Signs of weakness among units’ ‘strong’ providers

Training providers where barely half of apprentices successfully complete training are among the “strong” organisations picked to deliver the government’s flagship apprenticeship units.

Starts on the short courses could begin from Tuesday, allowing businesses to spend levy money on non-apprenticeship training for the first time.

Skills England guidance states that initial delivery is “limited to a targeted group of existing apprenticeship providers who already demonstrate strong performance in the occupational standards from which the units are drawn”.

But FE Week analysis found that while most providers have overall achievement rates above the national average of 65.4 per cent and a good Ofsted record, some recorded fewer than 20 total leavers and achievement rates just above 50 per cent last year. One had such low numbers that it does not have a published achievement rate at all.

And most of the selected apprenticeship unit providers do not record an achievement rate for the occupational standards their short courses are drawn from.

It comes after an FE Week investigation found grave provider concerns with the design, funding rates and payment model of apprenticeship units – with some warning it has put them off delivery.

[Story continues after the table]

[NOTE: If your provider is approved to deliver apprenticeship units but is not listed here it will be because the government’s Find Apprenticeship Training system was not updated before our snapshot was taken at 2pm on April 30]

Demonstrable strong performance?

To be eligible for the initial launch of 10 units, training providers must “already demonstrate strong performance” in delivering the apprenticeship standards or tier-two sector subject areas from which the units are drawn, based on 2024-25 delivery data.

Criteria states that providers must also be actively delivering apprenticeships, not have any indicators rated as ‘at risk’ on the Apprenticeship Accountability Framework, and be free from contractual funding restrictions.

Eight of the 80 providers listed during FE Week’s analysis had fewer than 20 apprenticeship leavers in total in 2024-25, and three of those had fewer than 10.

One – London Vesta College – signed up to deliver the three AI units and had just three apprenticeship starts in total last year. It had such low leaver numbers it does not record an achievement rate.

Another provider, Scotland-based Bragd LLP, is signed up for the three AI units after recording a 52.9 per cent overall achievement rate based on 20 leavers.

Five other providers listed to deliver units have an overall achievement rate of below 60 per cent.

Multiverse, which is prolific in the AI space and has grown in recent years to become England’s largest apprenticeship provider in terms of starts, is a noticeable absentee from the units list.

The firm, run by Euan Blair, has an overall achievement rate of 52.6 per cent. It was judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2021 and is awaiting the outcome of a recent inspection conducted under the watchdog’s new report card framework.

It is unclear whether Multiverse was invited to deliver units.

A government spokesperson said: “We cannot comment on individual providers due to commercial sensitives but have standard processes for managing contracts to protect learner outcome.”

Employers can choose from lists of eligible training providers on the Find Apprenticeship Training real-time system.

Data dive

Skills England’s website shows the standards from which the AI units are drawn include the soon-to-be defunded senior leader and chartered manager (degree) apprenticeships, as well as machine learning engineer and artificial intelligence and automation practitioner.

The welding unit is drawn from the welder standard, both the EV charging point and solar PV units are drawn from the installation and maintenance electrician standard, while the permanent modular building assembly unit is drawn from the construction assembly and installation operative – permanent modular standard.

Three units – battery manufacturing, mechanical fitting and assembly, and electrical fitting and assembly – do not appear to be drawn from any specific standards.

FE Week found a minority of the chosen unit providers recorded leavers in the connected apprenticeship standards in 2024-25.

The government does not publish achievement data broken down by sector subject area tier two, so analysis of rates related to these criteria is not possible.

Our analysis of official data found examples of extremely low achievement rates for some providers on the specific standards from which the units are drawn.

Heart of Yorkshire Education Group is delivering six units, including EV charging point. It had 530 apprentice leavers in 2024-25 and an overall achievement rate of 66.2 per cent. But 30 of those leavers were on the installation and maintenance technician standard where EV charging is drawn from and which has an achievement rate of 28.1 per cent.

Nottingham College, delivering six units including EV charging point, has an overall achievement rate of 58.1 per cent based on 660 leavers, but a 43.3 per cent achievement rate for 30 leavers on the installation and maintenance technician standard.

Similarly, Hopwood Hall College is signed up for eight units including EV charging point. The Greater Manchester-based college has an overall achievement rate of 65.8 per cent based on 270 leavers, but a 43.5 per cent achievement rate for 20 leavers on the installation and maintenance technician standard.

To ensure consistency in our analysis, we included Ofsted grades under the old grading system of ‘outstanding’ to ‘inadequate’.

The majority were ‘good’ and six were ‘outstanding’.

Four were ‘requires improvement’, but three of those – St Helens College, The Growth Company and Alphabet Training Group – have had recent inspections under the new framework and mostly received ‘expected standard’ judgments.

The Department for Work and Pensions told FE Week that “Ofsted inspection arrangements will be set out in due course” for apprenticeship units.