Apprenticeships

APP 16

Written evidence submitted by BAE Systems

1) How successful has the National Apprenticeship Service been since it was created in April 2009? Has it helped bridge the gap between the two funding Depts? (BIS and DfE)

BAE Systems experience of the NAS has been positive. Our contract has been managed in the past through the National Employer Service via Hilary Chadwick, but this has now changed and our contract will be managed through an account manager (Mark Donnelly) in the North West regional team. We have met with Mark and are confident of continued good support.

There are still gaps between BIS and DfE. Funding for Higher Apprenticeships is split between the SFA and HEFCE and if we wish to promote HAs and Higher Skills, we need to make the process of claiming for funding easier. In my capacity as a UKCES Commissioner I have written to John Hayes to recommend a single source of funding.

I do feel that there is a discontinuity of commitment to "vocational" skills/education between BIS and DfE. BIS have recognised the priority of skills, but ironically DfE is taking a more "traditional/academic" approach to education which is to the detriment of vocational education. I do support the Secretary of  State’s commitment to the core critical building blocks of academic learning, but believe this needs to be tempered by an accommodation for vocational pathways as well.

2) Is the extra funding promised by the Coalition Government necessary for apprenticeships? How can this funding best be spent?

BAE Systems agrees with the Coalition Government’s commitment to apprenticeships and believes that an expansion of apprenticeships will support the "Plan for Growth" and raising skills in UK businesses. The extra funding is therefore important, indeed vital.

The Government should prioritise funding in the areas that will most significantly impact on economic growth and support the rebalancing of the economy from financial services to manufacturing. The engineering and manufacturing sector should be a priority. To be competitive in the future the UK will need to compete on the basis of high skilled manufacturing. There needs therefore to be a matching prioritisation on Level 3 and above apprenticeship funding.

Through my work in the UKCES I have been supporting the drive to promote Higher Apprenticeships, both to raise skills in business but also to provide an alternative pathway to higher education level skills to university education for young people.

Fortunately, I believe that Vince Cable and John Hayes have recognised and are supporting these priorities for manufacturing and higher skills.

3) Are apprenticeships of a high enough quality to benefit apprentices and their employers? Should there be more Level 3 apprenticeships?

In the response to my last question I have indicated that there should be a rebalancing of commitment to higher level apprenticeships.

In the engineering and manufacturing sector I believe we are well served in the main by the quality of our apprenticeship frameworks and programmes. I believe that large employers need to play a key role as the custodians of quality for their sector and take on a leadership role. We in BAE Systems work closely and effectively with Semta and other large employers in our sector to ensure apprenticeship frameworks meet our current and future requirements.

BAE Systems has, for example, been taking a key role in the current review being coordinated by Semta to review and implement changes to the Advanced Manufacturing Higher Apprenticeship framework to ensure apprenticeship training meets the future requirements of manufacturing in a changing world.

Semta has an expert voice on apprenticeships and plays a key role in maintaining quality. Some of the other sectors are not served so well by their SSCs.

4) Apprenticeship bonuses – how should they function? Will they encourage the involvement of more small and medium sized businesses to take on apprentices? If not what will?

The incentive payments of £1500 for SMEs taking on their first apprentice were only launched last November and it is too soon to say if they will be successful.

I do believe that big businesses have a responsibility to help promote the business benefits of apprenticeships to SMEs in their supply chain. We in BAE Systems ran an event at our Preston Training Centre in January with Semta for our SMEs so they could see at first-hand what is involved and could meet and speak with our apprentices too to see the quality or the output

New approaches to funding are also needed. The UKCES is right to encourage large employers to take a bigger direction in the focus of skills investment. As a UKCES Commissioner I have been involved both in the design and now promotion of the new "Employer Ownership of Skills" funding that was launched before Christmas. I am sure that this will fund some very innovative and exciting partnerships led by big employers, which will provide significant opportunities to expand the take up of apprenticeships in large companies’ supply chains. I am very much looking forward to seeing the success of this scheme, which will generate new models from which we can all learn.

5) Is the current funding arrangement for training of apprentices of 100% for 16-18 year olds and 50% for 19-24 year olds appropriate?

BAE Systems recognises that in a tough funding climate Government needs to prioritise its investment. With one million plus young people out of work it is vital that it focuses its support on helping young people into work and providing them with skills for their future careers. Apprenticeships are the key vehicle to provide employability skills to our young people.

BAE Systems believes that it is vital that Government investment should continue to be at the 100% level for 16-18 year olds.

27 January 2012