RoATP | FE Week

Apprenticeship register reapplication process branded a ‘farce’ by provider

An Ofsted grade two provider has hit out at the government’s “farcical” process for reapplying to the register of apprenticeship training providers, after its bid was rejected on a technicality. According to the guidelines, providers can be exempt from filling out some parts of the application if they have received a short Ofsted inspection confirming […]

ESFA finally launches ‘tougher’ apprenticeship provider register

The “tougher” register of apprenticeship training providers has finally reopened, more than a year after the last window closed. It’s now open indefinitely – meaning that providers can apply on a rolling basis, rather than having to wait for an application window. It comes almost 15 months after the Education and Skills Funding Agency revealed […]

Redesigned RoATP to open tomorrow despite no delivery from 1 in 3 approved providers

Almost a third of providers on the government’s register did not deliver any apprenticeships last year, FE Week analysis has revealed – the day before the redesigned register re-opens for applications. There were 1,787 providers on the register of apprenticeship training providers in 2017, of whom 580 – or 32 per cent – had no […]

Apprenticeship provider’s ban lifted after just two months

An apprenticeship provider whose training was branded “not fit for purpose” just two months ago has been allowed to continue recruiting apprentices. Key6 Group was the subject of Ofsted’s first early monitoring report on newcomers to the apprenticeship market, published in March. The inspectorate’s criticism of a provider new to government-funded apprenticeships when it joined […]

Apprenticeship provider register won’t reopen until September

The register of apprenticeship training providers will not open again until September – nearly a year after the last window closed, the government has revealed. The register has been under review since November, but Rory Kennedy, the Department for Education’s director of apprenticeships, admitted to general surprise at FE Week’s Annual Apprenticeship Conference that it […]

Ofsted is vital to good apprenticeship provision – now more than ever

Key6 Group was found to be “not fit for purpose” – and the majority of their 200+ recruits weren’t even aware that they were on an apprenticeship. The inspectorate has really shown what makes it so vital, by visiting so quickly and choosing to make public its first report into a new apprenticeship provider. And […]

Local authority sets up rival apprenticeship provider register – but will charge

A local authority is planning to make hundreds of thousands in management fees by offering access to its own apprenticeship provider list, FE Week can reveal. Nottingham City Council is currently tendering for apprenticeship providers to join its “directory” – a list that it intends to share with other public sector employers across England. The […]

Exclusive: Providers finally successful in apprentice register applications

Hundreds of providers including a college from the nation’s second largest city, which largely missed out last time, have made it onto the register of apprenticeship training providers at the second time of asking. FE Week understands providers have been finding out this morning if they’ve been successful or not, in the second round of […]

National College for Onshore Oil and Gas opening delayed

Plans to launch a National College for Onshore Oil and Gas later this year have stalled while the industry “develops further”, FE Week can reveal. Last May, the government committed nearly £80 million to the creation of five new national colleges across the country, each focusing on a different type of “high-tech training” in “industries […]