apprenticeships | FE Week

Three cheers for the Institute for Apprenticeships!

Maritime Skills Alliance sticks up for the maligned IfA for creating two wholly new port operative apprenticeships in a complex and non-standardised industry FE Week’s made quite a bit recently of the fact that neither Ministers, nor Sir Gerry Berragan, the Institute for Apprenticeships’ Chief Executive, can name any employers willing to offer the IfA any […]

Kick poor-performing new providers off RoATP, education committee urges

Poor-performing apprenticeship providers should be kicked off the government’s register – not just barred from taking on new starts, the education select committee has urged. It made the call in its new report, ‘The apprenticeships ladder of opportunity: quality not quantity’, published today, based on the findings of its recent inquiry. The report outlines a […]

In pursuit of parity: degree apprenticeships expand into the Russell Group

Although seen by some as controversial, degree apprenticeships are central to the government’s plans to put technical education on a par with academic education. The Department for Education has repeatedly referred to the number of Russell Group universities signed up to the register of apprenticeship training providers as a sign that it’s succeeding in this […]

Ofqual survey into perceptions of vocational qualifications: 7 key findings

New research by Ofqual has revealed worryingly low levels of understanding among employers of key elements the government’s apprenticeship reforms . Its survey looked at perceptions of vocational and technical qualifications among 3,000 employers, learners and training providers. It will allow the exams regulator to “measure changes in levels of understanding and perceived value over time” amid ongoing […]

3aaa co-founders still own the company despite resignations

The co-founders of crisis-hit Aspire Achieve Advance have remained as the apprenticeship giant’s majority owners despite resigning as directors, FE Week can reveal. Peter Marples and Di McEvoy-Robinson, who were the company’s chief executive and main director respectively until last week, had their terminations of directorships confirmed on Companies House this morning. Since their resignations […]

IfA close to losing external quality assurer as contract expires at end of the week

The organisation that delivers external quality assurance on behalf of the Institute for Apprenticeships has yet to sign a new contract, FE Week understands – just days before its existing contract runs out. Open Awards, a small awarding organisation with a turnover of just £1.5 million and around 30 members of staff, was first awarded […]

Hinds quick to show IfA support but fails to name employers in agreement

The education secretary was unable to name a single employer who supported the Institute for Apprenticeships in an interview with FE Week editor Nick Linford this week. Damian Hinds had arranged the interview while on his fact-finding trip to Germany and the Netherlands. He was asked if the English version of employer ownership was working, […]

DfE finds much needed apprenticeship monitoring cash

When the ESFA published the list of providers on the apprenticeship register in March 2017 we reported that the entire sector was shocked. Hundreds of companies, many never having filed a set of accounts, had successfully applied to a register that would give them unlimited access to apprenticeship funding. In an interview with me the […]

AELP calls for March 2020 end to non-levy transition period

Any transition period for moving small employers onto the apprenticeship service should only last until March 2020 to avoid another “unnecessary procurement exercise”, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers has said. It’s one of a number of proposals the AELP has put forward for the non-levy transition period and creating a sustainable apprenticeship system, […]