IfA | FE Week - Part 2

Number of approved apprenticeship standards to hit 400 next week

The number of apprenticeship standards approved for delivery is set to hit 400 next week, a little over a year after the Institute for Apprenticeships vowed to get ‘faster and better’. The milestone also comes just six months after it passed the 300 mark, and two months ahead of the institute’s own target date of […]

IfA ‘considering’ releasing apprenticeship overspend presentation

The Institute for Apprenticeships is “considering” releasing a presentation given to employers that warned of an imminent apprenticeship overspend. The admission came in a letter, sent today, from its boss Sir Gerry Berragan, in response to a request from shadow skills minister Gordon Marsden. “We are considering the request and will respond as soon as […]

ESFA insists the apprenticeship budget is not under pressure

The top apprenticeship civil servant has sought to reassure the sector after fears were raised of a budget overspend this year, as part of a wide-ranging interview with FE Week. Keith Smith, director of apprenticeships at the ESFA, said he was “not expecting any pressures” on the £2 billion budget this year, in response to […]

Trailblazer group alarm over funding band reviews

A trailblazer group chair has warned that its “years of hard work” in developing two apprenticeships standards could be undone, after they were included in the Institute for Apprenticeships’ second funding band review. The level two supply chain warehouse operative and large goods vehicle driver standards were among 30 standards named on the list announced […]

IfA undecided on Dame Asha board replacement

The Institute for Apprenticeships still doesn’t know when – or if – it will fill the place left vacant on its board following the departure of Dame Asha Khemka. Her resignation on October 19, three weeks after she stepped down from crisis-hit West Nottinghamshire College, left the IfA with just one serving college principal on […]

IfA and ESFA in listening mode about apprenticeship concerns at FAB conference

The bosses of the Institute for Apprenticeships and the Education and Skills Funding Agency were in listening mode today, as they acknowledged there were points they needed to “learn from” about apprenticeship assessment. Sir Gerry Berragan and Eileen Milner’s speeches on the second day of the Federation of Awarding Bodies conference followed a panel discussion […]

IfA consulting on content for three new T-level pathways

The Institute for Apprenticeships is seeking input from providers, awarding organisations and employers on the draft content for three more T-level pathways. Its consultation on the three new courses – two in construction and one in digital – was launched today and runs until November 12. The new pathways, in onsite construction, building services engineering […]

IfA loses funding rate review battle but uncertainty drags on

An employer group that won an appeal over the Institute for Apprenticeships’ handling of funding rate recommendations is still waiting for a final decision, FE Week can reveal. We reported in May that the education and training trailblazer group had rejected the IfA’s recommendations for the three FE teaching standards it is developing. The group lodged an appeal against the […]

Does the IfA really believe in degree apprenticeship?

The IfA’s review of the DTSP will be a key test of whether it really listens to employers (and apprentices), says Mandy Crawford-Lee The Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) has started a review of existing standards on the digital route, which includes the flagship Digital Technology Solutions Professional (DTSP) degree apprenticeship. To date the DTSP has […]