Following the announcement of the Apprenticeship levy rate and the Apprenticeship Institute in the Autumn Statement, the government has outlined further detail on the Apprenticeship reforms and their vision for Apprenticeships going forward.
The paper, entitled “English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision”, explores how the government intends to improve recognition and quality of Apprenticeship programmes, give employers more power in shaping Apprenticeships and the state of funding for Apprenticeships. The key points highlighted in the Executive Summary are the intentions for Apprenticeships to provide “substantive training in a professional or technical route” with a strong focus on key English and maths skills, and the availability of Apprenticeships at all levels, up to and including degree level, as well as across all sectors. It’s expected the amount of Higher Apprenticeships – those at a degree level – will increase and become more widely available. This is good news in the light of recent research that showed learners who undertake Higher Apprenticeships earn more than university graduates.
The government is keen to phase out current Apprenticeship frameworks and bring in new, employer-led standards, stating they’ll be “stagger[ing] the withdrawal of public funding for new starts on [current] framework Apprenticeships as employers take on apprentices on the new standards”. This aligns with the announcement of the Institute of Apprenticeships, an employer-led body, independent of the government, created to “ensure quality” in Apprenticeships and set standards. The group, expected to be fully established by 2017, will advise on the funding each Apprenticeship programme should receive, with higher costs for higher quality programmes; the government believes this will contribute to an increase in the value of Apprenticeships.
The government also intends to protect the term ‘Apprenticeship’ in legislation to protect the brand and ensure high quality outcomes. Further, in an effort to drive up the number of Apprenticeship starts, the upcoming Enterprise Bill will require at least 2.3% of public sector businesses with a workforce of 250 people or more to hire apprentices.
Traineeships will also form a big part of the Apprenticeship scheme going forward, as they “will support more young people into Apprenticeships and sustainable employment.” More providers will be able to deliver Traineeships, as in August 2016 the government will remove the requirement for centres delivering the programmes to have an ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ Ofsted rating.
As we’ve said before, we’re pleased to see the government put a real focus on the creation of quality Apprenticeships. The report also highlighted the fact that 83% of apprentices believe their employment prospects have improved as a result of undertaking the programmes, and 70% of employers said hiring apprentices made their company and workforce more productive. These are the types of figures we need to be publicising to help people see the value of Apprenticeships, which are still often considered a secondary option compared to university.
There’s still much to be confirmed around how the funding of Apprenticeships will work and how vocational qualifications will fit in, with plans to streamline ‘technical’ education into 20 distinct pathways, but for now the future looks positive for Apprenticeships.
What are your thoughts on the government’s plans for Apprenticeships? How will your centre and learners be impacted?
