Government reforms to apprenticeship assessments risk allowing apprentices to qualify without proving they are competent, employers have warned.
Plans currently being developed by Skills England involve assessment bodies testing only a sample of knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) rather than all of them, inferring overall competence from partial evidence.
A group of 22 construction industry bodies this week wrote to prime minister Keir Starmer to accuse officials of a “dumbed down” approach that will cause “a race to the bottom”.
Coordinated by the British Woodworking Federation (BWF), the letter said: “Whilst Skills England have gone on to qualify the use of sampling somewhat, it is likely any form of sampling will create inconsistency across different assessment providers and stimulate a race to the bottom, as providers are incentivised to create lighter touch assessments to secure better pass rates and cost efficiencies.”
A Skills England spokesperson told FE Week they have now paused a pilot that was testing the changes to the level 2 carpentry and joinery apprenticeship “subject to further consultation”.
A ‘dangerous’ shortcut
The employers claimed that if the reforms move ahead, the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS), which certifies cards for workers, will “no longer recognise apprenticeships as they will not be confident individuals who have met the minimum standard to demonstrate competence and safety”.
A CSCS spokesperson told FE Week that the organisation has itself raised concerns that the proposed reforms to apprenticeship assessment “could undermine the confidence of both employers and apprentices”.
“The CSCS Alliance urges government and regulators to work closely with employers and industry bodies to ensure that reforms strengthen—not weaken—the quality and credibility of construction apprenticeships,” they added.
“Safeguarding competence, consistency, and trust in the assessment process is critical to the safety of the built environment and the sustainability of the construction workforce.”
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), a non-departmental public body, said it is “actively engaged” with Skills England and employers to “ensure that apprenticeship reforms support the construction industry’s skills needs whilst maintaining the safety and quality standards our sector requires”.
Helen Hewitt, chief executive of the British Woodworking Federation, said the government’s proposed apprenticeship reforms “risk dismantling the foundations of competence and safety in our industry”.
She told FE week: “By replacing rigorous, impartial assessments with lighter-touch alternatives, these changes threaten to dilute skills, undermine confidence and create dangerous inconsistencies across the construction sector.”
Hewitt added that should these changes go through, all apprenticeships delivered in England will be impacted meaning “other industry sectors should also be taking keen interest in the progress of these reforms”.
Concerns ‘pushed aside’
Skills England is currently testing new apprenticeship assessment “principles”, announced in February, through pilots for five standards: carpentry and joinery, assistant accountant, adult care worker, data technician and early years educator.
The government last week said this initial group of assessment plans are expected to be published “later this autumn”.
Construction employers involved in the carpentry and joinery assessment pilot hit out at the approach being taken by Skills England, accusing the government agency of a “clumsily managed” consultation process with unrealistic timelines imposed.
“At every step of the process, the feedback provided by employers, awarding organisations, training providers and trade bodies has either been ignored or pushed aside by Skills England, with the line ‘we are following principles set by the Department for Education’,” the letter said.
FE Week understands at least one other trailblazer group involved in the pilots, for the adult care worker apprenticeship, has raised similar concerns with Skills England.
A Skills England spokesperson said: “We have listened to concerns from the construction industry. This was a pilot and changes to the apprenticeship were paused subject to further consultation.
“We seek to deliver apprenticeships that have the rigour and quality employers need, with the proportionate, timely and efficient assessment required.
“We value the views of the construction sector who we want to work with to get this right.”
Mandated qualification fears
Skills England’s reforms also state that new-style assessment plans will contain “no duplication of assessment, unless it is a statutory requirement”.
“For example, if there is already a mandatory industry recognised qualification that provides a licence to practise as part of the standard, the knowledge, skills and behaviours demonstrated in this do not need to be subsequently retested,” February’s announcement said.
Assessment organisation DSW Learning said it understands that Skills England will allow mandated qualifications to “become the sole form of assessment for many apprenticeships”.
David Pearson, DSW Learning chief executive, told FE Week his organisation has “significant concerns” over this proposal.
“Such qualifications were not designed for the purpose of assessing full occupational competence, which is the defining characteristic of an apprenticeship and has been for hundreds of years,” he said,
“We risk sleepwalking into a scenario where employers lose faith in the value and currency of apprenticeships, as clearly outlined in the BWF’s letter to the prime minister. It is vital that apprenticeships continue to convey full competence, and that a robust, skills-based assessment is used to validate this.”
Pearson explained that most of the mandated qualifications within apprenticeship standards are solely knowledge-based, and test just a sample of the curriculum with pass marks as low as 50 per cent.
“In this scenario, apprentices will not be assessed at all against the skills and will only have to demonstrate a small proportion of the knowledge to pass,” he said.
“In most cases, apprentices may actively fail multiple elements of the assessment and still be marked as fully occupationally competent. This is a danger to apprentices, their colleagues, and the communities they serve.”
The government was approached for comment.
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