Blog

Hello, and it’s good to be here, thank you for inviting me.

State of the nation

I want to start by recognising the great job that you do. In recent inspections, two thirds of apprenticeship providers have come out as good or outstanding. This shows that we have a lot of high-quality training in the sector – but of course, there is still work to do.

High-quality apprenticeships are particularly important right now. They play such a big part in making sure that the economy has the right skills to grow. And while they may be mainly aimed at young people, they can be just as valuable for those wanting a career change.

On a recent visit to a learning provider, I met Lauren. Lauren had already completed a childcare apprenticeship, but when she started working, she realised it wasn’t the right career for her. As she’d really enjoyed her first apprenticeship, she returned to the same learning provider for a business administration apprenticeship. And the learning provider then hired her, and she now works in their digital marketing team.

This is a wonderful example of how your work makes a difference. You can help the country meet its skills needs. And you help individuals to find the career that works for them, personally and professionally.

Workforce challenges

The fact that so many of you are offering this kind of high-quality training is particularly impressive given some of the challenges you have faced and are still facing.

Many of you are struggling with workforce pressures. Recruiting and retaining staff is difficult in all kinds of education, and beyond. And these difficulties are even greater for specialist staff, many of whom can earn far more working in their sectors.

We also know that, with the current economic uncertainties, smaller employers are less willing to take on apprentices. So, opportunities for level 2 and level 3 apprenticeships are continuing to decline.

English and maths

And we know that many of your apprentices have had their education hampered by the pandemic. You may well have young people who are behind where you need them to be in English and maths. You may also be having to do more to work out which apprentices need additional help. This leaves you and their employer with the challenge of getting them get to the right level.

We know that some of you have concerns about the reformed functional skills qualifications. You think they are harder to pass. The fact that pass rates are lower might support this, but of course there are other factors at play such as disruption to younger apprentices’ education.

It is also important to remember that functional skills tests are summative tests not diagnostic assessments. They may not be the best tools to identify what apprentices still need to be taught. You need to assess their skills properly and make sure that you’re genuinely helping them to improve, not just to pass an assessment.

Just think of all the subjects that you teach and all the different ways that you use English and maths every day. Care apprentices need to measure medicines accurately. Hospitality apprentices need to measure ingredients and calculate portion sizes. Business analyst apprentices need to interpret data and client requirements. Management apprentices need to communicate with their teams, write job specifications and create marketing materials. The list goes on, but these examples show how important English and maths are at every level and in every subject.

So, you do need to think carefully about how to assess and improve your apprentices’ English and maths skills. You should be asking yourselves the questions:

• Are you identifying apprentices’ starting points when they begin their training?
• Are you using the information you gather to plan a suitable curriculum?
• Are English and maths teachers working with vocational trainers to help apprentices learn these skills in a way that’s relevant to their other training?

And it’s not just younger apprentices or those at lower levels who need help with English and maths. We recently visited a police constabulary that was training police community support officers as part of a level 4 apprenticeship. Those apprentices did need to be taught spelling and grammar because their notes and statements weren’t always fit to be used as evidence in court.

Ready for work

We do also know that some new apprentices don’t have a good attitude to work. They may not have done any work experience in school or college, nor had a part-time job. This can make the start of on-the job training difficult and strain employer relationships which also adds to your workload.

Funding

Of course, funding plays a big part in many of these challenges, and in their solutions. We know there are concerns about the complexity of the apprenticeship levy. And we know that several billion pounds have been returned to the Treasury since the levy was introduced which could have funded many more apprenticeships.

It’s encouraging to hear that the amount being returned is declining which could indicate that businesses are taking on more apprentices. But these new apprenticeships tend to be at higher levels, which are more costly to teach. And the recent data does show a further decline in starts at levels 2 and 3 and for under-19s. Skills gaps often are at the lowest levels, and it is important to maximise opportunities for under-19s.

We welcome the UCAS announcement that it’s extending its service to apprenticeship vacancies. Along with initiatives to improve school careers guidance, this could significantly improve young people’s awareness and take-up of apprenticeships.

We also welcome the Institute’s announcement that it’s reviewing funding for the 20 highest enrolling apprenticeships. But we know that some of you are already cutting apprenticeships because they aren’t economically viable. In a few cases, providers are leaving the market completely. We know that the sector is resilient and reactive, but it’s wasteful to lose good capacity only to have to rebuild it.

I hope that these kinds of changes can accelerate improvement in the sector. We will continue to play our part by highlighting good practice and identifying what needs to improve.

A need for improvement

Because, while many of you are doing a great job, we do have concerns about some parts of the sector. We know the current environment is tough, but it is our role to report on the quality of provision as we find it. We will always acknowledge the context, but we can’t soft-pedal on inspection. That wouldn’t be fair to you, and it wouldn’t be fair to the apprentices you train. And by reporting accurately, we can then make a case for systemic change when it’s needed.

We are concerned about the slow pace of improvement particularly among new providers. The picture is improving and the proportion who aren’t doing well enough at their first inspection has declined. But that proportion is still too high despite all the information, guidance and support that is available.

Looking at our judgements, we cannot ignore that apprenticeships are the worst performing type of provision in the further education and skills sector.

Achievement rates

So, we do welcome the DfE setting a target of 67% for apprenticeship achievement rates. But it’s important to think about why achievement rates are often so low.

The pandemic, yes it had an impact, but achievement rates were often too low even before this. And it’s worth noting that the apprentices who do take their end-point assessment are very likely to pass. The big challenge is apprentices leaving before they finish their training.

And of course, there are various reasons for this. They include poor-quality tuition that doesn’t include meaningful practical experience, employers not releasing staff for off-the-job training or just not enough opportunities for on-the-job training.

Low wages in childcare, hospitality, adult care, and other sectors means that some apprentices are leaving for higher paid roles. This is obviously understandable in the current climate, and different skills aren’t always equally rewarded. But it’s worth asking yourself questions:

• Could I be doing more to explain the longer-term benefits of apprenticeships?
• Do my apprentices understand the importance of a career path over a short-term pay boost?
• Am I acting with integrity when I recruit apprentices?

All these factors must be considered and tackled if the DfE target is to be met.

We know that low achievement rates don’t necessarily indicate a problem with the provider. When we inspect, we won’t hold previously low achievement rates against you. But we will want to see that you know the reasons for low rates and have taken actions to improve them where you can.

High-quality educational experience

Of course, the most important factors in determining whether apprentices complete their programmes are the quality of the training and the experience.

Apprentices need high-quality training from skilled and experienced staff. You need to plan it well and teach it in a coherent order. You need to balance the on- and off-the-job elements carefully. You need to know what will be learnt and when, and your apprentices should know this too.

You need to think about how and in what order you’re going to teach the knowledge and skills. If your hairdressing apprentices need to colour a client’s hair, you obviously need to teach them the practical skills. But you also need to teach them the health and safety aspects around using colouring chemicals. And you’ll need to teach them the skills to hold a client consultation.

You also need to consider the apprentice’s experience. Online learning and self-study can be part of that. But they can also be a toxic combination when they’re overused or used too soon in an apprenticeship.

I know that many of you balance these factors well but failing to do so can damage apprentices’ motivation and enthusiasm. If an apprentice spends most of their first 3 months studying at home on their own, we can hardly be surprised if they drop out.

So, it is important to think about how and why you use these methods. It can be appropriate when it improves the apprentices’ experiences or prepares them well for work in their chosen sector. But it shouldn’t be for your convenience or to save money.

Other sessions

We know that part of the value we can add is engaging and supporting you with training. As usual, we’re offering several workshops at this conference. They are being run by our knowledgeable HMI, so you’ll be able to talk directly to the people who come to inspect you.

The workshop topics reflect the areas where we think we can offer the most help.

Thank you again for listening. I’m happy to take questions and I’m going to be joined on the platform by Paul Joyce, who is our Deputy Director for Further Education and Skills, and he will join me in answering them.

Thank you.