Handy Guide to Apprenticeship reform

The current reform is a result of the Richard Review (2012) which made a number of recommendations on simplification and on placing employers in the driving seat. In October 2013 the first employer groups were formed as ‘Trailblazers’ to design new English apprenticeship standards and assessment approaches. All new apprenticeship standards will be designed by employers, around singular occupations, and will include:

• End point assessment
• A holistic element to end-point assessment
• Grading where possible
• Assessment that covers theoretical and practical elements
• No formal requirement for qualifications
• ‘Mastery mechanism’ – with a single approach to assessment against the standard
• English and Maths – ambition for GCSEs although Functional Skills is still ‘appropriate’
• Minimum 12 months’ duration
• Minimum 20% off-the-job training
• Use of technology in design, delivery and assessment.

The reform forms part of broader changes to the apprenticeships system including:

• Changes to the funding rules, methodology and introduction of Levy
• Government 3 million target in this parliament
• Legislation to protect the term apprenticeship in the Enterprise Bill.

The overall direction of travel remains unchanged, with employers leading on setting standards and specifying the assessment approach; however there have been substantial announcements on policy and implementation.

The original scope of the reform would have seen the change from the current Apprenticeship frameworks to new Apprenticeship standards (those designed by employers around singular occupations with specific end-point assessment) by 2017. This has now softened, however, so that the ambition for change is now for this to occur nearer to 2020. BIS's decision early on to allow the reform to operate under an 'open policy' has had both a positive and negative impact. It has allowed the reform and its processes to be flexible and change following feedback from both employers and other stakeholders. Conversely, it has led to numerous changes in the processes. Following changes in machinery of Government, The Department for Education now leads on the reform and this policy area.

Recent updates and formulation of a stronger policy direction have done much to address the issues around governance, sustainability and quality although much of the detail on this is still lacking. The formation of the Institute for Apprenticeships from 2017 should meet the first two issues. The introduction of the Register of Apprenticeships Assessment Organisations, on which Pearson has been successful across a number of occupations, should also provide a firm base for quality processes.

A 3m target for Apprenticeship starts is envisaged in the lifetime of the parliament. This will be achieved through:

• Greater Apprenticeship starts in the Public Sector - 2.3% target for certain Public Bodies to meet
• Government contracts of a certain size will also require a commitment from tendering organisations on Apprenticeships
• General increase of starts across all sectors 
• A policy ambition that students’ progress either to Higher Education or onto an Apprenticeship.
  

On 7 December 2015, the UK Government published its plans for Apprenticeships in England up to 2020 as a joint publication from the (then) Secretaries of States for both BIS and DfE. The vision:

• Outlines the progress the Government has made to Apprenticeship reform thus far and a timeline for further reform and improvements to the system
• Restates the government’s commitment to Apprenticeships as a central pillar to developing the nation’s skills, addressing skills shortages and increasing productivity, whilst also setting out reform and improvements to make this a reality.

The vision outlines Government's belief that Apprenticeships will help address a number of requirements for future skills including:

• A critical need for high numbers of new technical and professional skilled workers
• The provision of 5 million new and replacement higher skills job openings
• Growing skills shortages in the STEM and digital sectors
• Increased productivity combined with low levels of both youth and general employment.

The report states government’s current and future direction of travel across the following key areas and the actions which government intends to take over the next five years:

• Quality
• Employers in the driving seat
• Routes into Apprenticeships and work
• Building the long term apprenticeship system
• Funding for Apprenticeships.

Detailed in the 2020 Vision is a plan to establish a new independent body – the Institute for Apprenticeships – led by employers, to regulate the quality of apprenticeships. The Institute will be fully operational by April 2017.

On 5 November Skills Minister Nick Boles announced plans for ‘ground-breaking reforms to technical and professional education (TPE)’. The reforms will focus on simplifying the system, and working in partnership with employers to ensure the system provides the skills most needed for the 21st-century economy.

The proposal is that up to 20 specific new professional and technical routes will be created, leading to employment, or degree-level study. These routes will lead young people from compulsory schooling into employment and technical competence, which for many will mean moving on to apprenticeships. Young people taking one of these routes will be able to specialise over time in their chosen field, gain a work placement while in college, and then move into an apprenticeship when they are ready. To deliver the reforms, the government will work closely with an independent expert panel, headed by Lord Sainsbury, former Minister of Science and Innovation.

The reforms of Apprenticeships in England are ongoing, and models for continuous and end point assessment are still emerging. What is becoming clear however, is that all aspects of the work-based sector will need to adapt to a model changing from frameworks to standards.