WIREDGOV

It seems that, in the apprenticeship world at least, 10% has been the figure to remember this month. We’ve seen the revelation that only around 10% of Apprenticeship Levy ‘budget’ has been spent so far, and that, despite rumours she might waive it, the Skills Minister has retained the 10% contribution for non-levy paying employers to take on an apprentice.

We’ve also seen that, from this month, large employers will be able to transfer up to 10% of their apprenticeship levy funds to multiple businesses in their supply chain, in a move to ‘help boost the number of high-quality apprenticeships across the country’. Previously, the policy was that the funds could only go to one named employer.

The Department for Education (DfE) has also published what will (hopefully) be the final version of the funding rules for 2018/19, published here.

There’s recently been some clarity emerging from the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA), both in their Strategic Plan document, which sets out the IfA’s aspirations and measures of success over the next five years, and The Institute for Apprenticeships Business Plan 2018/19, which sets out how they’re going to achieve this in 2018/19.

By March 2019, they’ll have published a full set of Occupational Maps covering all routes and these maps will be used to inform the design of T levels and apprenticeship standards. They’ll also have changed and simplified some of the policy criteria for approval of apprenticeship occupations and standards, with the aim of having 400 apprenticeship standards to be published for delivery by April 2019.

NCFE is committed to providing the best for our customers and we always strive to keep you up to date with the latest news and updates from the sector. With apprenticeships under more scrutiny than ever, and with the seemingly endless reforms taking place to funding, what we can all focus on is making sure we continue to offer the best apprenticeships for our learners. Our Apprenticeship Services team and End-point Assessment offer has grown considerably over the past year, we’re really excited about the future of apprenticeships and look forward to what the coming year brings.