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1 May 2026

Tag: apprenticeships

Ambassador vows to ‘beat drum’ over small business fears

The government’s small business apprenticeship ambassador will “continue to beat the drum” over fears that limited access to funding will drive SMEs away. Jason Holt spoke exclusively to FE Week after the devastating impact of last week’s “derisory” funding allocations for providers delivering apprenticeships to small employers between May and December became clear. The announcement, […]

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 […]

DfE ditches Boles back-to-school plan for apprentices

A plan to force apprentices to go back into schools and promote apprenticeships has seemingly been dumped just a year after it was announced by the former skills minister. Nick Boles told the parliamentary sub-committee on education, skills and the economy last April that the government would introduce the “commitment on the part of an […]

Levy launch ‘horror’ story predicted following apprenticeship funding allocations

Apprenticeship providers are facing up to a “horror story” of bankruptcy and failure after receiving funding allocations that amount to a fraction of their current delivery, sector leaders are warning. The amount of cash colleges and providers will receive in order to deliver apprenticeships to small employers between May and December was revealed by the […]

£1.6 billion bids for ‘markedly oversubscribed’ non-levy procurement

The total value of bids lodged through the now-paused procurement for apprenticeship provision allocations for non-levy-paying employers was around £1.6 billion, almost four times more than the sum available, FE Week has learned. The Education and Skills Funding Agency announced on April 12, that the decision over funding allocations relating to this procurement had been be paused, […]

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 […]

HEFCE to regulate degree apprenticeships

Degree apprenticeships will be regulated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, and not by Ofsted. The news was revealed by the Department for Education this morning, as part of its apprenticeships accountability statement. It comes after FE Week reported in December that Ofsted had been seeking to extend its remit to cover higher-level […]

Influential group of MPs demand action over lack of apprenticeship assessment organisations

Government apprenticeship policies have come in for stern criticism in a new report by MPs, that insisted standards should have at least one approved assessment organisation in place before they’re delivered. The sub-committee on education, skills and the economy, formed from the education and business select committees, gave a total of 36 conclusions and recommendations […]

Ofqual boss: lack of end point assessment organisations is ‘not irresponsible’

Ofqual’s chief regulator has said it’s “not irresponsible” for apprenticeships to be launched without an organisation in place to deliver the final exam. Speaking at FE Week’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference this morning (March 24), Sally Collier (pictured above) also said she “didn’t know” if having just half of approved standards with end point assessment organisation […]