with heavy debts and no qualifications. Through our new campaign, #SaveOurAdultEducation, we are calling for these debts to be written off.

FTD’s website is not operational, and lists no phone number on which to contact the owners.

FE Week spoke with John Birkinshaw, the lead liquidator working on the case, who passed on our request for comment to FTD’s director Kuldip Brooks, but we received no response from her despite repeated attempts.

The Student Loans Company also declined to comment.

Focus Training & Development Ltd used Aspire Education Consultants UK Ltd, which trades under the name Aspire College, as a subcontractor to deliver its advance learner loans provision, according to Ofsted’s report in November.

The programmes on offer included level three qualifications in business and management, health and social care, travel and tourism, and information and communication technology.

Ofsted’s damning report concluded that learners “make slow progress” and that no-one who had reached their planned completion date had achieved their qualification.

“Although a minority of learners, particularly those who have not participated in learning for a considerable time, improve their confidence initially, they do not achieve the vocational knowledge and employability skills necessary to enable them to advance their career aspirations,” it said.

FE Week approached Aspire, but the provider, based in London, would not comment.

FTD is the third provider to go bust that FE Week has reported on this year.

The first of these was London-based John Frank Training, which folded in January leaving hundreds of learners owing up to £8,000 each.

And last month we revealed that another 100 learners had been left in the same situation after Hampshire-based Edudo Ltd went bust.

The SFA has so far refused to write off the debts of those affected, but FE Week now understands the government is considering secondary legislation that might protect learners from situations like this in the future.

SFA blasted over ‘mystery shopper’ scheme

FE Week readers are up in arms about the Skills Funding Agency’s new mystery shopper scheme to test apprenticeships, because many of them don’t even know when or if they’ll be able to start delivering their own.

The SFA announced its new initiative in its online update on March 8, and said it would use undercover tactics to help identify “any further support the sector may need to be ready to meet employer demand” shortly after sweeping apprenticeship reforms launch in the coming weeks.

Our story on the plan, which went online that day, provoked a very angry reaction from readers, most of whom reckon the SFA would be better off making sure it is itself ready for the reforms.

Their ire was compounded by another story that day – which revealed that the SFA had cancelled a key meeting meant to decide how much money providers would be allocated in non-apprenticeship levy employer funding.

No alternative date has been scheduled, and it should have followed the results of the latest applications to the new Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers, which has also not seen the light of day.

The let-downs were all too much for our readers, with Jon Carr taking offence at the SFA’s claim that its mystery shopper scheme would help it understand what the sector needs.

“Further support? Perhaps telling providers if they have a contract would be a good start,” he said.

Bob Smith, meanwhile, wrote: “It’s a bit rich this isn’t it!?!? I don’t think the SFA are even prepared fully themselves, never mind checking on us. I’m expecting a full on disaster scenario once the reforms kick in. I don’t know any college or training provider that is fully prepared and there will be a fall out.”

Another poster, who identified himself only as Norman, added: “Hilarious and what a cheek.

“The reason many aren’t ready is the lack of clarity and guidance from the SFA, Institute for Apprenticeships and the unceremonious rush to get the new reforms in, despite common sense and experience saying we need more time!”

The reforms will come into force after the apprenticeship levy in April, and employers are being given far more influence over the design and funding of apprenticeship programmes.

Many in the sector have asked whether the SFA is ready for the changes, and fear ministers are rushing them through without proper concern.

FE Week employed its own in-house mystery shopper back in November, to test out the government’s directory of apprenticeship training providers, which had been launched the previous month.

The website, entitled ‘Find Apprenticeship Training’, was described as a one-stop shop for any employer, large or small, which wanted to take on apprentices, and we found it relatively easy to use.

We asked the Department for Education if its own mystery shoppers would be in-house employees or hired from outside, but received no response before going to press.

Unison: First4Skills collapse ‘could have broken the law’

The UK’s strict redundancy laws may have been breached when one of the largest apprenticeship providers in England unexpectedly called in the administrators last week, according to a major union.

First4Skills, which received £15 million every year to run apprenticeships, told around 200 ‘shocked’ staff on Friday, March 3 that it was closing down.

Now Unison has come forward to say that the company might have acted unlawfully by hiding the degree of problems it was experiencing from its staff.

“The closure of First4Skills will cause uncertainty for staff and apprentices as jobs are lost and learners are moved to new training providers,” said Jon Richards, the union’s head of education.

“It’s now clear there will be redundancies. Unison believes redundancy laws may have been breached because the company failed to share the extent of the company’s woes with the workforce.”

First4Skills specialised in retail apprenticeships and operated from offices in Liverpool, Birmingham and Kilmarnock. It employed around 200 staff and supported approximately 4,500 apprentices around the UK. Discussions broke out on social networking site LinkedIn after its collapse, as other employers offered opportunities to former First4Skills staff, and sector members gave their condolences.

Judith Jackson, who was a strategic account manager at First4Skills, mentioned how little staff knew about the provider’s struggles before it was forced to call in the administrators.

She wrote: “It’s really shocking when staff and clients learn more via LinkedIn than from the [senior leadership team]. Amazing staff in parts, and fantastic clients with levy plans hopefully all which can still be fulfilled.”

The firm’s apprenticeships and skills senior leader Phil Hedley also posted a message, saying: “First4Skills (the largest retail apprenticeship provider) went into administration today after many years in the WBL sector.

“I am very touched by the reaction I’ve received, and it reinforces my belief that work-based learning is such a different environment to the other operators in FE, and this surely should be recognised by the governing bodies.”

First4Skills was rated ‘requires improvement’ by Ofsted in May 2015, and FE Week understands that the provider was inspected again in early February, this time receiving the worst possible ‘inadequate’ grade.

According to the latest Ofsted report, First4Skills was acquired by City of Liverpool College and a private training provider called 3AAA in September 2012, but became wholly owned by City of Liverpool from November 2014.

In City of Liverpool’s financial statements for 2015/16, First4Skills is described as a 60-per-cent-owned subsidiary of the college, after a 40 per cent interest was sold to an external training provider for £500,000 in July 2016.

FE Week understands that this external provider is Sysco Business Skills Academy Limited, where Ian Smith, a director of First4Skills, has held another a directorship since 2006.

We asked Mr Smith to comment on the situation, and to explain what would happen now to learners and staff.

However, he said: “Sysco will not be making any comment at this time.”

We also asked City of Liverpool College for a comment but were twice directed to the administrators, RSM UK.

A spokesperson for RSM UK gave us the following statement: “Lindsey Cooper and Chris Ratten of RSM Restructuring Advisory LLP were appointed Joint Administrators of First4Skills Limited on March 3, 2017.

“The decision to appoint administrators was made by the directors of First4Skills Limited due to the withdrawal of its key contract with the SFA.

“The move impacted the financial stability of the business, which called into question the company’s ability to continue to trade.”

Ms Cooper said: “We are working with the SFA and Skills Development Scotland and our professional advisors to assist in the process of transferring the learners to new training providers, whilst maximising the returns to creditors.”

Main image:  First4Skills head office at Princes Dock, Liverpool Waters

Breaking: SFA unveils ‘mystery shopper’ scheme to test how ready providers are for apprenticeship reforms

The Skills Funding Agency has launched a new “mystery shopper” scheme to find out how prepared providers are for the new apprenticeship reforms.

The announcement was made in the online SFA Update just uploaded onto gov.uk.

It said: “To help us understand how prepared providers are for the new apprenticeship reforms, we are carrying out a ‘mystery shopper’ exercise to test aspects of apprenticeship readiness. This will enable us to identify any further support the sector may need to be ready to meet employer demand for apprenticeships.

“Please contact your provider manager if you have any queries.”

Major apprenticeship reforms are due to come into force following next week’s launch of the new apprenticeship levy, and employers are being given far more influence over the design of apprenticeship programmes and funding for them.

The government will be keen to see how prepared providers are for the changes.

Fresh doubts have also been raised over how ready the government is for the reforms.

It comes after FE Week revealed that a key meeting that the SFA was supposed to hold today, to reach final decisions on which providers will be allocated a non-levy employer funding allocation and how much they will receive, had been cancelled with no alternative date scheduled.

This was supposed to have followed publication of the results of the latest round of applications to the new Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers, which has also not been published.

FE Week employed our own in-house mystery shopper back in November, to test out the government’s directory of apprenticeship training providers, which had been launched the previous month.

Called ‘Find Apprenticeship Training’ and described as the one-stop shop for any employer, large or small, which finds themselves wanting to take on apprentices, it was found to be relatively easy to use. 

We have asked the Department for Education if the mystery shoppers working on this new scheme will be in-house or hired from outside, and await the response. 

 

Enter more female apprentices for skills competitions – it’s worth it!

Women have a raw deal when it comes to apprenticeships, but here are some steps we can all take to improve the situation, says Neil Bentley

I was struck by a recent report from the Young Women’s Trust highlighting just how grave the situation is for women looking to take up an apprenticeship.

The report found that female apprentices were, on average, £2,000 a year worse off than male apprentices. It also confirmed that in the engineering sector, women make up a lower proportion of apprentices than a decade ago. For every female engineering apprentice there are 25 male apprentices. It’s a similar story in other industries.

Shocking statistics, yes, but unfortunately not surprising.

Throughout my career I have devoted considerable time seeking to improve workplace diversity and I have learned that one of the key challenges in making a difference is “being the change you want to see” – the need to use your own leadership position to help drive change. So, when I took up the role of CEO at WorldSkills UK 18 months ago one of the first things I did was ask our partners who organise skills competitions to come up with plans for addressing diversity.

It was clear to me that the composition of the UK teams going in to international competitions did not reflect the diversity of young people I could see training in our colleges and workplaces. This is why we have begun to make changes to the way WorldSkills UK operates.

At the national finals of the skills competitions at the 2016 Skills Show, we saw just what can be achieved through a concentrated approach. Semta, one of our competition partners which has been campaigning tirelessly to increase the number of female engineers, saw a hundred per cent increase in the number of female competitors. Most importantly, the majority of female entrants won medals, showing that this drive is not some sort of token gesture.

Together we can challenge stereotypes

The leadership from Semta on this is a brilliant start – but we need to do more. That is why ahead of the launch of the 2017 national cycle of competitions, which will ultimately lead to WorldSkills Kazan in 2019, every one of our organising partners has been required to submit a diversity action plan, as a key part of their planning for this year’s competition, to show how they are making the activity as inclusive as possible.

We are also profiling our outstanding role models to show young people, their parents and teachers just what they can achieve. Rebecca Wilson, Bronze medallist in Car Painting at WorldSkills 2015, is now a Skills Champion sharing her experiences of being world-class female car painter. She often recalls how when they called out her name it was brilliant not only for her but because there was another female who won a medal in car painting. In such a male dominated profession, this sent out a global message that women can be successful in any industry.

That is also why we have recently become a formal supporter, along with over 40 other WorldSkills International Members, of the HeForShe Campaign. Launched by UN Women, the HeForShe global campaign aims to engage men and boys as advocates to help achieve gender equality.

The campaign has done incredible work to date in making men realise that they can be important allies in the drive for change. That is why this International Woman’s Day, I am asking you all – and particularly male leaders – to make a stand and enter more female apprentices and students into the WorldSkills UK Competitions, especially where they are in traditionally male-dominated sectors.

We certainly have a lot more to do on tackling gender segregation in skills competitions and making them as inclusive as possible for all young people. But we can’t do it alone, which is why I am asking for your support. Together we can challenge stereotypes and help more and more young people achieve their career dreams in whichever profession they choose.

Enter your apprentices and students into the WorldSkills UK Competitions at www.worldskillsuk.org by 7 April.

 

Dr Neil Bentley is the chief executive of WorldSkills