Apprenticeships

To judge the National Apprenticeship Service and other government support services against how far apprenticeships prepare young people in this country as citizens, is to consider their contribution against factors that are not currently within their remit.

5 The inquiry asks whether NAS has managed to bridge the gap between SFA and YPLA and we question whether it is part of NAS’ direct remit to improve the relationship between YPLA and SFA. Funding passes from YPLA to SFA for apprenticeships for 16-18 year olds and in that sense, there has to be a close collaboration between the two funding agencies but we have not seen further evidence as to whether NAS has improved this relationship or if this was the duty of NAS.

6 The Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, John Hayes MP, bridges the two departments – DfE and BIS - expertly in his role and we welcome this approach to collaboration. Nevertheless, we are often aware that DfE’s focus is often around schools and the national curriculum, rather than apprenticeships for young people. If we are to ensure the interests of young people are safeguarded, it would be advisable to consider how DfE and BIS can work together on apprenticeships more effectively. Closer collaboration between BIS and DfE would undoubtedly enable more ‘joined up’ thinking between the two funding agencies. It is our view, however, that whilst NAS and SFA should work in partnership, NAS should not be part of the SFA and the interests of apprenticeships would be better served by NAS being a distinct agency.

7 This is not to say that greater collaboration between the funding agencies and others would not be welcome. A particular example comes from City & Guilds’ work with ASDA on its apprenticeship programmes. It should be made clear at this stage that these are full apprenticeships, in line with NAS recommendations on the duration of apprenticeships, and the only 12 week programme available is the induction programme for new members of staff. For ASDA, their workforce needs to reflect their customer base and as such apprenticeships are available for a broad range of people and potential employees, including over 25s, as well as young people. In many cases, they find that the over 25s are only at Key Stage 1 (or Functional Skills Level 1) and as such, they would not be capable of taking on a Level 3 apprenticeship. This means a large cohort of potential apprentices cannot join the scheme as there is no SFA funding available for them to take part in the Level 2 programme. Bringing together the requirements of businesses and employers have of apprenticeships, with the availability of funding to support such individuals is a necessity if apprenticeships are to meet the expectations of all parties.

Q2 Is the extra funding promised by the Coalition Government necessary for apprenticeships? How can this funding best be spent?

Understanding vocational qualifications

8 Research by the City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development (CSD) indicates that there are some significant concerns regarding young people’s decision-making processes, especially around the vocational route. Only 61% of the young people in education or training interviewed had actually decided on the type of job or career they would like to do. 29% of young people in work took the first job they were offered, and 27% took the only job they were offered. 25% claim to have not received any careers guidance at all, and of those who did receive guidance, 68% received it from parents. However, only 37% of parents said they felt ‘confident’ or ‘very confident’ giving their children advice about vocational routes. [7]

9 This all adds up to young people often not receiving a clear picture, or ‘taking ownership’ of their career pathways to the best outcome. As a result, this could have a serious impact on the Government’s plans to expand apprenticeships for young people, and is a separate issue to increasing the provision of quality places. For apprenticeship expansion to be successful, both supply of places and demand from appropriate candidates should increase at the same pace.

10 We therefore recommend that additional funding for apprenticeships should not be limited to covering the costs of training provision for providers/employers to create more places, but should also include funding for those activities which young people and their parents identified in our study would encourage more students to understand and choose vocational options, namely:

· Work experience

· General information and advice about vocational options

· Information from employers about their sector

· Taster sessions at college.

11 By improving provision of these four aspects of support for young people, apprenticeships will benefit by:

· An increase in the number of young people interested in vocational and work-based routes to success;

· An increase in the understanding of young people of the requirements and demands of such routes, leading to better retention and completion rates;

· A reduction in the number of young people erroneously choosing vocational pathways which are inappropriate (too demanding / not demanding enough) which will ensure better use of available resources;

· A reduction in drop-outs from vocational options, which will improve their status and impact with employers.

12 We understand that where there is a demonstrated need, additional funding for the latest policy initiative can be extremely helpful. The way additional funding is released in a piecemeal fashion does, however, have an impact on planning and can lead to a rush to submit tender documents within short timescales.

13 Nevertheless, extra funding for the areas recently specified by Government is welcome – engaging young people and employers through incentives is important; SMEs need incentives and support to begin to engage with this provision; and our own work with employers has highlighted that higher apprenticeships are a priority and we are therefore working on our own offer in building services/construction, engineering, business, IT and health and social care. Our recent research to be launched in Apprenticeship Week 2012, also confirms that these are some of the sectors where return on investment can be greatest for employers, individuals – and therefore, for government. [8] The research finds that the Government can recoup its investment in terms of NI and tax contributions following the successful completion of an apprenticeship.

14 Our Building Business Through Apprenticeships report (February 2011) found that 89% of employers see apprenticeships as vital to the future success of their business over the next two years so employers understand their importance. However, there is clearly a mismatch between employers recognising this need and their ability to make use of the funding available. In the most recent survey of our customers (January 2012), 76% said the reason their business did not employ apprentices or had taken on fewer than previously expected was because they ‘could not afford apprentices’. The recession was the most pressing concern amongst these customers and had led to a decline in the numbers offering apprenticeships. [9] Funding is, therefore, an important tool in influencing behaviour. We support the recent announcement to incentivise SMEs to take on apprentices and believe this is important step forward if SMEs are to recognise the benefits of apprenticeships and is necessary support to kick start their own programmes. In a survey of Business in the Community members by City & Guilds (to be published Apprenticeship Week 2012), we asked employers if financial incentives would encourage them to take on apprentices. The majority agreed and said that their preference for the allocation of funding would be for more support to employers not currently employing apprentices through a training allowance or national insurance rebate. Only a small number opted for tax credits.

Q3 Are apprenticeships of a high enough quality to benefit apprentices and their employers? Should there be more Level 3 apprenticeships?

Career development

15 Quality is about more than time served but we understand that part of the quality comes from being given the time to practise your discipline and receive support from your trainer and employer. It may be possible for some people to complete components of their apprenticeship more quickly than others. If the qualification element is completed more quickly – dependent on the individual apprentice and employer – we believe there should be a period of indenture where the apprentice is indentured to the company for a stated time period. The length of indenture should be dependent on the sector and level and it should have its own objectives to enhance innovation and practiced occupational competence to raise standards in the sector. This makes the experience meaningful – the apprentice can learn more about their sector’s values, their workplace and relevant job roles and the employer can benefit, as part of their workforce plan, from having the apprentice in place for a structured amount of time. It would also prove that the apprentice is capable of demonstrating, repetitively and consistently, the acquisition of knowledge and application of skills at the benchmark required.

16 City & Guilds works with Tesco to support the delivery of their apprenticeship programme which has been rated as outstanding. 85% of apprentices successfully complete their programme with 30% of last year’s successful apprentices going on to further career development programmes. Similarly, City & Guilds works with Asda’s Skills Academy through which the retailer is committed to giving staff not just a job, but a career. Both of these programmes demonstrate that the quality is right for those employers and the skills are transferable across that industry.

17 Standards embedded in the apprenticeship programme are determined by SSCs in conjunction with employer consultation. ‘Quality’ of technical standards or competence is therefore dependent on the frequency of review for national occupational standards and the definition of capability they describe. Some sectors have determined that the apprentice’s role is appropriate at a specified level, which relates to the wider sector and business job structures – it relates to the job content not the learning programme. Debate on the subject of ‘quality’ of apprenticeship needs to clarify whether the term refers to standards, learning time or occupational level and what comparative criteria are used to evaluate it.

Young people’s perception

18 Findings from CSD’s research suggest a real need to improve young people’s perceptions around the quality of the vocational route. Young people interviewed stated they would be keen to participate in challenging, high quality vocational routes. Better guidance would help them choose both the right pathway and the right level for their aspirations and abilities. It is clear many students believe they are capable of more demanding learning, which is a fault of the decision-making process rather than an indication of the quality of the qualifications.

19 The findings of CSD’s research suggest that young people associate certain words more strongly with vocational qualifications, compared to general academic qualifications. This chart shows, for example, how strongly ‘employment’ is associated with vocational qualifications.

20 The quality of our provision at City & Guilds is consistently well regarded. [10] In many industries, achieving your City & Guilds provides a licence to practise that employers in that sector understand – but for some, they may only find out about this after they have started down another path or, in some instances, already been viewed as a failure in the academic community. To address misconceptions around the quality of vocational programmes and particularly apprenticeships, we urge the Government to invest strategically in careers advice and guidance. The decision not to include face to face careers guidance in the Education Act has been widely debated and we will only know the impact this in years to come. It is our belief that the Wolf Review offered a significant opportunity to address misconceptions around vocational education and training, including apprenticeship routes and we think that this opportunity would have been better achieved with the continued support for face to face careers guidance in schools. We accept that teachers cannot be expected to be experts in all areas of the curriculum and that the notion of ‘impartial’ careers advice and guidance may be difficult to achieve. To add balance, we need to ensure that there are a coherent set of guidelines and trained advisors are available to provide the support young people and their teachers require so that there are fewer ‘dead-ends’ and resources are more efficiently distributed across different pathways.

Flexibility

21 Business in the Community (BITC) member employers told us that flexibility is one of the most important criteria for apprenticeships and that it is important that quality and flexibility are balanced. Further, a survey by City & Guilds in the last quarter of 2011 of customers offering apprenticeships, found that 85% of respondents cited ‘flexibility’ as the most important element in choosing apprenticeship programmes. This was by far the most popular answer – the next most important factor was ‘return on investment’ for 51% of the interviewees. [11] In the same survey, providers said that employers rated quality and flexibility as equally important. This is why we believe it is so important that we can create apprenticeship frameworks with employers that meet agreed quality standards and are directly responsive to their needs.

22 As already discussed, apprenticeships in the UK are different from the European model – here, they are for work training purposes. That’s why they should be available for all ages. So the quality criteria by which we judge apprenticeships needs to be clear – in the UK, it should be about the fact that the apprenticeship provides the skills required to participate wholeheartedly in your industry.

23 We now have apprenticeships at Levels 2, 3, 4 and 5, with the latter offering opportunities not just for 18/19 year olds progressing from Level 3 Apprenticeships or Level 3 vocational qualifications studied full-time at college (a perfectly acceptable route) but also for graduates without a vocational degree, who could also benefit from a Higher Level Apprenticeship. It is this multi-access characteristic that makes the UK apprenticeship model significantly different from others.

24 City & Guilds does, however, support the DfE position that 16-18 year old apprentices should have access to a broad programme of learning within their apprenticeship as they would in full time education. In addition, we believe that continuing to study maths and English post-16 is of benefit to all young people. The argument is clear where someone is looking to move into sectors like engineering and construction where high levels of mathematical ability are a cornerstone of the subject. For this reason, GCSEs may not be the most suitable or the only qualification option available. Not only are they not suited to all learners, they are not right for all industries. The school system has an important role to play in ensuring young people reach adequate levels of literacy and numeracy but additional support is also required to continue to develop these skills in sector-specific contexts.

25 Apprentices can, and in most cases do, develop and use a wide range of mathematical skills and communication techniques as part of their vocational learning. It is clear that when such learning is embedded into a vocational programme and has a ‘real-life’ context that learning is most successful. It is therefore, vital that more emphasis is placed on this form of learning within the school curriculum.

26 Employers tell us that the qualifications that contribute to the make up of apprenticeships are important. In some sectors, National Occupational Standards can be out of date and, therefore, the associated NVQ is outmoded. For example, at roundtables hosted by City & Guilds to discuss apprenticeships as part of our Million Extra campaign, we were told that there is shortage of employers who will recruit apprentices and a concern that in some instances the structure of the apprenticeship needs to change. They specifically felt that the standards on which apprenticeships were based do not always keep pace with developments in the sector, where the requirements for those standards are set by Sector Skills Councils. An example was given where the Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for Wales (SASW) pathways do not fit the apprenticeship work undertaken in industry, particularly for the higher levels 4 and 5 in Craft Engineering. Normally, awarding organisations will adapt their qualifications, as appropriate, in response to such feedback but with apprenticeships this control lies in the hands of SSCs and sector bodies.

Appropriate level

27 We think creating apprenticeships at the appropriate level is important. That might be at Level 2, 3, 4 and above. The level is dependent on the sector and there is often the requirement for different levels of apprenticeship within an industrial sector. City & Guilds has received significant feedback from industry bodies, Business in the Community members, training providers and employers that higher level apprenticeships are required in a whole raft of industries. In particular, building services, health and social care, business, IT, engineering, hospitality and catering, and hair and beauty. This is why we are investing in products at these levels over the coming years.

28 Our stakeholders tell us that having apprentices at higher levels will help them respond to developments in their industry and ensure that they are ready for technological change. In some instances, the employers we meet say that this will help ensure they can continue to recruit UK-based employees rather than seeking to outsource their services overseas. In the IT sector for example, the short term option would be (and is) to recruit consultants and technicians in other countries. For UK plc, it is important that we have trained individuals and technicians who can keep pace with international competition and manage developments effectively. Within higher level apprenticeship programmes, therefore, we are seeking to provide both high level technical skills alongside management and leadership skills.

Q4 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?

29 We understand the need to incentivise SMEs to take on apprentices. Employers have indicated that financial incentives would be welcomed but any system of staged incentive such as a bonus must be introduced only if it is clear that it would result in more apprenticeship places being made available. Other incentives, should also be explored – some of them not directly financial but still costly. Support with the administrative burden would be appreciated by SMEs as this is one of the greatest barriers to taking on apprentices. Support should extend to help with recruitment of the most appropriate candidates; thorough and clear scheduling of commitments (from the apprentice and the employer) which helps manage expectations on all sides and thereby improve completion rates and resource allocation; and, simple and standardised arrangements for drawing down funding. These are all elements that would facilitate improved apprenticeship take-up. Incentive bonuses for the apprentices, themselves, could contribute to retention and enhance the attraction of vocational career routes from school.

30 Employers have told us (through a survey of Business in the Community members) that the most appropriate form of financial incentive would be a training allowance or national insurance rebate.

31 Employers have also told us that when looking to employ an apprentice, they would find a cost-benefit analysis of the value of employing an apprentice most useful, as well as information on a detailed training programme. We recognise this is difficult to achieve but better tracking of apprenticeships in a way that supports development would help employers.

32 CSD’s research gave some clear pointers of what activities young people believe would improve understanding and choice of vocational options: Work experience; general information and advice about vocational options; information from employers about their sector; and taster sessions at college. We would therefore recommend that employer incentives include consideration of the costs of providing the following:

33 Work experience: for small firms, providing quality work experience can be time consuming and resource intensive. Enhancing an incentive payment related to apprenticeship where the company is also offering work experience would be a mechanism to encourage this.

34 Information about sectors/vocational options: SMEs which engage directly with schools, colleges, and careers providers should be rewarded and recognised. This need not be a specific financial incentive, but a meaningful public recognition of their contribution to improving understanding and enthusiasm for careers and qualifications which will results in economic growth and personal fulfilment.

Q5 Is the current funding arrangement for training of apprentices of 100% for 16-18 year olds and 50% for 19-24 year olds appropriate?

35 City & Guilds believes that the funding for 16-18 year olds is appropriate as it is comparable with full time education and training. It will become more important as the participation age rises.

36 A 50% funding rate for 19-24 year olds is perhaps misleading if in the future, the support available is only through FE loans. City & Guilds has concerns about whether the system of FE loans is something that can be supported long term and if they will be appropriate in all circumstances. Firstly, it has yet to be tested whether the introduction of loans will inhibit take up of FE amongst young people and secondly, as with HE loans, there is some research that the rate of default on repayment may mean that the Government can never gain back its full investment, making loans a costly option for provision. It may be advisable for Government to provide 50% funding for apprenticeships where there is a proven return on investment and in sectors which are strategic priorities for the UK economy. These would include sectors predicted for growth. More work needs to be done to understand whether employers would be willing to meet half the cost of an apprenticeship for this age group.

37 There are circumstances when people over the age of 25 can benefit from apprenticeships. Last year, Network Rail said that they felt over 25s should receive funding on the same basis as younger cohorts as they found older apprentices a useful addition to their workforce. The provision of apprenticeships for over 25s does not take opportunities away from younger cohorts in our experience. Press reports of the increase in take up of apprenticeships for those over 60 should be seen in perspective (less than 4,000 of the 279,000 apprenticeship starts were over 60 according to the last year of available figures). Evidence shows that over 50s are likely to be unemployed for longer and there is no longer such a thing as a job for life anymore - people can and often do have multiple careers now. For example, by employing older workers, B&Q are providing skills and experience that young people do not have and cannot gain in the same way. The age for participation in the workplace is also set to rise as people are expected to retire later in life. Rapid advances in technology, together with new processes and equipment implemented in the work place, requires up-skilling and re-skilling of current expertise to cope with the changes. Fresh thinking about reinvestment in workplace skills aimed at both ends of the employment spectrum – young and mature – is urgently needed from policy-makers.

3 February 2012

Appendix:

About the City & Guilds Group

City & Guilds is the UK’s leading vocational awarding organisation for work-based learning, committed to offering high quality standards, qualifications, courses and learning resources in 28 industry sectors, for employer delivery supported by over 8500 colleges and training providers worldwide. Our offer, including the content used within apprenticeship frameworks, is developed through extensive engagement with employers and providers to ensure it is of high quality, meets market needs and enables progression. We currently offer access to 84 apprenticeship frameworks at all existing levels. (There are currently 151 frameworks available in total). In a further 19 apprenticeships, we have qualifications that support these.

City & Guilds’ Institute for Leadership & Management is the UK’s largest leadership and management body, combining industry-leading qualifications and specialist member services. Two million people every year start courses leading to City & Guilds and ILM qualifications which span levels from basic skills to the highest standards of professional achievement at Level 7, and are designed to help people and businesses achieve growth, prosperity and success.

City & Guilds‘ Centre for Skills Development (CSD) is our not-for-profit research and development unit for vocational education and training. It works to influence and improve skills policy and practice worldwide through an evidence based approach.

The need to integrate evidence into skills policy and practice sits at the heart of what we do. That’s why we work closely with employers, industry bodies, public and private training providers, learners and policy makers to:

· understand current challenges and find evidence based solutions

· provide research findings that are relevant, practical and add value for employers, trainers, learners and government agencies

· link research, policy and practice by sharing evidence and good practice.

CSD recently undertook in-depth research into the views of young people and parents regarding different pathways and routes through learning. This research was published as New Directions: Young people’s and parents’ views of vocational education and careers guidance in September 2011.