apprenticeships | FE Week

IfA refuses to reveal funding band review recommendations

The Institute for Apprenticeships will not publicly reveal the recommendations from its funding band review – despite sharing them with the employer groups involved. A number of those employer groups have come forward with the outcomes, and FE Week has reported on six of them. But despite repeated requests for the full list, the IfA […]

Government no longer backing its own 3m apprenticeship manifesto commitment

The Department for Education has, for the first time, refused to commit to its 3m apprenticeship starts target, after a spokesperson for the prime minister dodged the question this morning. The target has been included in the past two Conservative party election manifestos, but with starts falling it’s slipping ever further out of reach. At […]

IfA funding rate review: Customer service set for 13 per cent cut

Yet another popular apprenticeship standard is set to have its funding cut, following the Institute for Apprenticeship’s rate review. The level two customer service practitioner standard will have its funding cap reduced by 13 per cent – from £4,000 to £3,500 – according to documents shared with FE Week. It’s currently the third most popular […]

Popular apprenticeship standard to be hit with £2k funding rate cut, claims employer group

One of the most popular apprenticeship standards is in line for a more than 20 per cent funding rate cut, according to the employer group that developed it. The level two hair professional standard was one of 31 named by the Institute for Apprenticeships in May as part of its funding band review. It had […]

Ofsted given final say over new apprenticeship provider quality

Ofsted has officially been given the final say over poor-performing apprenticeship providers following an early monitoring visit, the Education and Skills Funding Agency has confirmed today. FE Week reported back in May that the move was on the cards, following embarrassment for the government over apprenticeship accountability. According to the ESFA’s ‘Removal from register of […]

Tight deadline for ESFA survey on non-levy transition period for providers

Providers are being asked for their views on the expansion of the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s apprenticeships service– but they only have four days to respond. The agency emailed all those currently on the register of apprenticeship training providers today, inviting them to complete a survey asking for their views on the “best way […]

Monthly apprenticeship update: 3m starts target slips further away with just 22,300 starts in May

Apprenticeship starts for May are down 40 per cent compared with the same period in 2016 – but up 9,400 on last year. There have been 22,300 starts recorded so far in May 2018, compared with around 36,700 in May 2016 according to the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s monthly apprenticeship statistics update, published this morning. […]

IfA quality committee fears conflict of interest the ‘biggest risk’, newly published documents reveal

Conflicts of interest are the “biggest risk” to the effectiveness of external quality assurance, the Institute for Apprenticeships has admitted. Employer groups developing apprenticeship standards name the organisation to deliver this service, but so far just a quarter – 10 out of 40 – of those chosen have been approved by the IfA. The body’s […]

Training for hundreds of glass industry apprentices branded ‘inadequate’

UPDATE: The government has confirmed that the Vocational College has now “ceased training”. “The DfE has appointed an administrator to support the transfer of learners and it is our priority to make sure that suitable high quality alternative provision can be found for all learners so they can continue with their learning with the minimum […]