A fifth of sixth form colleges have started formal negotiations to convert to academy status, the academies minister has revealed.

Lord Nash made the announcement in front of more than 100 delegates at the sixth form college association’s conference in London today.

FE Week previously reported that around 70 per cent of SFCs had registered an interest in becoming an academy, following recommendations in their area review of post-16 education.

But Lord Nash’s comments today mean that around 18 of the country’s 93 sixth form colleges are now in official negotiations with the Department for Education to academise.

A Sixth Form Colleges Association spokesperson explained that a register of interest can be just a phone call or an email saying they are interested. But a formal proposal is when a provider takes the next step of filling out an official document provided by the DfE.

The peer told the conference: “As academies minister I am really pleased with the way in which sixth form college’s have responded to the opportunity of converting to an academy.

“Over half of you have expressed an interest in converting and a fifth have already started formal process to make the change.

“This will, I’m sure, bring great benefits to you, the schools you work with and the education system as a whole.” 

SFCs were first told about the opportunity to convert during the spending review in November 2015.

Former chancellor George Osborne said at the time that becoming an academy would allow a college to avoid paying VAT – which is on average £317,000 for each college. 

SFCs have the option to convert either as a standalone academy, or as a multi-academy trust – either by joining an existing MAT or setting up a new one.

Sir Dan Moynihan, chief executive of the Harris Federation which runs 41 schools, also spoke at today’s conference and urged all SFCs to convert. 

He said that while staying as a college would give leaders the “autonomy used by independent schools”, academy conversion would give them the opportunity to make a “system impact” and reduce costs during a time of declining budgets.

“Clearly there is the advantage of avoiding VAT, but there is much more than that,” Moynihan said. 

“You lead powerful and high quality organisations and in some ways you are a model for what the government ultimately wants the whole education system to look like.

“My contention is academisation will allow you to continue what you do now, but in a way that could further strengthen your colleges by broadening your reach, strengthening your finances and capacity and allowing you to have a system impact. 

“Whichever model you choose logically you would wish to provide central services from within your group and you will be able to charge a budget top slice to do this, and if done well it is an opportunity by which you can drive economies of scale and reduce your own costs.” 

He added that the latest funding agreements with the DfE allows the budgets of members in a trust to be “pulled and reallocated” based on different criteria, which creates the “flexibility to allocate funds based on needs”. 

Speaking to FE Week after his speech Moynihan said that while he could understand some leaders of SFCs may prefer to keep their autonomy and not convert, it is “probably a good move for the country for the majority to do it”.

The UK’s most promising apprentices and best employers will tonight be crowned the winners of the National Apprenticeships Awards 2016.

Nine apprentices and 18 employers will take centre stage at the ceremony in Grosvenor House, London, after battling it out to be recognised as the country’s most elite in each category.

Winners of the awards, which are now in their 13th year and are run by the National Apprenticeship Service, will be decided based on a year’s worth of work demonstrating how employers can grow their own talent with apprenticeships and how apprentices have made a significant contribution to the workplace.

Skills and apprenticeships minister Robert Halfon will be speaking tonight, where he is expected to say: “Apprenticeships work. They give people of all ages and all backgrounds the ladder of opportunity to get paid experience in work and a top class qualification at the same time.

“The National Apprenticeship Awards ensure apprenticeships get the prestige they deserve, while shining a light on the fantastic work that both apprentices and their employers do.”

Nominees, who this year include employers such as Mercedes-Benz and apprentices from Siemens and Rolls Royce, have had to go through a tough process to get to the national finals.

They had to submit applications that demonstrated how they benefited from their apprenticeship and detailed their contribution to the business objectives of their employer.

Their applications were first judged at a regional level, where a panel decided the top three finalists.

Each entrant then had to “enhance” their application before submitting it to the national judging panel. The national panel then decides the country’s elite apprentice and employer winners.

There will be three apprentice winners – one from each category – and one apprenticeship champion.

Six victorious employers will also be announced. Sue Husband, the director of the National Apprenticeship Service, said: “We should congratulate everyone who has reached this stage and been recognised as a finalist at a national level.

“Whatever happens on the night, each apprentice and employer deserves recognition for committing to and delivering on apprenticeships. For these individuals and employers, the level of success and impact brought by apprenticeships is huge.”

FE Week will be live tweeting from the awards ceremony tonight from 6pm, on Twitter at @feweek.

The finalists

Successful National Apprenticeship Awards 2016 national finalists are:

Unilever Small Employer of the Year
– Ebsford Environmental Ltd
– ISO Quality Services Ltd
– Blu Sky Tax

British Gas Medium Employer of the Year
– Troup Bywaters + Anders
– Metalcraft
– Michael and Margaret Naylor and Associates

BAE Systems Award for Large Employer of the Year
– Mercedes-Benz UK
– John O’Conner Grounds Maintenance Ltd
– Yorkshire Housing

EON Award for Macro Employer of the Year
– Whitbread
– Lloyds Banking Group
– Mitie Group Plc

Santander Award for Newcomer SME of the Year
– Great Annual Savings Group
– APTCOO – A Place To Call Our Own
– Craggs Energy Ltd

Rolls-Royce Award for Newcomer Large Employer of the Year
– Pickfords Move Management Limited
– Bond Dickinson LLP
– Softcat

The I-Can Qualifications Award for Intermediate Apprentice of the Year
– Cameron Baker, Business Administration, Rentokil Initial
– Charlotte Blowers, Nail Services, Exceed
– Ashley Haslam, Vehicle Maintenance and Repair, Wilson’s Autos

EAL Award for Advanced Apprentice of the Year
– Becky King, Life Sciences and Chemical Science Professionals, National Physical Laboratory
– Emma Goulding, Engineering, Siemens
– Adam Sharp, Advanced Engineering Construction, Sellafield Ltd

The Nuclear Decommissioning Site Licence Companies Award for the Higher or Degree Apprentice of the Year
– Melissa Loonam, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering, Rolls-Royce plc
– Jack McCarthy, Supply Chain Management, Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals (Ware) Ltd
– Holly Broadhurst, Engineering, J C Bamford Excavators Ltd

The director of assessment role for the new Institute for Apprenticeships has been likened to “a hand grenade with the pin removed”, by the head of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers.

Mark Dawe, chief executive of AELP, said in an exclusive FE Week webinar today he felt sorry for whoever takes on the new post, also warning that the government should not “duplicate” the job of qualifications regulator Ofqual.

Speaking on the responsibilities of the IfA, Mr Dawe said: “I imagine anyone taking on this role will feel like they have been handed a hand grenade with the pin removed.

“But the actual leg work – we don’t understand why that isn’t given to the government agency that’s there with the expertise in assessment, and that’s Ofqual.”

He said there were still many discussions to be had on the end-point assessment of apprenticeships, around whether it will be “valid, reliable, manageable across all the standards” and whether there are “actually organisations to do it”.

“We’ve heard maybe 50 per cent – maybe more than 50 per cent now – of standards have an EPA organisation,” Mr Dawe said.

“But you talk to those EPA organisations and a lot of them aren’t going to be ready for 12 months to actually deliver it.”
He added: “They [the government] could make their lives a lot easier if they just didn’t duplicate and actually commissioned Ofqual to do the work that’s needed.”

It is not the first time Mr Dawe has raised concerns about the Institute’s handling of assessment.

When the Department for Education published its Draft Strategic Guidance for the IfA earlier this month, Mr Dawe responded by saying: “Big questions remain on standards and assessment, which is why AELP is calling for a complete pause on the whole process. 

“In our view, there would be much less cause for confusion if Ofqual was given the overarching role on assessment on behalf of the IfA.”

FE Week questioned the DfE on why Ofqual would not be taking up this responsibility, but the department would not be drawn on the issue.

A DfE spokesperson said: “We believe that the SFA is best placed to maintain the Register of Apprenticeship Assessment Organisations and has significant experience in quality assuring organisations to deliver services.

“We continue to work with all organisations who have a role to play in assuring the quality of apprenticeships in England.”

She added: “We are also consulting on how the IfA should carry out its functions.

“The consultation closes at the end of January and we will consider responses carefully.”

An Ofqual spokesperson was similarly reticent.

He said: “Supporting the development of high quality end point assessments is a priority for Ofqual in 2017.

“We are already working closely with the DfE, IfA, SFA and others to establish the optimum arrangements for maintaining standards. We will not be responding to the consultation.”

The webinar was hosted by FE Week editor Nick Linford, and conducted in partnership with NCFE.

The government’s new director of labour-market enforcement must protect apprentices from exploitation in the workplace, one of the UK’s largest trade unions has said.

Unison demanded that Sir David Metcalf urgently find a solution to ongoing problems with illegal apprenticeship wages, shortly after he was appointed to the position on 5 January.

The newly created post comes with responsibilities which include protecting both apprentices and lecturers paid below the minimum wage – bringing new hope for better treatment for people across the workplace.

According to the most recent Apprenticeship Pay Survey in 2014, carried out by the now-defunct Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, apprentices aged 16 to 18 were hit hardest by minimum wage non-compliance.

Nearly a quarter were found to be on the wrong pay levels, compared with 20 per cent of 19- to 20-year-olds, 17 per cent of those aged 21 to 24, and eight per cent of those aged 25 or older.

Nearly a quarter were found to be on the wrong pay levels

Overall, 14 per cent of apprentices of all ages and at all levels were paid under the minimum wage and just 26 per cent said they knew what the relevant minimum wage actually was.

Ruth Levin, Unison’s national officer for FE, told FE Week that Sir David needed to do more than just enforce the wage threshold.

“Simply enforcing the minimum wage won’t end the exploitation of vulnerable workers,” she said. “It’s important too that apprentices are not taken advantage of.

“FE staff must also be protected from the widespread and unethical use of zero-hours contracts.”

As the first director of labour market enforcement, Sir David will have to guide employment enforcement bodies in stamping out exploitation, using intelligence to help identify and improve vulnerable areas – including FE.

His work will be accompanied by a £1.7 million government campaign to raise awareness of national minimum and national living wage rates, including those for apprentices and lecturers on zero-hours contracts.

FE Week asked the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy about when the next Apprenticeship Pay Survey would be published to reflect the current situation, but we were told only that it would be published “in due course”.

Shakira Martin, the NUS vice president for FE, told us: “We welcome the creation of a director of labour market enforcement as an opportunity to protect the employment rights of students, young people and apprentices.”

Mark Dawe, the chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said the sector should play its own part in ensuring Sir David’s work is successful, and that providers should explain to employers of apprentices what their contractual obligations are.

We welcome the creation of a director of labour market enforcement as an opportunity to protect the employment rights of students, young people and apprentices

He added: “Conversations will take place between providers and apprentices to make them aware of their rights, and the skills minister issues a standard welcome letter to each apprentice along the same lines.”

In December 2016, apprenticeships and skills minster Robert Halfon released the latest version of the letter that providers are required to send to all new apprentices, which states: “You are entitled to an apprentice minimum wage starting at £3.40 per hour, if you’re under 18 or in your first year, increasing to £5.55 if you’re over 18, and in line with the National Living Wage if you’re over 25 and in your second year.”

Sending this letter has been a requirement since the first one was issued by former skills minister Matthew Hancock in October 2013 – following FE Week’s report which found hundreds of adverts for illegal, underpaying apprenticeships on a government-funded website.

Sir David, who was previously the chairman of the Migration Advisory Committee, will report to the secretaries of state for the Home Office and BEIS.

He declined to comment on specific FE matters, but said: “While the UK is by and large a fair and safe place to work, there are still rogue employers who exploit their workers. This will not go unpunished.”

The creation of his post follows the government’s decision in October to commission Matthew Taylor to conduct an independent review into employment practices to ensure rules are up to date.

Active IQ, the UK’s leading Ofqual-recognised awarding organisation for the active leisure, learning and wellbeing sector, has launched two Level 3 Diplomas in Personal Training for Health, Fitness and Performance.

Designed with FE Colleges in mind, these truly vocational programmes combine comprehensive theoretical knowledge with practical experience to prepare school leavers to work in the leisure and fitness industry or progress to degree courses.

The Active IQ Level 3 Diploma and extended Diploma in Personal Training for Health, Fitness and Performance are supported by two of the industry’s leading professional bodies – the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) and ukactive.

Combining college study and work experience with local employers, the qualifications ensure that students will enjoy full educational support and group teaching alongside time on the gym floor working with fitness professionals.

 

Two variations are available:

• The Active IQ Level 3 Diploma in Personal Training for Health, Fitness and Performance is a smaller qualification that can be combined with other Tech Level, Applied General and/or A Level qualifications.
• The Active IQ Level 3 Extended Diploma in Personal Training for Health, Fitness and Performance is a full time course that includes additional modules to equip students with vocational skills alongside the research skills required for academic study to enable them to access higher education degree programmes.

Both qualifications aim to provide learners with the broad base of knowledge and skills to be able to work in a variety of customer-facing roles within the active leisure industry, including fitness instructing and personal training, as well as being able to access higher education degree programmes.

 

Who could do this qualification?

Learners must be 16+ years old and have basic skills in communication as discussing, presenting, reading and writing are all involved. A degree of physical fitness is also necessary. On achieving the qualification, learners will be capable of progressing to work as a fitness instructor, personal trainer or administrator in the active leisure industry.

 

What will they study?

Study areas include exercise and fitness knowledge, planning and instructing gym sessions, planning and instructing personal training, nutrition, technology in sport and exercise, entrepreneurship, marketing, customer service and managing personal and professional development. Students will learn how to:

• Develop their understanding of anatomy, physiology and nutrition and how it relates to exercise and fitness.
• Plan and instruct safe and effective exercise and physical activity sessions.
• Deliver safe and effective personal training sessions.
• Deliver exceptional customer service.
• Manage own personal and professional development.
• Develop enterprise skills.
• Market and sell products and services.
• Understand how technology is used within physical activity, fitness, sport and exercise.

 

What will they study?

A mandatory requirement is access to meaningful employer engagement such as structured work experience or work placements to develop skills and knowledge relevant to the qualification, managing projects set with input from industry practitioners and attending master classes. Employer engagement shows a clear line of sight to work, enriches learning and raises the credibility of the qualification.

 

Advanced study options

The qualification is designed to offer entry to employment; however it also provides the perfect platform for learners to progress on to the following qualifications and/or apprenticeship frameworks:

Level 3 Diploma in Exercise Referral

Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Personal Training

Active IQ Level 3 Diploma in Instructing Pilates Mat Work

Active IQ Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Yoga

Level 3 Diploma in Sports Massage Therapy

Advanced Apprenticeship in Exercise and Fitness

 

Find out more by visiting Activeiq.co.uk, calling 0845 688 1278 or emailing businessdevelopment@activeiq.co.uk.

Alternatively, learners can progress to higher education degree programmes as the qualifications have been nominated for inclusion in the UCAS Tariff For Higher Education for entry from 2018.

The skills minister has denied that the picture of adult education is “bleak”, as Labour MP David Lammy launched his campaign for a “renewed culture of night schools”.

Mr Lammy led an adjournment debate in the House of Commons this afternoon on the future of adult education.

He took the opportunity to call for a return to the traditional concept of “night schools” –  offering widespread part-time evening classes for adults, including mothers wanting to return to work, who want to retrain – either by local authorities or FE colleges.

The former skills minister said during the debate that the UK has a “proud history” of adult education, and looking back to past successes reflected “we need to make sure we don’t lose the legacy of Samuel Morley, John Ruskin and William Morris”.

 “They are helping thousands of modern day Educating Rita’s gain the confidence that they need to flourish,” he added.

But skills minister Robert Halfon (pictured above) said during the parliamentary exchange that the prospects for adult education are not “bleak” and the government is providing funding for the issue.

“Our spending review was better than it has been in recent years for protecting the sector given the funding pressures,” the skills minster said.

“The whole purpose of the technical and Further Education Bill is to expand the role of the Institute for Apprenticeships, including technical education.

“The apprenticeships levy [due for launch in April], taking with it the adult education budget, the apprenticeship funding, and advance learner loans will provide more funding to support adult further education more than any time in our island’s history.”

According to government figures, there are around 1.5 million fewer adults aged 19 or over participating in further education than there were during Mr Lammy’s stint as minister between 2007 and 2008, when the figure stood at 3.75 million – a fall of 38 per cent.

Mr Halfon  accepted that night classes have taken a hit over recent years, and gave the example of Harlow College in his own constituency where “you couldn’t get a car parking space for evening classes” in the 1990s, but can now.

But he added: “Evening classes are still run in 1,380 centres. Yes we need to do a lot more and yes there are problems but it is not completely bleak.”

Mr Lammy and Mr Halfon both admitted that it was both Labour and Conservative governments who were to blame for the decline in adult education.

But Mr Lammy said the current government is “obsessed” with education policy for 16 and 18 year olds but “denies opportunities” to the “already marginalised”.

He believes that too many people are trapped in low-paid work, and that “there is no real prospect of moving up the ladder” for those who “missed out as teenagers”.

Mr Lammy told FE Week afterwards: “I’m very pleased to have had the opportunity to bring this important issue before the House today.

“I know that the minister agrees with me on the importance of adult education but I think that he and the government still have some very difficult questions to answer.”