A university has been forced to repay £1.385 million in apprenticeship funding after government investigators found widespread missing evidence of apprentices’ eligibility, off-the-job training, and employer co-investment contributions.
Birmingham-based Aston University was hit with the clawback after a Department for Education investigation found 11 breaches of apprenticeship funding rules between 2020-21 and 2023-24.
The university is one of the largest university apprenticeship providers in the country and received a ‘good’ Ofsted rating in 2024 when it was training over 1,000 apprentices.
According to a new investigation outcome report, the DfE’s then-Education and Skills Funding Agency launched a probe in October 2024 after it identified concerns with the “validity” of some of the university’s claims and “accuracy” of submitted data.
The report, which is lists off generic rule breaches, found the university failed to check eligibility of all learners and to retain evidence of their eligibility as well as completed and signed apprenticeship agreements.
Aston University also failed to accurately record the start and end dates for some apprentices, could not demonstrate apprentices were involved in active learning throughout the apprenticeship or provide accurate off-the-job training records.
Investigators additionally found the university did not retain evidence to show apprentices were exempt from functional skills or that they were undergoing training, lacked evidence of employer co-investment contributions being collected, and could not prove that assessment of prior learning and experience was conducted before apprentices started their programme.
Aston University has already repaid the £1.385 million that the government said was overclaimed and has “commenced” implementing improvements.
The university has not faced any suspension on starts or contract termination.
A spokesperson for the university said the report concerned “legacy issues” and prior to the government’s review the university “commissioned an external audit firm to produce a report and action plan which has been wholly implemented”.
“The university through its own governance, audit and risk processes undertook to rectify all legacy issues by also engaging external expert oversight for transparency and accuracy,” the spokesperson added.
Aston University has been offering higher level apprenticeships since 2017 in business, healthcare, digital, engineering, and logistics. It is also a lead partner of the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Institute of Technology (IoT).
The university recorded an overall achievement rate of 57.5 per cent in 2023-24.
Aston University’s spokesperson added: “We are committed to excellence in all aspects of our degree apprenticeship provision that has Ofsted good assessment, and this year our BSc (Hons) digital and technology solutions degree apprenticeship was awarded tech industry gold accreditation in recognition of its effectiveness in preparing learners for successful careers in the digital and technology sector.”
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