5 Reform of apprenticeship standards
Trailblazers
74. The Government announced in October 2013 that,
following the principles of employer ownership set out in the
Richard Review, new apprenticeship standards would be developed
by employers.[93] Employers
were invited by Government to come together in sector-based groups
called Trailblazers to develop new apprenticeship standards in
their area. The most recent guidance for the third phase of Trailblazers
summarises the progress of the scheme so far:
· Phase
1 of the Trailblazers began in October 2013 in eight sectors.
They initially produced eleven apprenticeship standards in March
2014, and related assessment plans have since been approved for
most of these. The first apprentices started training towards
some Phase 1 standards in September 2014.
· Phase
2 of the Trailblazers began in March 2014 in 29 more sectors.
The first approved standards to be produced by this group were
published in August 2014. They are now working towards submitting
their assessment plans in early 2015.
· Phase
3 of the Trailblazers was announced in October 2014 covering 37
sectors, involving the development of more than 75 standards.[94]
The Government's intention is that all apprenticeships
starting from the 2017/18 academic year should be under the new
standards.[95]
INVOLVEMENT OF SMES
75. Submissions to our inquiry suggested that larger
firms have dominated the Trailblazer process. For example, the
Federation for Industry Sector Skills and Standards commented
that:
Despite the involvement of some micro and small
businesses a greater effort needs to be made to place them centrally
at the heart of standard and assessment development. Large businesses
have dominated the development of many of the new standards.[96]
76. This may in part be due to the time commitment
involved. The Association of Accounting Technicians reported that
their representative had had to attend half-day meetings weekly
over a two month period, which they describe as "simply not
practical for someone in a small accountancy firm".[97]
77. Some respondents questioned whether Trailblazers
met the needs of all employers or just those involved in Trailblazers.
JTL told us that:
[Trailblazers] are relatively small groups of
employers with little true SME representation given that the majority
of apprenticeship employers in the [Building Services Engineering]
sector are SMEs and often even micro businesses. This raises the
question will these standards meet the needs of the whole sector?[98]
EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT IN THE TRAILBLAZER
PROCESS
78. Ian Taylor, CEO of SkillsActive, told us about
employers' experiences of the Trailblazer process:
We are very employer-led and, through our Trailblazer,
we engaged with 323 employers. Unfortunately, the process managed
to disenfranchise and disenchant them […] because there was
a constant change of direction. The guidelines that were issued
were then changed and they were told that funding was not part
of the Trailblazer process, but then it was introduced halfway
through. We had employers walking away and saying, "We won't
be bothered with this."[99]
We also heard from David Harbourne of the Edge Foundation
that some employers did not want more involvement than they already
had in setting standards—many employers felt that the current
system met their needs.[100]
79. Tony Moloney, Head of Education and Skills at
National Grid, had a more positive perspective:
We found that it was very powerful to come together
under the industrial partnership for energy, and that it was enabling
to bring together 20-odd employers. We didn't just pick the big
asset owners, such as ourselves; we got the supply chain involved
in determining a standard.[101]
Ownership of standards post-Trailblazers
80. The Trailblazer programme is intended to conclude
in 2017.[102] We heard
concerns about what would happen to the new apprenticeship standards
once the scheme had concluded, and about who would ensure that
standards remained relevant to employers. Brian Wisdom, Chair
of the Federation for Industry Sector Skills and Standards, summarised
the issues:
In two years' time, when the Trailblazer groups
have disbanded […] if there is no industrial partnership
structure that covers the breadth of training that needs to happen,
how does it continue? Who does an employer go to when they have
a question about the standards? Who does an employer go to when
there has been a change in legislation that requires a resetting
of the standards, which will happen, or when international events
have changed things? This area is still completely undeveloped,
and I think it is really important that there is a self-sustaining
way of making sure that the quality and standards can be maintained.[103]
81. Addressing this point, the Minister told us:
You brought together a group of employers to
help to create a standard, and you obviously hope that they will
feel invested and that if they continue to be active in that industry
that they will continue to have a role in it. But you cannot presume
that. It may be with some people that the management changes or
the business focus will change, and that they will slip away.
That is why we in Government will always have a pretty active
role, ensuring that every Trailblazer, as it were, has a sort
of owner—not an individual company owner, but a group in
the industry that will take responsibility for it.
However, it is absolutely right that there may
well be some industries where, as it were, the collective organisation
is not quite so clearly defined, perhaps does not last and maybe
some people will fall away. Then, we have a responsibility as
a Government either to reform that or to check ourselves that
those standards are maintained and updated. So there will never
not be a role for Government.[104]
Following the session, the Minister wrote to the
Committee with further details about how the oversight of standards
might operate:
We are currently reviewing the operation of the
[Ministerial Advisory Panel on Apprenticeships] and the role it
may or may not play in a steady state system. As we develop the
Trailblazer process, there are a number of employer led models
of governance which are currently being designed. We are keen
to support their development in order to inform thinking about
wider governance within a steady state system. Once they have
entered into trial we will then make a more informed decision
on the way forward for the future governance of apprenticeships.[105]
Ensuring quality in new apprenticeship
standards
82. The evidence is unclear on whether increased
employer ownership is enough to guarantee quality in the new apprenticeship
standards. The Government has undoubtedly made improvements to
quality through the removal of programme-led apprenticeships and
frameworks lasting less than 12 months,[106]
but we have seen little direct evidence that the standards developed
by the Trailblazers will be inherently of better quality than
those they are replacing. The Government has argued that because
employers are involved in the design of apprenticeship standards,
businesses will therefore have greater confidence that apprenticeships
will provide for their needs.[107]
While this may be the case, it does not necessarily follow that
the new standards will be any better than those they are replacing.
83. According to the Government's own figures, there
have only been around 300 apprenticeship starts on the Trailblazer-developed
standards since September 2014.[108]
It is therefore too early to judge from the experiences of employers
and apprentices whether or not the new apprenticeship standards
represent an improvement in quality.
84. In evidence, the Minister outlined the process
for accrediting the new standards:
I will not sign off a Trailblazer standard for
use out there and for Government funding unless it has an assessment
that has been signed off by the panel that advises me as being
rigorous and independent. That assessment has to check whether
the apprentice has got from their apprenticeship what the taxpayer
has a right to expect for their money.[109]
While this suggests that there is sufficient oversight
of the assessments through which apprentices complete an apprenticeship,
it does not provide a method of assessing the quality of apprenticeship
provision more generally across different standards. It also raises
questions over whether any one panel, however talented and industrious
its members, is capable of properly evaluating standards assessments
from so many sectors.
Proliferation of apprenticeship
standards
85. Brian Wisdom, Chair of the Federation of Industry
Sector Skills and Standards, told us that the number of new standards
is growing rapidly:
The numbers that have been developed so far indicate
that there is going to be a significant proliferation of standards
and of groups setting those standards. Within that lie some potential
pitfalls, because of the need to ensure consistent quality across
the piece and to ensure that, fundamentally, those standards can
be maintained over a long period, given that we want apprenticeships
to last in perpetuity and not for two years, or as the servant
of political dogma, because we are talking about industry's future
and that has to be long term.
There is some real cause for making sure that
we have in place the governance and system that can support a
proliferation of standards if there needs to be a proliferation
of standards, to provide the opportunities and the quality that
people need, or not. Either way, I do not think that there is
a system in place for the future.[110]
He suggested that ultimately there might be around
1,500 different standards.[111]
This may be a desirable outcome, but as the Minister said to us:
We must not end up designing things of such specificity
that either they give people skills that are not really transferable,
or they relate to jobs that may not exist in four years' time.[112]
86. In supplementary evidence the Minister suggested
that in October 2015 he would "expect to be in a position
to make a judgement about where there are sufficient standards
to meet the needs of employers in different sectors and whether
there are gaps where we may need to stimulate employers to come
forward".[113]
This does not address the risk that there may be too many standards,
resulting in overly specific frameworks that do not build transferrable
skills.
Maths and English requirements
87. At the moment, apprentices on a level 2 apprenticeship
must achieve level 1[114]
in English and maths in order to complete an apprenticeship. This
can be done either via GCSEs or a functional skills assessment.
Apprentices on apprenticeships under the new Trailblazer standards
must study towards level 2 (GCSE A*-C or equivalent) and take
the test before completing their apprenticeship.[115]
As part of the Government's reforms to apprenticeship standards,
the DfE is promoting the use of GCSEs to meet the English and
maths requirements in new apprenticeships.[116]
88. In their written submission, SkillsActive expressed
concerns about the use of the revised GCSE for apprentices:
Many school and college leavers aged 16 and 17
entering apprenticeships have poor English and Maths skills. SkillsActive
supports the decision to set level 1 English and maths as the
entry requirement for Level 2 apprenticeships and level 2 English
and Maths for Level 3 apprenticeships.
We do not believe, however, that the revised
GCSE is the appropriate programme because there is insufficient
emphasis on basic literacy and numeracy. Functional skills are
well established with employers and should remain available to
improve numeracy and literacy standards of apprentices.[117]
Kate Stock, CEO of Smart Training, agreed that the
current functional skills assessment was more appropriate for
assessing English and maths capability. She argued that English
and maths qualifications needed to be relevant to the vocational
occupation being studied:
The functional skills that we have are good.
They are challenging. They were only fully integrated into apprenticeships
a couple of years ago. I think you will find that, across the
board, all apprenticeship providers are still struggling to implement
functional skills properly. Where they do not work is where there
is no relevance to the vocation, which is created by the apprenticeship
framework.[118]
89. The Minister argued that employer recognition
of the GCSE brand meant that anyone who might be able to achieve
grade C at GCSE in English and maths should be given an opportunity
to do so.[119] This
is a worthwhile aim, but others argued that if the new GCSEs were
viewed as more academic—Sally Hunt said that English was
"actively focusing more on traditional literature"[120]—there
was a risk that people who would benefit from more practical applied
learning would lose out. As Brian Wisdom, Chair of the FISSS,
told us, "if you are motivated by catering, actually calculating
the ingredients for a dish is as efficient a way of learning maths
as the traditional way".[121]
90. The Minister announced in November that the Education
and Training Foundation would be reviewing English and maths qualifications
to ensure they were meaningful for employers. UKCES summarised
the aims of the review in a press release:
The review will work with employers to consider
the best ways to achieve and accredit maths and English skills
in ways that employers recognise and respect.[122]
Conclusions and recommendations
91. The
level of employer involvement in the Trailblazer scheme shows
that there is an appetite for greater ownership of standards among
many employers.
92. Increased
employer ownership of apprenticeship standards is a worthwhile
goal, but the Trailblazer process is at risk of being dominated
by larger companies at the expense of SMEs. The success of the
scheme will rest on whether wider industry sectors have confidence
in the standards the Trailblazers have developed.
93. We recommend that the Government review, and
come forward with proposals to strengthen, the involvement of
SMEs in the Trailblazer scheme, accepting that most will be unable
to give as much time as larger employers.
94. While it
is clear that the Government is aware of the issue of ownership
of standards in the post-Trailblazer environment, more work is
needed to ensure that employers and providers can have confidence
that apprenticeship standards will be reviewed and maintained
once the Trailblazer scheme has concluded.
95. We recommend that the Government set out its
expectations about what will happen following the conclusion of
the Trailblazer scheme. This should cover ongoing ownership of
new apprenticeship standards, how new standards will be developed
or existing standards revised in response to future needs, and
who will provide oversight and leadership of these processes.
Provision for a meaningful involvement from SMEs in the post-Trailblazer
environment should form part of these expectations.
96. We recommend that the Government set out how
it intends to evaluate the success of the Trailblazer programme
in the longer term, particularly identifying how the quality of
new standards should be judged.
97. The Education
and Training Foundation's review of English and maths qualifications
may propose a solution to the problem of setting appropriate requirements
for apprentices who have not achieved Grade C at GCSE in maths
and English which suits both apprentices and employers. In the
meantime apprentices should be allowed to take a functional skills
qualification, rather than being pushed to take GCSEs which may
deter perfectly able candidates from becoming apprentices.
98. We recommend that the Trailblazers be allowed
to choose which level 2 qualification in English and maths is
required to be studied as part of their apprenticeships. The Government
should encourage Trailblazers to work with the Education and Training
Foundation project looking at English and maths qualifications.
93 BIS, The Future of Apprenticeships in England: Implementation Plan, October 2013,
p.23 Back
94
BIS, The Future of Apprenticeships in England: Guidance for Developers of Apprenticeship Standards and related Assessment Plans,
October 2014, paragraph 3 Back
95
BIS, The Future of Apprenticeships in England: Guidance for Developers of Apprenticeship Standards and related Assessment Plans,
October 2014, paragraph 3 Back
96
Federation for Industry Sector Skills and Standards () p.3 Back
97
Association of Accounting Technicians () para 22 Back
98
JTL () para 14 Back
99
Q338 Back
100
Q108 [David Harbourne] Back
101
Q351 Back
102
BIS, The Future of Apprenticeships in England: Guidance for Developers of Apprenticeship Standards and related Assessment Plans,
October 2014, paragraph 3 Back
103
Q373 [Brian Wisdom] Back
104
Q432 Back
105
DfE () p.2 Back
106
DfE () para 1.11 Back
107
Ibid., para 3.9 Back
108
"More than 700 employers to design top quality apprenticeships",
BIS Press Release, 23 October 2014 Back
109
Q429 Back
110
Q379 Back
111
Q350 Back
112
Q423 Back
113
DfE (AAT0115) p.1 Back
114
GCSE grades D-G or equivalent. Back
115
BIS, The Future of Apprenticeships in England: Implementation Plan,
October 2013, pp.13-14 Back
116
Ibid. Back
117
SkillsActive (AAT0036) paras 31-32 Back
118
Q366 Back
119
Q465 Back
120
Q299 Back
121
Q365 [Brian Wisdom] Back
122
"UKCES welcomes employer involvement in review of maths and English qualifications",
UKCES press release, 19 November 2014 Back
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