Conclusions and recommendations
The quality and range of apprenticeship provision
1. The
number of young people starting apprenticeships in recent years
has been a consistent but low proportion of the numbers of young
people involved in vocational education. We welcome the improvement
in the number of quality apprenticeships for young people lasting
at least 12 months but overall numbers have not increased. (Paragraph
30)
2. 16-19 year olds
tend to undertake level 2 apprenticeships, which vary in the degree
of demand made of the apprentice. (Paragraph 31)
3. The Government
is seeking to increase the number of apprenticeships by extending
the range of sectors in which apprenticeships that are available.
It is important to ensure that such growth does not sacrifice
quality, as apprenticeships should always require substantial
training and always deliver a substantial uplift in earning power
for the apprentice. Level 2 apprenticeships that comply with these
principles should be retained. (Paragraph 32)
4. Excessive emphasis
on apprenticeships as a means to combat youth unemployment risks
reinforcing the myth that apprenticeships are a second class option
and damages the apprenticeship brand. (Paragraph 33)
5. The central challenge
for the Government is to incentivise an increase in the number
of young people undertaking apprenticeships at the same time as
improving the quality of provision and its impact on earnings.
(Paragraph 34)
Benefits of apprenticeships
6. There
is a general consensus in the evidence that government investment
in apprenticeships represents good value for money and provides
a range of benefits for employers. (Paragraph 44)
7. Good quality apprenticeships
can provide long term benefits for young people. (Paragraph 45)
8. We recommend
that the Government review the benefits provided by funding adult
apprenticeships and apprenticeships for young people respectively
and assess whether more or all of the money would be better spent
on 16 to 19 year-olds. (Paragraph 46)
9. We recommend
that the Government expand the existing matched administrative
data sets on apprenticeship outcomes with information on the occupation
and industry in which individuals are employed. This would help
prospective apprentices make informed comparisons between different
frameworks and would aid in evaluating the impact of apprenticeships
policy. (Paragraph 47)
10. We recommend
that the Government review the data collected on apprenticeships
to allow assessment of the effect on income of different apprenticeship
frameworks. (Paragraph 48)
11. Having accepted
our fifth principle, that apprenticeships should be income-transformative,
the Government should set out how it will put this into practice.
(Paragraph 49)
Engaging young people
12. Misunderstanding
by schools of the content, progression opportunities and benefits
of apprenticeships is compounded by a cultural preference for
the academic over the vocational and by incentives to fill sixth
form places rather than offer alternatives to young people. (Paragraph
67)
13. Careers advice
in schools continues to be inadequate for most young people. We
welcome the collection of destination data by the Government and
the opportunity this provides to see what happens to pupils when
they leave schools and colleges. There is little evidence, however,
that this has sufficiently altered incentives for schools. (Paragraph
68)
14. We recommend
that the Government urgently review the incentives for schools
to provide good quality careers advice and recognise that the
mantra of "trusting schools" does not work when the
interests of schools and young people are not aligned.
(Paragraph 69)
15. We welcome the
increased emphasis that Ofsted is putting on careers advice when
inspecting schools, but agree with Ofsted that their oversight
alone provides insufficient incentive for schools to change. (Paragraph
70)
16. We recommend
that the Government require schools to publish a careers plan
and work towards the Quality in Careers standard.
(Paragraph 71)
17. The Government
should encourage schools to incorporate work experience into the
14-16 curriculum. (Paragraph 72)
18. The Young Apprenticeships
scheme, which provided 14 to 16 year-olds with a credible vocational
option that combined academic study with regular work-based experience,
was considered effective at delivering good quality work experience.
We recommend that the Government look at reviving this programme
or developing a model that replicates its core academic and work-based
components for this age group. (Paragraph
73)
Reform of apprenticeship standards
19. The
level of employer involvement in the Trailblazer scheme shows
that there is an appetite for greater ownership of standards among
many employers. (Paragraph 91)
20. 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. (Paragraph 92)
21. 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. (Paragraph 93)
22. 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. (Paragraph 94)
23. 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. (Paragraph 95)
24. 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.
(Paragraph 96)
25. 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. (Paragraph
97)
26. 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. (Paragraph
98)
Reform of apprenticeship funding
27. Many
employers support the principles behind the Government's reforms
to apprenticeship funding but the majority of witnesses to this
inquiry expressed strong concerns about the proposed methods of
implementation. The Government's initial proposals were complex
and could have imposed an unnecessary administrative burden on
employers that would have been particularly felt by SMEs. We congratulate
the Government on listening and dropping them. (Paragraph 115)
28. Swift development
of new apprenticeship funding proposals is vital to end uncertainty
and make sure employers are not deterred from involvement. Further
delay caused by the General Election or otherwise could undermine
efforts both to drive up quality and engage more employers in
apprenticeships. (Paragraph 116)
29. We recommend
that the new apprenticeship funding regime offer SMEs a choice
between taking a lead on administering the funding or contracting
it out to a provider. (Paragraph 117)
30. We recommend
that the Government clarify what role training providers, local
authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships and others may have
in assisting employers with the administration of apprenticeships
under the new funding arrangements. (Paragraph
118)
31. The Government
should ensure that the employment of young apprentices is made
more, not less, attractive to employers, and particularly small
employers, as a result of the funding changes. The benefits of
taking on young apprentices also need to be widely and effectively
advertised. (Paragraph 119)
32. We recommend
that the Government set out in advance the criteria by which the
value for money and broader success of the new funding approach
can and will be evaluated. (Paragraph
120)
33. Apprentices accept
a lower wage in recognition of the investment by employers in
their training and the promise of a significant uplift at the
end of the programme. We support this principle but this lower
wage is rightly a legal minimum and we are concerned that some
young people are not receiving it. (Paragraph 121)
34. The Government
should take steps to ensure that all employers who flout the law
on the apprenticeship minimum wage are identified and swift action
is taken against them. Training providers should educate apprentices
about their employment rights and how to take action if their
rights are breached. (Paragraph 122)
35. Any review
of the apprenticeship minimum wage should recognise the need for
the internal economics of the apprenticeship to add up for the
employer, and particularly the small employer, or the number of
apprenticeships on offer will drop further still. So long as a
low minimum wage for young apprentices is accompanied by a high
quality, sustained input from employers and a transformative impact
on earnings afterwards, then it can and should be supported.
(Paragraph 123)
Increasing employer engagement
36. The
Government should set out how reforms to funding and standards
will improve the benefits employers receive from engaging in apprenticeships.
(Paragraph 129)
37. We recommend
that the Government explore the most effective measures to encourage
more employers to take on apprentices.
(Paragraph 130)
Traineeships
38. The
impact of traineeships is currently unclear. Where employers and
providers have engaged with the programme there are examples of
positive outcomes for participants. There is a clear need for
a pre-employment programme to help young people into employment
or apprenticeships. (Paragraph 137)
39. The Government
should provide greater clarity about the purpose of traineeships
and what the success criteria for the programme are.
(Paragraph 138)
40. The Government
should ensure that Job Centre Plus staff are able to advise people
properly about the impact of traineeships on benefit entitlement.
(Paragraph 139)
41. The Government
should promote the activities of the best performing local authorities
so that best practice in identifying and delivering services to
young people at risk of disengagement is shared.
(Paragraph 140)
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