AELP | FE Week

DfE agrees ‘transitional period’ for new off the job policy

Four-month grace period for 39 apprenticeships with revised off-the-job training hours follows sector concerns

Wolf’s apprenticeship proposals would be a devolution howler

Employers are best placed to lead training needs – and Baroness Alison Wolf’s idea of devolving funding to local leaders would wreck that

Collaboration between AELP, AoC and HOLEX is hugely important

The resilience of FE will be tested in the year ahead. Here are five key takeaways from our recent national conference, writes Jane Hickie AELP’s first in-person national conference in three years took place this week. Among the packed agenda, we learned a lot from the two-day event. Here’s five key takeaways from me: 1. […]

Martin Dunford, chair, Association of Employment and Learning Providers

Martin Dunford, chair and a co-founder of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, is retiring from the role. He reflects on the many policy shifts AELP has achieved over the years “So one day I got this fax through. It was a fax to the ten largest training providers to say, ‘Why don’t we […]

AELP chair stands down after 18 years

AELP’s chief executive thanked Dunford for his “relentless commitment” to the organisation

IfA rejects level 2 business admin apprenticeship leaving employers ‘disappointed’ and ‘upset’

A proposal to create a level 2 business support apprenticeship has been rejected outright by the government, with officials claiming the standard is “not viable”, FE Week can reveal. In a move that has “disappointed” sector leaders, the Institute for Apprenticeships’ deputy director of approvals, Ana Osbourne, has written the trailblazer lead for the wished-for […]

There is no point ignoring the looming overspend – employer apprenticeship levy usage needs to be restricted

At the AELP annual conference this week the skills minister, Anne Milton, outlined options being considered to restrict employer usage of their apprenticeship levy. Given the fall in starts since the apprenticeship reforms began in May 2017, you would be forgiven for wondering why the government would be looking at restricting employer demand. Any new […]

DfE’s double standards over level 2 business admin apprenticeship

The Department for Education has been accused of double standards after it launched a recruitment drive for level 2 business administration apprentices on frameworks while refusing to approve an equivalent standard. Old-style apprenticeship frameworks will be fully switched off next year and replaced with standards, which the government constantly lauds as being of “higher quality”. […]

Universities and training providers clash on apprenticeship priorities

It is “entirely unacceptable” to expect public sector employers to subsidise low-level apprenticeships for chefs and hairdressers, a university membership organisation has said, calling on government to better support levels 6 and 7 instead. Adrian Anderson, chief executive of University Vocational Awards Council, the body that represents over 90 universities delivering apprenticeships, said the decline […]