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29/10/18 Version 3.0 Page 1 of 13 PICS & FM36 Apprenticeships v3.docx PICS AND FUNDING MODEL 36 APPRENTICESHIPS The core PICS system and CRM sub-system have been developed significantly to manage FM36 Apprenticeships. Pellcomp has also released two dedicated web applications. Note: This guide is aimed primarily at existing PICS users but will also be relevant to new users. Please also refer to the relevant ESFA documentation - there is a section of useful links at the end. ABOUT THE SOFTWARE PICS. Your core system has facilities in ILR capture, funding calculator, ILR export and reconcilers. These are available free to all customers with the licence for funding model 35. PICS CRM. Additional facilities for Organisations, Opportunities and Applicants - these require the relevant additional product licence. eAdmin is a separately licensed web-based application for use by providers to process employer payments. eContract is a separately licensed web-based application for use by employers to track their payments to providers. The web applications are explained briefly here but covered in detail in separate documentation. Please contact our sales team for details: [email protected]. Contents About the software............................................................................................................................................ 1 Overview of basic process in PICS ............................................................................................................. 2 Set up ................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Enable PICS programme group for Apprenticeship reforms ..................................................................... 2 Check and update user permissions .......................................................................................................... 2 Annual Contract Data ................................................................................................................................ 2 Other General Base Data - Contracts and reviews .................................................................................... 2 Customised non regulated aims ................................................................................................................ 3 Qualification plans ..................................................................................................................................... 3 ILR entry............................................................................................................................................................. 5 New client/episode screen ........................................................................................................................ 5 Create/check the payment plan ................................................................................................................ 5 ILR and other values .................................................................................................................................. 6 Co-Investment employer payment plans .......................................................................................................... 7 Maintain payment items in PICS ............................................................................................................... 7 Related CRM facilities ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Identify small employers ........................................................................................................................... 9 Apprenticeship Service Employer Agreement ID ...................................................................................... 9 Create EPA Organisations .......................................................................................................................... 9 CRM Applicant entry for reforms .............................................................................................................. 9 CRM Opportunity entry for reforms........................................................................................................ 10 Process learner details & funding.................................................................................................................... 11 ILR export to the Hub .............................................................................................................................. 11 PICS Funding Calculator and financial reports......................................................................................... 11 Hub funding process & reports ............................................................................................................... 11 PICS-FIS/Hub validation & funding reconciliation ................................................................................... 12 Budget Manager & Profile Manager ....................................................................................................... 12 Export to the Apprenticeship Service system ......................................................................................... 12 Identify data mismatches between ILR and Apprenticeship Service data .............................................. 13 Further information ......................................................................................................................................... 13

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Page 1: PICS AND FUNDING MODEL 36 APPRENTICESHIPS · 2018-10-29 · Below are the main actions to set up PICS for Apprenticeship Reforms for all users. CRM users should see the Applicant

29/10/18 Version 3.0 Page 1 of 13 PICS & FM36 Apprenticeships v3.docx

P ICS AND FUNDING MODEL 36 APP RENTICESH IP S The core PICS system and CRM sub-system have been developed significantly to manage FM36 Apprenticeships. Pellcomp has also released two dedicated web applications.

Note: This guide is aimed primarily at existing PICS users but will also be relevant to new users. Please also refer to the relevant ESFA documentation - there is a section of useful links at the end.

ABOUT THE SOFTWARE

• PICS. Your core system has facilities in ILR capture, funding calculator, ILR export and reconcilers. These are available free to all customers with the licence for funding model 35.

• PICS CRM. Additional facilities for Organisations, Opportunities and Applicants - these require the relevant additional product licence.

• eAdmin is a separately licensed web-based application for use by providers to process employer payments.

• eContract is a separately licensed web-based application for use by employers to track their payments to providers.

The web applications are explained briefly here but covered in detail in separate documentation. Please contact our sales team for details: [email protected].

Contents

About the software............................................................................................................................................ 1 Overview of basic process in PICS ............................................................................................................. 2

Set up ................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Enable PICS programme group for Apprenticeship reforms ..................................................................... 2 Check and update user permissions .......................................................................................................... 2 Annual Contract Data ................................................................................................................................ 2 Other General Base Data - Contracts and reviews .................................................................................... 2 Customised non regulated aims ................................................................................................................ 3 Qualification plans ..................................................................................................................................... 3

ILR entry ............................................................................................................................................................. 5 New client/episode screen ........................................................................................................................ 5 Create/check the payment plan ................................................................................................................ 5 ILR and other values .................................................................................................................................. 6

Co-Investment employer payment plans .......................................................................................................... 7 Maintain payment items in PICS ............................................................................................................... 7

Related CRM facilities ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Identify small employers ........................................................................................................................... 9 Apprenticeship Service Employer Agreement ID ...................................................................................... 9 Create EPA Organisations .......................................................................................................................... 9 CRM Applicant entry for reforms .............................................................................................................. 9 CRM Opportunity entry for reforms ........................................................................................................ 10

Process learner details & funding .................................................................................................................... 11 ILR export to the Hub .............................................................................................................................. 11 PICS Funding Calculator and financial reports......................................................................................... 11 Hub funding process & reports ............................................................................................................... 11 PICS-FIS/Hub validation & funding reconciliation ................................................................................... 12 Budget Manager & Profile Manager ....................................................................................................... 12 Export to the Apprenticeship Service system ......................................................................................... 12 Identify data mismatches between ILR and Apprenticeship Service data .............................................. 13

Further information ......................................................................................................................................... 13

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OVERVIEW OF BASIC PROCESS IN PICS

Below are the main actions to set up PICS for Apprenticeship Reforms for all users. CRM users should see the Applicant and Opportunities sections of this document for details of those facilities (page 9).

1. Enable the new PICS programme group for Apprenticeship Reforms (page 2).

2. Check and update user permissions (page 2).

3. Enter/update Contracts and Review Profiles in Other General Base Data (page 2).

4. Add custom non-regulated aims to Qualification Base Data (page 3) if required.

5. Create new Qualification Plans for Apprenticeship Reforms - old framework plans will not work for the new programmes (page 3).

6. Add all Qualifications and Cohorts to Annual Contract Data for Apprenticeship Reforms (page 2).

7. In CRM: identify small employer Organisations and agreement IDs; add EPA Organisations (page 9).

8. Enter new starts via ILR screens (page 5) with employer payment plans as required (page 7).

9. Export applicant and learner data to the Apprenticeship Service (AS) system for levy-funded employer agreements. (page 12).

10. Export ILR data each month and validate through FIS if possible. Once any warnings/errors have been fixed, upload data file to the national Hub (page 11).

11. Run SFA Funding Calculator as usual each month (page 11).

12. Use reconciler tools to check AS data match and funding reports (page 12).

SET UP

ENABLE PICS PROGRAMME GROUP FOR APPRENTICESHIP REFORMS

This should already have been done - if not:

From PICS main screen click [Basedata Maintenance].

Select the Funding Organisation Skills Funding Agency.

Click the button [Enable Apprenticeship Reforms for SFA]. (The code may be SFA, SFZZ or SFXX). Click [OK] to restart PICS when prompted.

CHECK AND UPDATE USER PERMISSIONS

No specific user permissions are required for access to the new programme. Existing processes and facilities may need to be checked.

ANNUAL CONTRACT DATA

Note that PICS still uses separate funding organisations for SFA and EFA.

Add all your qualifications for FM36 Standards/Frameworks to the SFA Programme ‘Apprenticeship Reforms’ (i.e. NOT the Annual Contract Data for ‘Apprenticeship/Work Based Learning’ or ‘Other SFA’).

OTHER GENERAL BASE DATA - CONTRACTS AND REVIEWS

Contracts

If you are new to direct contracting you will need to add a new Contract to default various learner data values, including: Site, Funding Organisation, UKPRN.

These are created as usual in ‘Other General Base Data > Contracts’.

Review profiles

You will need to add these specifically for the new programme(s) - the old Apprenticeship review profiles will not be used by the new programmes.

These are created as usual in ‘Other General Base Data > Review Profiles’ - you can either add a single entry for the group ‘R: Apprenticeship Reforms’ or separate profiles per individual programme.

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CUSTOMISED NON REGULATED AIMS

If a Standard does not contain an accredited vocational qualification, you will need to use a generic aim indicating the level and sector of the non-accredited learning delivered. These are available in LARS & PICS and can be added to Qualification Plans and the ‘Other SFA’ Annual Contract Data - Qualifications as usual.

If required, you can define these aims more precisely in PICS, for example to identify and report a specific area of delivery but still export them under the approved reference.

First make sure that you know the official reference number for the non-accredited aim, beginning Z000.

Open PICS basedata and go to Qualification Basedata.

Click [New Qual], enter your own recognisable and unique code for the aim and click [OK]. Accept the warning that it is not a valid reference.

You will be prompted 'Are you creating a custom non-regulated qualification?'. Click [Yes] then find the required official Z000 reference in the pick list; you can apply filters by the level and SSA, also a text filter for the title/reference. The reference will be added to the qualification field 'Export qual in ILR as' along with other data from the aim concerned.

Double click the required Z000 aim to add your new aim to the system. Then [Edit] the qualification to amend the title to your own requirements and select the type as ‘Main Aim’ (leave the level as it is). Click [OK] to save.

Users of our link to OneFile, Smart Assessor and Learning Assistant will need to add the custom qualification code to those systems, to allow the qualification sync to work.

QUALIFICATION PLANS

Plans are very useful for linking to learners to default data and funding values (including the payment plan) and can also be used in the Budget Manager (page 12). They can also be used elsewhere in the system:

• Customers with any PICS CRM licence can link a plan to a sales Opportunity record to default the potential value of the sale - you can update the value from the default if required;

• If you have the PICS CRM Applicant licence (CRM silver or gold) can link a plan to applicant records to default their individual cost of learning. These details can then be imported to PICS if/when they start (and updated if required).

You should create new plans specifically for the Apprenticeship Reforms and mark old plans as dormant. Do not use or modify old apprenticeship plans for the new arrangements. Normally you should create separate plans to handle levy, co-invested or ESFA full funded circumstances - use the [Clone] button to make copies and then adjust the values as required. Note the following:

Open [Basedata Maintenance], click [Qualification Basedata] and select the tab [Qualification Plans].

Plan Elements. Complete in all cases.

• Add all qualifications with appropriate offset and duration. This includes any custom non-regulated qualifications. Functional Skills/GCSE can be added to the plan and removed as required per learner. Alternatively, if they are only required occasionally leave them out of the plan and add manually per learner.

Plan Programme Details. Complete in all cases.

• Funding Organisation = SFA.

• Group/Subgroup, identify by the codes after the title, e.g. Level 2 App Standard (R2). Use codes RA, RI, for Frameworks, or R2, R3, or R4 for Standards.

• This should default the values below for Group (R; Apprenticeship Reforms), Model (36 App) and Type (25 for Standards; 02,03,20-23 for Frameworks) but please check.

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• As appropriate, select either the ILR Framework & Pathway or the ‘ILR Apprenticeship standard’.

• CRM Applicant licence holders (page 9). To be able link a plan to your Applicant records select this box.

ILR Defaults. Complete as appropriate.

• Select the Programme Aim ACT (Apprenticeship Contract Type), if it is consistent for learners on this plan. This is applied to programme aims and English and maths component aims only. It can be amended for individual learners; it can also be changed during an episode without restarting the programme, e.g. to allow for change of employer. 1 = Funded by Levy paying employer, 2 = Funded by ESFA co-investment model.

Apprenticeship Costs. Default the costs to apply to learners. These can be amended later for a learner if required. If costs or payment arrangements vary considerably per employer, you may not be able to complete all details but the more you enter to the plan, the simpler the ILR entry will be.

• Enter Negotiated Prices for all plans; Employer Costs completed only for co-investment plans.

• Training Costs used for all plans, Assessment costs for Standards only.

• Click [Show Summary] to check the default payment profile.

You may wish to complete other values for the Plan. Please contact Pellcomp if unsure about their use or impact.

Qualification Plan templates

For FM36 you will normally have separate plans for the same Standard/Framework for levy funded, co invested and full ESFA funding arrangements. Using the same plan for these can cause confusion.

To create several similar plans, you can use one as a basic template for others. For example, you might create a plan for levy funded learning and use it as a template for co-investment or full ESFA funded.

Select a plan in the main table and click [Clone]. Enter a new code and click [OK]. The new plan will be added to the table.

Edit the new plan to amend the details correctly, e.g. the description, aims, durations, ACT, ILR defaults, costs etc.

If the template plan itself isn’t to be used, ensure the description identifies it clearly as a template and set the status to ‘Dormant’, so it isn’t used by mistake (but don’t forget to make the copies ‘Live’).

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ILR ENTRY

NEW CLIENT/EPISODE SCREEN

At the initial details screen, check or enter the following:

• Contract, Site, Subcontractor and Qualification Plan are selected (as appropriate).

Many of the following fields can be defaulted from the Plan:

• Funding Organisation = SFA

• Funding Programme = one of the new Apprenticeship Standards or Frameworks.

• Programme type = 25 (for Standards); or 02,03,20-23 (for Frameworks).

• Select the restart status.

• The correct Main Aim and Apprenticeship Standard (or Framework and Pathway) are applied from the Plan or selected manually.

• Ensure ACT (contract type) is correct.

• Specify if the learner is eligible for enhanced funding (EEF) - N/A otherwise.

• Select the Employer and specify if they are a small employer for full ESFA funding purposes. This feeds through to both the payment plan and employment status.

CREATE/CHECK THE PAYMENT PLAN

You can do this when creating the episode or later from the ILR Programme Aim. The process described here is as used in the former case but the latter is similar. The details may be defaulted from the learner’s Applicant record, Opportunity or Qualification Plan (page 7). The plan table can show: negotiated prices; co-investment payments from the employer; incentive payments by ESFA.

At the new client screen click [Apprenticeship Cost Details].

Below is an example of how the Costs might be entered for co-invested funding.

Enter the Total Negotiated Prices for training and assessment. These are required for all learners (latter for Standards only) and include both employer and ESFA contributions (but exclude supplementary payments, e.g. interim payments, support or disadvantage funding).

As appropriate, enter the basic Employer Costs for Training and Assessment. In the example shown, the employer pays £1400 of the £14,000 Training Cost. £500 on the start date; with the balance paid at the end of each month for 3 instalments. The employer’s payment for the Assessment Cost is shown as due at the start of programme.

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Click [Show Summary] to display the payment plan and principles. You may be warned if the amounts appear invalid or if the employer amounts are insufficient. Check the amounts look OK - it is much easier to fix problems at this stage than later. Click [OK] to close the summary.

Assuming all data and funding is correct click [Create] to complete the initial entry screen and create the new record. Continue with the ILR data entry as usual. You have a button on the ILR Programme Aim page to view/edit the same financial details. See below.

Once the episode is save, payment details can also be viewed in the page [Extras > Additional Income/Expenses]. By default they cannot be changed here but a setting in the system configuration allows you to do so, e.g. to attach file evidence of payment (otherwise possible in eAdmin). From basedata main menu run ‘Main > PICS Configuration’. Press [Ctrl] & F and search for the text ‘allow full editing’. This should find a setting to ‘Allow full editing of Apprenticeship Standard Payment Records’. Tick the box and click [Save All] then [Close]. You can now edit the learner payment record.

ILR AND OTHER VALUES

• ULN. This must exist correctly in your ILR and match that previously sent or entered to the Apprenticeship Service when setting up the agreement with the employer. Without a match, ESFA funding will not be released for the learner (page 11).

• Learner Information page. Check all details, noting in particular:

o Field EHC can be used to identify 19-24 year old learners with a healthcare plan as eligible for 16-18 funding.

o Employment status. Field SEM is used to identify Small Employers (<50 employees). This can be defaulted from a value in the Organisation - Additional screen (page 9). ESFA will pay 100% of the Negotiated Price for 16-18 apprentices at small employers (up to the Funding Band Maximum Value). Agreement ID must be entered/selected for levy funded learners where ACT=1. (see page 9 for details of creating a picklist)

• PICS Episode page. Enter the employer cohort from the Apprenticeship Service system and set the status. Used in export to that system (page 12).

• Programme aim page. Check all details, noting in particular:

o For learners on Standards select the EPA Organisation (created in CRM, page 9).

o Ensure you check/enter the correct value in the field for ACT (Apprenticeship Contract Type) - it may be defaulted from the Qualification Plan but should be confirmed for each learner, as it identifies if they are being funded by the employer levy. You can also make a dated change to the ACT. The same value applies to all component aims in the programme.

o EEF field is only used to identify 19-24 year old learners as eligible for 16-18 funding - see ILR rules & guidance for details. Otherwise set as ‘Not applicable’.

The ILR Provider Support Manual has further details on general ILR data requirements for Apprenticeship Frameworks & Standards. See page 92. This document dates from May 2017 but specifically covers the ILR for Apprenticeships from May 2017.

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CO-INVESTMENT EMPLOYER PAYMENT PLANS

As above, you specify the employer payment plan when creating a new learner record and this can be used to generate their payment items.

The ILR Programme Aim page has a button for [Apprenticeship Standards Financial details] showing:

• Either the payment events for the learner - you can view/update the details;

• Or the facility to create a payment plan, i.e. if not entered when the record was created.

As a minimum for each learner you should enter the negotiated prices for training and assessment.

For co-invested learners, the employer payment plan towards the prices can be defaulted when creating new records as follows (using this order of priority):

1. From payment details entered in the learner’s Qualification Plan.

2. From payment details entered in the selected CRM Opportunity.

3. From payment details entered in the selected CRM Applicant record.

For example: payment details from the applicant record are imported only if there are no payment details in a linked CRM Opportunity or Qualification Plan.

MAINTAIN PAYMENT ITEMS IN PICS

You can maintain and add co-investment payments by employers for individual learners in PICS. Bulk-processing of payments can only be done through the separately licensed eAdmin web application.

Open the learner episode as usual and go to the ILR Programme Aim page.

Click [Apprenticeship Standard Financial Details] to show the table of funded items. (if you need to create the payment plan see page 5.)

‘Negotiated Price’ items have effective date (must = programme aim start date) and amount. These should show for all learners.

‘Payment Record’ items are shown for non-levy employers and can be updated when payment is received. Once marked as ‘Paid’ the amount is processed by the PICS funding calculator and can be included in your ILR upload. Payment records at ‘Expected’ status are not uploaded to ESFA.

‘Incentive payments’ are generated by PICS according to the learner details - check to see they exist or not correctly. If wrong, you will need to amend the record(s) and associated learner data.

Note that the PICS FM36 Actual Funding Report reconciler may make changes to this table.

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To process an employer payment:

Double-click an item to edit it.

Select the ‘Additional’ tab.

Click [Mark Item Paid]. Enter the date paid and click [OK] - this inserts the date and copies the amount into the fields on the ‘ILR Data’ tab. The item status is changed to ‘Paid’.

Other buttons on the ‘Additional’ tab:

• Items at ‘Expected’ status - [Cancel expected payment] changes the status to ‘Cancelled’ – a further button allows it to be returned to ‘Expected’.

• Items at ‘Paid’ status - if an item is processed in error, there is a button [Return to Expected] status.

To add employer payments manually, e.g. because their levy account has insufficient funds:

Click [New], select the Type and Code, enter the date paid and amount and click [OK].

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RELATED CRM FACILITIES

IDENTIFY SMALL EMPLOYERS

Edit an Organisation as usual; in the ‘Additional’ page set this field as shown. When entering a new episode linked to this employer, the learner SEM field (page 6) will default to this value. Remember to update the value in CRM if the employer status changes, so that further starts get the correct default.

APPRENTICESHIP SERVICE EMPLOYER AGREEMENT ID

You can create a picklist of Agreements for a levy paying employer organisation:

Edit the employer record as usual. From the ‘Information’ menu select ‘Contract Agreements’.

Click [New]. This opens the edit fields below the table. Enter the ID from Apprenticeship Service as Agreement No (this is used on the ILR); also enter a description and select the Type as ‘Apprenticeship Service Employer Agreement’. Other details are optional. Click [Save] to add the record to the table.

CREATE EPA ORGANISATIONS

These are created like any other organisation plus the following:

1. Select the role ‘N: EPA Organisation’.

2. Enter the code for EPA Organisation ID.

CRM APPLICANT ENTRY FOR REFORMS

Requires specific licence or CRM Silver or Gold licence. Note the relevant data capture requirements in the following pages - they will default ILR data when using the applicant record to create a new start in PICS.

ILR Data. Enter the ULN as soon as possible, to allow upload of data to the AS system (page 12). If you have the PICS-LRS exchange

licence you can use the button to search for and download the ULN.

Training Plan. If you select a Qualification Plan that has a payment plan this will default the prices & costs for the applicant - these can then be amended as required in the ‘Programme Details’ section.

You should also complete the FAM ACT, VAT, AS status & Cohort.

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CRM OPPORTUNITY ENTRY FOR REFORMS

Requires any CRM licence.

When creating an opportunity there is a new Type for ‘Apprenticeship Opportunity’.

Note the relevant data capture requirements in the following pages:

Qualification Plans. If you link a qualification plan that has a payment plan to the opportunity, this will default the payment details. You can then amend the details for this particular sale.

Details. This has a button to calculate estimated revenue based on the payment plan(s) in the linked Qualification Plans.

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PROCESS LEARNER DETAILS & FUNDING

ILR EXPORT TO THE HUB

If you hold the contract for your learners, payment details will be included in your ILR upload to the Hub. The details sent are:

• Total negotiated prices. Separate records are sent for training and assessment items with a record date prior to the end of the export period. The record date must = the programme aim start date.

• Payment records. Those marked as ‘Paid’ in the table above with a record date prior to the end of the export period). These trigger payments for the government contribution.

When submitting ILR data, the Hub will check each learner identified as levy funded against the AS system (using the ULN and UKPRN to match - see page 12), to ensure that it holds a double-locked agreement from provider and employer. If a match is found, a report will show the funding to be paid to the provider from the levy account. Without a successful match the record will be rejected, hence the importance of correct ULNs in PICS learners, CRM Applicants and the AS system !

PICS FUNDING CALCULATOR AND FINANCIAL REPORTS

For the new funding model, the PICS SFA funding calculator will process and report:

• Apprenticeship Standard employer payment items marked as paid.

• Payments expected from Levy funds (the calculator cannot link to levy accounts to guarantee this).

• Full or Co-investment payments expected from ESFA.

• Incentive payments.

• Disadvantage funding.

• English & Maths GCSE funding.

• Learner support funding.

• Framework uplift.

Note that some of the above depend on reports being made available from the ESFA from which PICS will import. As usual, the calculator works on a year-to-date basis to include late notified payments.

Funded items appear in the PICS Funding Calculator reports; also in the Claim History report and the Learner Status report on the Switchboard.

HUB FUNDING PROCESS & REPORTS

When each submission period is closed, a process is run on the Hub to recalculate funding across all learner records. This could make changes to your funding compared with reports generated earlier in the month (note that the FIS does report funding for Funding Model 36 for this reason). For example:

1. The system cannot find a matching double-locked agreement for a learner on the AS system, for example: critical data values don’t match; the employer or provider has changed the agreement.

2. An employer’s levy account can become empty part way through the process. Their account may also be used to fund learners at different providers; employers can choose the priority order in which providers' payments are processed and paid from their account.

a. Funding is drawn from each levy account in order of the date of learner record upload/entry to the AS system, then by ULN.

b. If the account funds are sufficient to only fund part of a learner payment for the month, the balance for that learner will revert to the co-investment model - you will need to collect and record the employer’s contribution manually (i.e. 10% of the balance due). Note that the programme aim ACT value does not change from 1 to 2 in this case.

c. All subsequent learners linked to that levy account will be funded via the co-investment model for that month - you must collect and record the employer’s contribution manually for each one.

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The hub will produce a report showing the amount claimed per learner from levy accounts, the amount actually paid from the levy and any balance to be funded by the co-investment model, including the employer contribution. See below re reconciling this with PICS, which we hope will eventually allow the system to create the expected payment records due for employers and give a full picture of funding in PICS.

Bear in mind that late notified starts and leavers, from you or other providers contracted by the employer, can cause prior period funding to be adjusted.

PICS-FIS/HUB VALIDATION & FUNDING RECONCILIATION

You can validate the ILR via FIS. However, FIS cannot produce actual funding for funding model 36 so the main funding reconciliation should be with the Hub reports.

For reconciler tools, from PICS front screen click [Reconcile Data] and select [FM36 Apprenticeship Funding Reports].

For full details on each of the tools please see PICS help file page (press F1 in PICS): Reconciler Tools > SFA/EFA reconcilers > PICS FM36 Reconcilers

BUDGET MANAGER & PROFILE MANAGER

Budget Manager will report funding model 36. The format of Profile Manager is not suitable for the new funding structure.

EXPORT TO THE APPRENTICESHIP SERVICE SYSTEM

The Apprenticeship Service (AS) has a system to record the funding agreed between providers and levy-funded employers. This must be completed on-line by both parties to release funds from an employer’s levy account for each learner in a cohort on the system.

You can either enter the details of each learner, per employer cohort, manually to the AS system or upload a data file (again per cohort) from PICS. It is safer to user one method or the other rather than both - we believe the upload will overwrite details entered manually. The information can be collected in PICS for both learners and applicants.

Data entry. There are two fields in PICS and CRM Applicants:

• AS cohort - a unique agreement reference, essential for funding to be drawn down. It is generated by the AS system, e.g. VJX6BV, the value entered to PICS/CRM must match this exactly.

• AS status - used only in PICS/CRM to track uploads for levy funded records. It does not affect record submission but will be updated by submission. Status 0-2 - select manually as required; Status 3 ‘Sent to AS’ is set automatically when the record is included in an export from PICS; Status 4 ‘On AS’ is set automatically after a successful reconciliation with AS.

The fields are in: PICS - learner ILR Form > PICS Episode page; CRM Applicants > Training Plan page.

Data export. You need to create and upload one file for each employer cohort. The process will send all records having both a ULN and the selected employer cohort reference plus:

1. Learners in PICS with a program aim and linked to the correct PICS programme group (R). 2. Applicants in CRM linked to a Qualification Plan (required for programme data) and not imported

as an ILR start in PICS.

From PICS main screen menu bar run ‘Main > SFA Actions > Apprenticeship Service Bulk Export CSV.

Enter the employer agreement cohort reference and click [OK].

The export manager screen will show all records in the selected cohort as above.

Click each line where the Validation column is marked as ‘Failed’ and check the Validation Messages below. These records will not be exported and so should be resolved before creating the file - make a note of them all, then exit and correct each learner/applicant record as required.

If all records are correct, click [Create CSV].

As required, create or select a folder to hold the file (in a secure location - these files are easy to open and contain personal data). Then click [Select].

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At the prompt ‘CSV files created. Open folder now?’ you can click [Yes] to do so or [No] to just return to the main screen. We recommend that you upload the file to the Apprenticeship Service immediately.

To process records for another agreement, click [Change Apprenticeship Service Cohort]. To exit click [Close].

IDENTIFY DATA MISMATCHES BETWEEN ILR AND APPRENTICESHIP SERVICE DATA

The SFA Hub produces a report after an ILR upload to show records in your ILR data not fully matched against that held by the Apprenticeship Service. You will not receive levy funding for records not correctly matched between the two systems. You can download this report and either check it manually or run it through a routine in PICS to help identify the learners. Note that the Hub report does not show learner records held in the Apprenticeship Service but not matched in the ILR.

Download the ‘Data Match Report’ from the Hub to a location accessible to PICS.

From PICS main screen menu bar run ‘Main > SFA Actions > Reconcile FM36 Data Lock’.

Browse to and select the ‘Data Match Report’ report from the Hub, then click [Run].

An output file is created in the location shown. Click [Open] to view this and see the mismatched records. These must all be resolved, in one system or the other, to ensure that funding is drawn down correctly. If you make changes in PICS you will need to upload a new ILR file to the hub and check the resulting double lock report.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Pellcomp resources

This Pellcomp on-line course gives a practical demonstration of PICS facilities for FM36 Apprentices:

https://www.pellcomp.co.uk/courses-overview/

This section of the PICS help file explain the facilities in detail:

https://pellcomp.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/POH/pages/143425586/PICS+for+Apprenticeship+Reforms

Our website also has a dedicated section with links to useful web pages:

http://www.pellcomp.co.uk/useful-links-and-resources/

Government web pages

Specific information about the reforms:

• https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/apprenticeship-changes

• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-funding-bands

General guidance about ILR:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/individualised-learner-record-ilr