Business
Secretary Vince Cable today announced details of how Government
funding will support thousands of apprenticeships up to degree
equivalent, enabling employers, colleges and universities to
deliver the advanced skills most critical for growth.
£18.7m from the Higher Apprenticeship Fund will support the
development of 19,000 new Higher Apprenticeships in sectors
including construction, advanced engineering, insurance and
financial services. Around 250 employers, including Leyland
Trucks, Unilever, TNT, and Burberry will benefit from world class,
nationally accredited technical training delivered in the
workplace.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said:
“Investing in skills is central to our drive to boost business
and productivity and make the UK more competitive.
“By radically expanding the number of degree level
apprenticeships for young people, we will put practical learning
on a level footing with academic study. This is an essential step
that will help rebalance our economy and build a society in which
opportunity and reward are fairly and productively distributed.”
Skills Minister John Hayes said:
“By reviving apprenticeships the Government has started to build
a world class skills system to rival our country’s great
reputation for academic excellence. We’ve driven up quality across
the board, more than doubled the number of new advanced
apprenticeships, created new routes into higher levels of
practical learning and given employers more control of how the
training budget is spent. We’re now targeting resources even more
closely on the skills, firms and sectors that will lead economic
recovery."
The winning bids were unveiled as Dr Cable visited the
distribution company TNT in Bodmin, Cornwall. TNT is part of a
successful bid to the fund and will help deliver Higher
Apprenticeships in Express Logistics.
The funding announced today is part of a £25m fund for Higher
Apprenticeships announced in July. A second round of bids to the
fund will be invited early in the New Year, focusing closely on
further areas needed to support economic growth.
Nineteen partnerships comprising employers and training providers
will receive a total of £17m, following a competitive bidding
process. A further £1.7m has been invested in two new
‘Trailblazer’ projects in information technology and science,
engineering and manufacturing, delivering 6,000 Higher Apprenticeships.
Recent reforms to the apprenticeships programme include
initiatives to cut bureaucracy, provide financial incentives for
small firms to hire apprentices, and reduce the time it takes an
employer to employ an apprentice. Provisional data indicates
record growth in apprenticeships numbers, with some 440,000 people
starting an apprenticeship in 2010/11.
Notes to Editors:
1. The following projects will be supported by the Higher
Apprenticeship Fund (HAF investment in bold) following a
competitive bidding process to identify the most innovative
proposals to meet employer’s skills requirements:
* The development by City of Bristol College of a range of Higher
Apprenticeships from Levels 4 (first year of degree equivalent) to
6 (full honours degree equivalent) will meet the skills demands of
local businesses in aerospace, engineering, construction,
healthcare, graphic design and business skills. 600
apprenticeships will be delivered in partnership with firms
including Airbus and Bristol Media. £1,113,000
* A Higher
Level Apprenticeship Science framework at Levels 4 and 5 developed
by Cogent, the UK's industry skills body for chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, nuclear, oil and gas, petroleum and polymer
businesses will deliver 430 apprenticeships and help employers
including Fujifilm, Sellafield and Unilever meet the need for
advanced skills. £856,000
* New Higher Apprenticeships at
Levels 4, 5 and 6 in facilities development will be created by
Asset Skills, the Sector Skills Council for facilities management.
560 apprenticeships will help address skills needs in firms
including Rentokill Initial, Carillion and G4S. £1,105,400
*
The creation of a new Higher Apprenticeship framework in
employment related services by Babington Business College will
deliver 750 apprenticeship opportunities, benefitting employers
including Pertemps, Remploy and The Shaw Trust. £961,600
* A
new Level 5 apprenticeship framework in human resource management
created by the Council for Administration will create 725 Higher
Apprenticeship opportunities and benefit employers such as BT, IBM
and Legal and General. £790,800
* A new Higher Apprenticeship
Framework in project management at minimum Level 4 designed by the
Council for Administration will create 725 apprenticeships and
serve firms including BAE Systems, Tata Steel and Cambridge
University Press. £798, 400
* A new national Level 4 Higher
Apprenticeship in emergency care to be developed by Chesterfield
College will create 750 training opportunities serving NHS
Ambulance Trusts and Savoy Ventures. £1,086,000
* The
University of Derby will develop a Higher Apprenticeship model
that can be tailored to meet any job role in any business and in
any sector. It will also launch a specialist Higher Apprenticeship
Framework at Levels 4 and 5, to develop the skills of work based
trainers and educators. Organisations that will benefit from 450
apprenticeship opportunities include Unionlearn and Systems
Training. £900,000
* The Financial Skills Partnership will
develop two new Level 4 Higher Apprenticeships delivering 270
opportunities in insurance and banking and stockbroking. This will
help create a ‘technician class’ in the sector and open up
vocational training routes on a par with Higher Education,
benefitting firms including HSBC, Nationwide and Axa Insurance.
£346,700
* Hull College will develop a new Higher
Apprenticeship which will support the expanding Express (parcel)
Logistics sector. 250 apprenticeships will be created in firms
including TNT UK and DHL. £501,200
* Leeds College of Building
will develop a new Higher Level apprenticeship at Level 5 in the
sustainable built environment, to help maximise the use of green
methods of construction, recruit more women and ethnic minorities
and address concerns about an ageing workforce. 500
apprenticeships will benefit firms including Persimmon Homes and
Wilmot Dixon. £1,000,000
* Middlesex University will develop a
new Higher Apprenticeship framework in Construction Operations
Management and in specialist roles such as heritage and civil
engineering. Construction firms that stand to benefit from the
expected 1,200 Higher Apprenticeships include Balfour Beatty,
Costain, Kier Group and Midas. £1,489,000
* Northwest
Automotive Alliance will create a Higher Apprenticeship focusing
on vehicle manufacture, to meet the needs of the automotive sector
in the North West, including Bentley Motors, Leyland Trucks and GM
Vauxhall. 501 higher apprenticeships will be delivered.
£340,000
* Newcastle College Group will develop a High Level
Apprenticeship in energy engineering, creating new opportunities
to progress into foundation, honours and masters degrees. There
will be 120 new apprenticeship opportunities in firms including
Bell Valves and Shepherd Offshore. £241,000
* North West Kent
College will deliver a Higher Apprenticeship framework in
sustainable building, supporting the construction, engineering and
facilities management sectors. Employers that will benefit from
500 Higher Apprenticeships include Bovis, I-Build Eco and Lend
Lease. £1,000,000
* Pearson in Practice will develop Higher
Apprenticeships for the public relations industry, delivering 600
apprenticeship places and involving organisations such as Edexcel.
£1,200,000
* PERA Innovation will develop a Higher
Apprenticeship pathway in research and development to serve the
advanced engineering sector, focusing primarily on Oxfordshire.
Employers that will benefit include Oxford Instruments and
Infineum. £465,800
* The Peter Jones Academy for Enterprise
will develop and implement a new apprenticeship in innovation and
growth at level 5, creating 1,020 apprenticeships. This will build
on an existing Level 3 apprenticeship and enable learners to
progress into senior business development roles within SMEs, as
well as larger employers such as Orange, T-Mobile and Jaguar Land
Rover. £401,300
* PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PWC) will
develop a Higher Apprenticeship programme in professional
services, focusing on tax, audit and consultancy management.
Organisations that will help promote and deliver 500
apprenticeships include The Institute of Chartered Accountants and
Association of Taxation Technicians. £1,500,000
* Skillset,
the sector skills council for the creative industries, will
develop a Level 4 apprenticeship to meet skills needs in
advertising, creative and digital media and fashion and textiles.
Burberry, PMA and Starcom MediaVest will help deliver 500
apprenticeships. £938,800
The following Trailblazer projects will receive a total of £1.7
million funding to deliver an additional 6,000 Higher
Apprenticeships. They were not part of the competitive bidding
process:
* An information technology Higher Apprenticeship project
delivered by IT sector skills council e-Skills will deliver 1,000
apprenticeships, in partnership with employers including BT. £1,185,000
* SEMTA, the skills body for science, engineering and
manufacturing technologies, will develop an advanced manufacturing
Higher Apprenticeship project, supporting 4,800 new
apprenticeships nationwide. £500,000
2. The projects above will directly support 19,000 additional
Higher Apprenticeships - but they will lead to many more than this
as the frameworks are rolled out to other providers and employers.
The National Apprenticeship Service is working with employers and
providers to ensure that these new frameworks are fit for purpose,
meet clearly defined needs and build capacity to deliver the
expected growth in Higher Apprenticeship numbers.
3. Projects are for 2011/12 and 2012/13. The Higher
Apprenticeship Fund is development funding and will be contracted
and paid to the contractor against a schedule based on outcomes
agreed in the contract. Funding can be used for engaging key
employers, engaging employees, improving provision and developing
products. Payments will also be linked to the direct creation of
Higher Apprenticeship opportunities. It will not be used to
substitute the employer contribution to Higher Apprenticeship
training costs or meet the cost of delivery.
4. The Government’s response to the sector wide consultation New
Challenges New Changes today sets out reforms that will make
further education providers more responsive to the needs of local
employers in delivering apprenticeships and other training. These
include a simplified FE funding system; freedoms and flexibility
for colleges and providers; the National Careers Service;
improving adult literacy and numeracy; global FE; excellence in
teaching and reforming FE sector governance.
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