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16 April 2026

Tag: AELP

U-turn welcomed on funding for employees taught outside the workplace

Courses for people in employment are once again allowed to use public funding, so long as they are taught outside the workplace, the Education and Skills Funding Agency has confirmed in a significant policy U-turn. Training in the workplace is not typically funded from the Adult Education Budget, but the sector kicked up a stink […]

DfE quick to rebuff ‘evidence’ of employers calling for changes to off-the-job rule

A plea for flexibility in apprenticeship off-the-job training requirements has been swiftly rebutted by the Department for Education. In a paper sent to the DfE on Monday, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, backed by leading employers, asked that employers developing apprenticeship standards be allowed to set their own rules for how much time […]

New skills minister Anne Milton speaking at AELP conference 2017

The first major speech delivered to the sector by the new skills minister will be at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers conference next week. Anne Milton has still not been officially confirmed as Robert Halfon’s replacement for apprenticeships and skills minister by the Department for Education, as it is still determining details of […]

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 […]

Devastating impact of non-levy allocations ‘horror show’

The allocations horror show has claimed its first victim, as a subcontractor with 18 years’ experience has announced it will be forced to close within months after it was dropped by its lead provider. Other subcontractors are meanwhile warning of “chaos” and mass redundancies due to the massive cuts the government has made in its […]

AELP demands widespread changes to 20 per cent off-the-job apprenticeship training rule

Calls are being made for widespread changes to the minimum 20 per cent off-the-job training apprenticeship rule, in a new report expressing Association of Employment and Learning Providers frustration. According to the government, off-the-job training must amount to “20 per cent of the apprentice’s contracted employment hours across the whole apprenticeship”, but AELP wants more detailed […]

Decision to retain forced maths and English GCSE resits ‘extremely’ disappointing

A government move to continue insisting on widespread GCSE maths and English resits – through the heavily criticised condition of funding rule – has left sector bosses “extremely disappointed”. All 16 to 18-year-old students with a near-pass (previously grade D, now grade three) GCSE in the subjects have since August 2015 had to continue studying […]

Ofqual should not have double standards

One thing an assessment regulator should definitely not have is double standards; it undermines the core of their existence. We’ve just emerged from a lively FE week Annual Apprenticeship Conference with much debate and concern about the disruption that the current process will cause without providing any significant benefit to the employer, learner, quality or […]

There are two levels of unfairness in FE

Mark Dawe made his maiden speech as chief executive of AELP at last year’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference. One year on, he tackles a familiar question: are FE institutions treated fairly? My youngest of four children, the only girl, often retorts “What about me?” when I make the mistake of saying “come on, boys”. Given my […]