Barely a day has gone by in the past year without a mention of Apprenticeships. A key part of the main political parties’ pre-election campaigns, Apprenticeships have become a very focal point in education. Post-election, the Conservative party pledged to create 3 million new Apprenticeship starts by 2020. Alongside this, the government is also determined to reform Apprenticeships and bring them in line with their vision. There’s a lack of clarity around what these reforms will be, so we’ve broken it down for you as follows.

Overall aim

The government states that it wants to improve recognition and quality of Apprenticeship programmes. It intends to achieve this by involving employers more heavily in Apprenticeships and giving them control over the standards, content and funding of an Apprenticeship. This, it argues, will ensure that all Apprenticeships suitably prepare learners for employment while also ensuring employers’ needs are met in terms of skills gaps.

Another government plan is to protect the term ‘Apprenticeship’ in legislation to safeguard the brand and ensure high quality outcomes. Furthermore, 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.

According to its paper ‘English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision’, the government wants Apprenticeships to provide “substantive training in a professional or technical route” – this aligns with its attempt to rebrand vocational education as “technical and professional” education.

Apprenticeships should be available at all levels, up to and including degree level. Currently, the majority of existing Apprenticeships are at an Intermediate (Level 2) or Advanced (Level 3) Level, so this indicates we could see more Higher Apprenticeships (Level 4 and above, or degree level) come into place. From 2016, these higher-level Apprenticeships will be posted on UCAS; this should position Apprenticeships as a true alternative to university.

Funding

The Apprenticeship Levy has been a key talking point since it was first mentioned in the government’s Summer Budget. This will completely change the way Apprenticeships are funded, as spending power will be in the hands of employers. This could ease pressure on Further Education providers, particularly those who’ve been criticised for spending a small proportion of their ASB on Apprenticeships.

It was announced in the Autumn Statement that the Apprenticeship Levy rate will be set at 0.5%, and is expected to raise £3 billion by 2019-2020. The levy applies only to businesses whose payroll costs exceed £3 million; this will be offset by a £15,000 allowance for each business contributing to the levy.

The funding from the Apprenticeship Levy is to be “phased in” for April 2017 so until then, it’s expected that providers should continue to fund Apprenticeship programmes through their existing Apprenticeship allocations.

The Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE), which allocates £1500 to small businesses to support their first five apprentices, has been extended until the end of the 2016-2017 session.

Content

Current SASE Apprenticeship frameworks are being gradually phased out and replaced with employer-led Trailblazer standards, with the government 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”.

The deadline for the withdrawal of SASE Apprenticeships has been extended to the end of the 2017-2018 session, allowing providers to continue to deliver existing frameworks and allowing more time for Trailblazer Apprenticeships to be bedded in. In direct response to demand from a number of centres, NCFE has produced a number of new qualifications that fit into existing SASE Apprenticeship frameworks to support your current needs.

The government sees core English and maths skills as a key component in future Apprenticeships, providing learners with “transferable skills and competency” in literacy and numeracy.

Assessment

The end-point assessment of Apprenticeships is likely to change dramatically, with the government insistent on rigorous end-point testing that they say “will test the skills, knowledge and behaviours set out in the standard to assess that the apprentice is fully occupationally competent in that role.” A number of potential assessments put forward include:

• written exams
• interviews or assessments on the content of an apprentice’s portfolio of work
• “production of a showpiece”
• observation of the learner in the workplace
• simulated activities.

The potential introduction of end tests, particularly written exams or simulated activities, has drawn criticism. Simon Ruddy, an FE teacher, Master Plumber and fellow of the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering, argued that this could promote a culture of “teaching to test”, something many believe traditionally academic education is often guilty of. This, he said, is not a true test of a learner’s ability, and simulated environments in external assessment centres don’t necessarily reflect the learner’s skills in the real workplace. In addition, BAE’s Education Director and Head of Early Career Programmes commented: “We will have grades for the knowledge part of the course and the academic part of the course, but the skills element just can’t be graded in the same way. We took the view that this is binary — either you can put the wing on the plane or you can’t, you’re either capable of doing a thing or not — so those parts of it are not graded.”

Many argue that this could signify the academisation of vocational education.

Trailblazers

The Trailblazer process began in October 2013, when the first 8 Trailblazers were launched; currently the number stands at 140. Together, these Trailblazers have delivered, or are delivering, over 350 Apprenticeship standards.

The government hopes to have as much Apprenticeship provision as possible to be part of the new Trailblazer standards by 2017-2018, but realises this is an ambitious target.

Generally speaking , Trailblazers are groups of employers that are writing, or rewriting, Apprenticeship standards for programmes or job roles in their sector. The employers are given significant control over the standards they create, but must adhere to the following:

• the training must be at least one year
• off-the-job training must be at least 20%, and,
• it must have transferable skills between businesses, ie not skills specific to one business.

Employers will have much authority over the content of the new Apprenticeships. As stated in the ‘Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision’ document, “nobody understands the skills employers need better than employers themselves.” Not only are Trailblazer groups currently working on standards for the new Apprenticeships, an “independent and employer-led body” – the Institute for Apprenticeships – will regulate the quality of Apprenticeships from April 2017.

NCFE is the chosen Awarding Organisation for the Supply Chain and Logistics Trailblazer group, and is actively involved in a number of other Trailblazer groups including Health, Digital, Hospitality and Sport. We’re currently preparing the assessment plans for the Supply Chain and Logistics Trailblazer group. NCFE is also in the process of applying to feature on the SFA’s Register of Approved Assessment Organisations for Apprenticeships to be able to offer assessment services for the new standards.

What can you do to prepare?

Curriculum development will be important to enable learners to meet the new standards, which won’t necessarily be qualification driven. The assessment of Apprenticeships is likely to undergo a significant change, so it’s best to familiarise yourself with the requirements for the independent synoptic end point assessments and how they’re graded. Additionally, as the funding of Apprenticeships is being overhauled, it’s useful to keep up-to-date with that. NCFE will be providing regular policy updates on our blog so you don’t miss out on any key announcements.

Apprenticeships are going to see a shift in how they’re controlled and regulated, with the power falling into the hands of employers. If you don’t have existing relationships with local employers, now is the time to start. Employers and educational providers working together is the key to success going forward with Apprenticeships. By linking up with employers you can secure quality employment for your learners and gain an understanding of what they’re looking to get out of Apprenticeships.

If you’re already delivering Apprenticeships, it’s likely that you’ve got those existing relationships with local employers. To maximise these and expand your connections, you can look at their supply chain to see if they’re in a position to hire apprentices. Looking at your own supply chain can also be helpful.

Making connections to employers is also important when it comes to engaging with the new standards. By involving yourself in the creation of these, you can be ahead of the game when it comes to delivering.

With a large number of Apprenticeship reforms coming into play over the next few years, it’s vital that you prepare your centre and your learners to ensure none of this has a negative impact. NCFE is an expert in the Apprenticeship space, having followed the reforms closely, being involved in Trailblazer groups and delivering webinars, blogs and advice on Apprenticeship reform. If you need our support feel free to email us at [email protected].