There have been a number of reports and announcements over the past couple of weeks that have triggered concerns over the future of Apprenticeships.
In the recent Apprenticeship Enquiry for the Sub-Committee on Education Skills and the Economy, concerns were raised about the "scale and pace of the reform programme". Whilst there was acknowledgement that the rushed nature of the reform programme was because of the need for reformed Apprenticeships, there was also a lack of allocation of resources.
There were also concerns raised about the ambitious target of achieving 3 million Apprenticeships starts by 2020, and the potential impact this would have on the quality of Apprenticeships being delivered.
The hearing came just a day before the announcement that Antony Jenkins had been appointed to the role of Shadow Chair of the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA), replacing Rachel Sandby-Thomas, who stepped down 2 months after her initial appointment.
The concern here is that the Shadow Chair will play a key role in designing the structure of the IfA, as well as providing strategic leadership, and to replace such critical role so near the operational start date may lead to rushed policy implementation.
There is also growing concern around the end point assessments of the Apprenticeship Standards. FE Week recently reported concerns that half of Apprenticeship Assessment Organisations (AAOs) are not regulated by Ofqual, and that Ofqual oversight is not necessary to monitor the new Apprenticeships Standards or assessments.
This follows revelations that of the 108 Apprenticeship Standards available for new start, 32 have 16 AAOs assigned to them. Stephen Wright, the Chief Executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) has raised the concerns that "we will be letting learners down if the Apprenticeship is not assessed to the same level of validity, and to the same extent as any other high-stakes qualification".
Coming full circle, in the Apprenticeship Enquiry for the Sub-Committee on Education Skills and the Economy there was acknowledgement that providers and educators are being increasingly engaged in the Apprenticeship reform programme, where this previously hasn’t necessarily been the case.
Due to NCFE’s longstanding and continued involvement with trailblazer groups, we have an excellent working knowledge of the processes and work involved in preparing standards and assessment plans, and having them approved by the government. We're using the increasing willingness from government to feed our expertise to policy makers and trailblazers, to improve the overall quality of Apprenticeships for learners. Feel free to contact us for advice, guidance or to discuss your particular requirements.
