The future of employer engagement in light of changes in the apprenticeship arena

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The Future of Employer Engagement in the Apprenticeship arena

What You Need Know in terms of the changes planned with Apprenticeships

An initial view by Safaraz Ali

feedback & views welcome twitter @SafarazAli or [email protected]

Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/safaraz


Revolution in Assessments

• All apprentices will be graded, for example, pass, merit and distinction

• Provider-based assessors will have less influence over apprentice’s outcomes; there will an increased emphasis on them providing coaching and training;

• Independent Assessors will be employed by new Apprentice Assessment Organisations (AAOs) with employers making the key decisions on apprentice competence

• Apprentices will have to pass one or more independent end-point assessments

• Therefore providers will need to make sure learners are properly prepared for assessments they cannot control.

• Assessment will still be needed but their purpose will be to measure learner progress ensuring the apprentice is ready for end-point assessments


Revolution in AssessmentsCont…

• There will be a need for training and CPD to bring delivery staff up to speed and upskill them in a range of different approaches

• To add value for employers due to the diminished responsibility for assessing

• To add value to the Apprenticeship system; this will include delivery of high quality learning tailored to the employers’ needs.


Changing Content

What is being removed?

• Employment Rights and Responsibilities disappears

• However, apprentices will still need good careers advice, information and guidance

• Personal Learning and Thinking Skills replaced by Behaviours; these will need specific training


Changing ContentCont...

So what else is going? • In some Apprenticeships, qualifications may no

longer be used – making it more difficult for providers to design curricula and structure training to ensure the apprentice achieves the Standard; without this content, different programmes may come up with quite different outcomes

• The new Apprenticeships focus on single occupations, not sectors or job ‘families’

• Narrowing training and complicating delivery


Changing ContentCont…

Any thing else?

• SASE Framework approach disappears

• Much greater diversity in Apprenticeship Standards and Assessment Plans: common CPD will be more difficult


Challenges for Independent Assessment which are worth keeping an eye on

• There will need to be a large pool of Assessors • Or there may be significant delays in apprenticeship

completions outside the provider’s control. • Technological solutions such as online testing may

alleviate this but relies on employers having the technology and will to make this happen

• Standardisation of Assessment may be difficult• If the selection of independent assessors is mainly

based on their knowledge/experience of current industrial practice, they are likely to work in industry at the moment and unlikely to have any training or accreditation in assessment methodology or QA. Therefore, quality of assessment may decline.


Challenges for Independent AssessmentCont...

• AAOs will require a large pool of end-point assessments, maintained and updated on a frequent basis; without this they will be known in advance and much easier to prepare for reducing the quality and validity of any assessment.

• No information as yet how various AAOs will maintain consistency when offering end-point assessments for the same standard.

• Assessment plans already published show a large variety of assessment mechanisms. Many of these are new and will require assessors to be trained in all of these methods or at least those that apply in their sector/occupation.

• This will require time and increases complexity.


New Funding Model Will Change the Apprenticeship Market

• Funded via employer levy 0.5% of company's wage bill over £3M (2% of employers will pay with first £15,000 discounted)

• Funds for Apprenticeship training under the control of the employer, not the provider

• No direct contracts • No need for subcontracting

“2016-17 is a transitional year. It is the last year in which government funding for apprenticeship is solely grant, and not levy.”

• Employer will decide if and how to spend funding on external provision The Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS) will provide employers with the means to pay for the off the job training of their apprentices drawing on government funds, including those raised by the levy. Government are considering closely the best way to manage those funds, including how any ceilings may be set

• Providers will need to complement what the employer can do and will be required to ‘up the ante’ on marketing, and design attractive quality training


Public Sector Targets

• Through the Enterprise Bill, it is intend to introduce new statutory targets for public sector bodies to employ their fair share of apprentices to contribute to the goal of achieving 3 million apprenticeship starts

• It is proposed that the targets will apply to public bodies with 250 or more people working for them in England, in December 2015 with a minimum target of 2.3%

• Subject to Parliamentary approval, these targets will be put in place in 2016. Public bodies will then be required to report annually on progress

• The NHS has already committed to delivering over 17,000 apprenticeship starts during 2015/16, reaching more than 100,000 in 2020 - approx. 6% of workforce

• It is important therefore that we proactively engage with the public sector to maximise opportunities for providers


The Current Financial Position

• Currently, in most cases, training providers (80%) and colleges (10%) take on the responsibility for dealing with the administration, programme quality and drawing down of funding for apprentices on behalf of the employer. In a few cases, large employers (10%) hold their own funding contract and bear this responsibility themselves without involving training providers or colleges.

• Most employers already make a significant, often unappreciated and unrecognised financial contribution to an apprentice’s on the job training by providing :• hands on skills development • mentoring• bearing the cost of the wages, tools and equipment they use.

• And yet in most cases, employers do not receive a share of the funding.


The Current Financial PositionCont .. .

• The funding system does not allow for any negotiation on the funding received by the training provider, and ignores the actual cost of delivery.

• The SFA sets a flat rate per apprenticeship and this may or may not cover all the external training costs.

• This distinct lack of competitive pricing/funding doesn’t really help to create any efficiencies or effectiveness through market forces.

• Therefore there does seem to be a good argument for employers to take on the responsibility for the whole apprenticeship process.


Are the Employer ready and up to the job?

Are employers really able to take on the full burden of responsibility for training apprentices as part of their usual business?

• Government’s own figures show that around 81% of employers have three or fewer apprentices

• Employers with so few apprentices may well struggle to run their own apprenticeship programme

• SMEs will lack the economies of scale that larger employers experience

• The proposed funding changes mean that employers are likely to have to claim money spent on apprenticeship training back through the tax system.

• For the employers concerned, this will result in increased numbers of evidence-based audits to prove how their money has been spent on apprenticeships• How will small and medium (SME) companies cope with

this?


Employers and Ofsted

• The issue will be employers having to go through arduous Ofsted inspections.

• Training organisations that currently receive government funding direct for apprentices go through a rigorous and thorough, resource consuming audit process that provides the public with an assurance of money spent correctly.

• What about the negative impact when the programme quality and other requirements are not what it should be and an employer is not performing?

• This could be devastating for the employer and lead to loss of contracts as customers distance themselves from the bad publicity.


Providers don’t just deliver apprenticeships! (added value)

• Training providers go further than just delivering apprenticeships. They:• make the process easy for employers by hiding the wiring of the

often complex apprenticeship funding system from businesses, and

• provide vital support in recruiting, managing and training apprentices.

It is clear that it is likely that, unless training providers continue to drive and manage apprenticeship demand, there will be a sharp decline in apprenticeship take up

The capacity for training delivery has been developed over a number of years. The uncertainty within the college and private training provider network is likely to sweep this aside leading to an irreversible dismantling of the skills infrastructure . This is being missed by employers until it is too late.


Things We Can Do

The change will happen and its best to make changes:

• Get to know the Apprenticeship Standards and Assessment Plans relevant to your work• See what will affect you and begin to plan your response

• Have your say• Get involved in the governments consulting on new Standards and Assessment

Plans; it may still be possible to influence the process and outcomes

• Ensure sure we network with potential Apprentice Assessment Organisations and keep ourselves informed of their preparations: this will help us to prepare for the changes

• We need to ensure we build relationships with employers; supporting them and removing the burden in dealing with the complexities of the new funding mechanism whilst guiding them on apprenticeship content

Business

The future of employer engagement in light of changes in the apprenticeship arena