The following article by Jude Burke was published by FE Week.

Almost a third of providers on the government’s register did not deliver any apprenticeships last year, FE Week analysis has revealed – the day before the redesigned register re-opens for applications.

There were 1,787 providers on the register of apprenticeship training providers in 2017, of whom 580 – or 32 per cent – had no starts by the end of 2017/18, based on year-end figures
 published by the Department for Education last week.

Of those, 506 were main providers, representing 32 per cent of the 1,587 on the register last year.

The proportion of employer providers not delivering was higher, at 37 per cent – or 74 out of 200.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency confirmed last month that the redesigned RoATP will reopen on December 12, and remain open indefinitely thereafter.

Under the new, stricter rules, first revealed by Keith Smith, the ESFA’s direct of apprenticeships (pictured above) in October, providers that go 12 months without any delivery are likely to be kicked off the register.

All providers will be asked to reapply, but Mr Smith said the agency would segment them into groups – with those deemed “high risk” being asked to re-apply first.

“We want to focus the re-application process on those providers that are potentially not delivering, and on those that we think will struggle to pass our new requirements,” he told the Association of Employment and Learning Providers autumn conference on October 30.

Other changes to the register include greater scrutiny of providers, who must have traded for at least 12 months and provide a full set of accounts before applying.

The DfE’s latest statistics include starts broken down by provider for the first time.

They reveal that colleges have been hit hardest by the move to levy funding, with a five percentage point drop in market share and a 35 per cent fall in starts – compared with a 24 per cent drop across the whole of the sector.

Latest information and actions from the Education and Skills Funding Agency for academies, schools, colleges, local authorities and further education providers.

CE E-news issue 136

Videos featuring the latest expert advice on improving and widening young people’s career prospects are being offered free to schools, as part of a project by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and partners. Although aimed at careers advice in schools using the Gatsby Career Benchmarks, the videos give ideas that could be useful in can IAG situation,

Nine videos cover the main points of the Gatsby Career Benchmarks; an internationally recognised ‘gold standard’ approach to the very best careers advice, aimed at schools and colleges. The thinking behind the Benchmarks is that careers should be embedded within all school subjects, that student access to real employment experience is vital to broadening their outlook on potential future jobs and that a pupil’s individual needs should be met.

The video series – funded by the Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire Collaborative Outreach Programme (DANCOP), a collaboration of the two counties’ universities and colleges – are now available online for schools and colleges, and as a general educational resource, on the D2N2 LEP YouTube channel. CLICK THIS LINK TO VIEW.

Project organisers the D2N2 LEP – the private sector-led Partnership of business, local authorities, skills and training providers, and community and voluntary services, promoting economic growth across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire – and DANCOP say there is a real need for such a resource. The video series is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK. Read more

New measures announced to end the ‘snobbery’ in technical education and boost Britain’s productivity

Britain must drop its ‘snobby’ attitude to technical and vocational education or risk being left behind after Brexit, Education Secretary Damian Hinds warned in a keynote speech to business leaders today, Thursday 6 December.

As the government marks the one year anniversary of its modern Industrial Strategy which aims to boosts the nation’s productivity and put the UK at the forefront of the AI and data revolution, the Education Secretary set out his plans to get more people into skilled jobs that command higher wages.

These include:

• A new generation of Higher Technical Qualifications – an alternative to a university degree to help more people get on in their careers and so employers can access the skills they need. These qualifications at “Level 4 and 5” – like Diplomas of Higher Education and Foundation Degrees sit in between A Levels and a degree in subjects like engineering and digital. The kind of training that helps someone step up from being a healthcare support worker to a nursing associate or a bricklayer to a construction site supervisor.
• Reforming the pupil destination measure – the information published in school and college performance tables about what higher study or training pupils go on to do after they leave – to create one measure that shows how many young people are doing higher training of any type. The new destination measure will show separately how many young people go on to study degrees, higher technical apprenticeships or Higher Technical Qualifications like a Higher National Diploma.
• Matching skills to jobs – new guidance and a package of support for Skills Advisory Panels – local partnerships between public and private sector employers, local authorities, colleges and universities – to assess what skills are needed in their local area.

Read more

Latest information and actions from the Education and Skills Funding Agency for academies, schools, colleges, local authorities and further education providers.

Amanda Spielman presented her second annual report as Ofsted’s chief inspector this morning.

She used it to highlight improvement in overall FE outcomes in the face of funding pressures, as well as concerns that the apprenticeship levy isn’t being used as intended.

FE Week has the nine key findings for FE and skills providers.

1. Full inspections are down but overall outcomes are up

Ofsted carried out 329 full and short inspections of FE and skills providers this year – down from 392 in 2016/17.

Of these, four per cent resulted in an ‘outstanding’ rating, 66 per cent ‘good’, 24 per cent ‘requires improvement’ and six per cent ‘inadequate’.

That means that 70 per cent of providers inspected this year were rated at least grade two – an increase of one per cent on last year’s outcomes.

FE Week revealed last month that full inspections carried out by Ofsted in 2017/18 plunged by a third. Read more

The Mayor’s European Social Fund (ESF) 2019 – 23 Programme Information Event is being held on 13 December from 12.30 – 16.30pm. This event will provide an opportunity for interested bidders to hear more about this procurement opportunity.

The GLA is procuring a range of education, training and employment services to support unemployed, economically inactive and low-income Londoners with a focus on young people and adults that are disadvantaged in the labour market including people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, single parents, people whose first language is not English, people without qualifications or with low qualifications and women.

The Mayor’s ESF 2019-23 Programme aims to equip participants with the skills and knowledge they need to gain qualifications, progress in education and access, sustain and progress in work.  Read more

The following news article by Billy Camden was published by FEWeek.

The chair of the education select committee has laid into the Careers and Enterprise Company for believing it has a “magic money tree” growing in its garden.

Robert Halfon (pictured) offered the heavy criticism during an event about the future of careers guidance in Parliament this morning.

It followed the organisation’s second hearing with MPs two weeks ago, in which it was the revealed the company spent more than £200,000 on two conferences using its own public money instead of private sponsorship.

The company had also told MPs earlier in the year that it has spent £900,000 on research, with another projected £200,000 a year to come.

Mr Halfon, who’s also a former skills minister, said today that this was an “obscene waste of money” and a “scandalous lack of oversight”

“My colleagues and I in the education select committee are deeply concerned by what we have learned in two recent hearings,” he said.

“I don’t doubt for a second that the company is passionate about its work, and that there are good people working there. But I’m worried they are not providing us with value for money.

“This body can be ludicrously wasteful. Last year it spent £200,000 of taxpayers in a time austerity on two conferences – money which should have gone to the front-line. One cost around £150,000 and the other was about £50,000 and held at KidZania! Salaries are too high – its CEO earns almost as much as the Prime Minister.

“And it has spent £900,000 on research, with another projected £200,000 a year to come.

“There is a lack of convincing data on its impact. And a lack of data on hard outcomes: like education and training decisions, or employment outcomes.”

Read more

The following article was published in HR Magazine

Over three-quarters (78%) of businesses strongly believe that ‘earn-and-learn training’ can help address future workplace challenges, according to The 5% Club

Employer-members of The 5% Club were asked for their opinion on a number of challenges facing their sector and the role of apprenticeships and other earn-and-learn training.

All businesses surveyed agreed that on-the-job training can help companies prepare for the future by providing relevant skills, with 78% strongly agreeing. A majority (91%) said that earn-and-learn training could significantly help to address ongoing skills gaps.

A further 67% stated that earn-and-learn training, such as apprenticeships, is critical for upskilling an ageing workforce.

Penny Cobham, director general of The 5% Club, said that growth in AI, combined with an ageing population, spelled significant challenges for businesses.

“Over the next few years businesses will face unprecedented change. The increasing use of artificial intelligence data insight and other technological advances will become the expected norm for businesses in order to thrive and as such, we need to prepare our workforces accordingly,” she said. Read more