PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INSIGHT
Taking advantage of apprenticeship reforms
Jason Clark, CIPP operations manager for the professional careers academy, provides details of the reforms and actions employers will need to take
I n 2004, Sandy Leitch was tasked by the Government to consider the UK’s long-term skills needs. In December 2006, the Leitch review’s Skills, prosperity for all in the global economy – world class skills (http://bit.ly/2hjQEAK) was published. The report identified that to become a world leader, the skills agenda must be shared by the Government, employers and individuals. In November 2012, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) published The Richard review of apprenticeships (http://bit.ly/1SoWaZB). This report detailed the requirement to revisit not only the look and feel of apprenticeships (and their delivery) but how they are funded too. The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) explain in A Guide to Apprenticeships (http://bit.ly/2fK2gLj) that “An apprenticeship is a real job with training which would allow the learner to earn while they learn, whilst gaining a nationally recognised qualification”. This definition of course takes into account that an apprentice must complete a number of learning activities that also include English language, mathematics, information, communication and technology, as well as knowledge based and technical activities all focussed on gaining a qualification. However, a key component in the apprenticeship reform is that there is no longer a need for a recognised qualification but there is the need for operational competence. The report acknowledged that there needs to be a recognition of industry and not individual company standards and that independent assessment of competence is
required. This will be delivered separately to the training provider using an end-point assessment organisation. Another acknowledgement in the report is that the purchasing power for investment for apprenticeship training should be in the hands of the employer. This provides the freedom to discuss training needs and negotiate the cost of delivery therefore providing better value for money. By implementing these two recommendations, BIS – now the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) – has departed from the traditional learner, training provider and employer relationships where decisions would be made based on the funding available to support apprentices, to a partnership, delivering a good quality product with the right level of investment from both employers and the government. With the introduction of new standard apprenticeships that replaced the existing specification of apprenticeship standards for England (SASE) frameworks, employer groups develop these programmes with both employer and the wider sector in mind. For many apprenticeship programmes, this work is continuing in earnest and new programmes are introduced on a regular basis. At the time of writing this article, there were 260 new standards approved for delivery and 180 new standards in development (which includes payroll). The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) regularly publish a list of apprenticeship standards available for employers and training organisations (http://bit.ly/2a87bBR). The list identifies their stage of development, including whether they are ready for delivery.
The CIPP is working with/for a group of employers in the payroll sector, to create the new standard apprenticeship called ‘Payroll administrator apprenticeship’. The group (represented by both small and large companies that deliver a number of differing payrolls) identified that being able to complete the tasks presented in their role is equally important, as is the need for more technical knowledge usually provided at advanced apprenticeship levels. The existing payroll SASE frameworks detail both intermediate and advanced levels separately that can take the learner between twelve and eighteen months to complete each level. The new programme when signed off by the Department for Education (DfE) will be at advanced level with a delivery expectation of 21 months to two years. To ensure that quality of apprenticeships is continued and remains a high priority, a new independent body led by employers will be introduced in 2017. The Institute for Apprenticeships will be responsible for a number of areas in apprenticeship reforms, as follows: ● Undertake quality and approval of new apprenticeships at both standard and assessment plan level. As part of this, they will ensure an apprentice is enrolled on a Government-approved apprenticeship programme that can be evidenced through the entire programme. They will also ensure that the learner and employer have signed the legal documentation associated with the programme. ● Quality assurance of both training delivery and end point assessment. ● Advise the DfE on the allocation of apprenticeship levy funding for each apprenticeship standard. ● Maintain employer engagement in the apprenticeships for both existing and new programmes.
...work is continuing in earnest and new programmes are introduced on a regular basis
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | February 2017 | Issue 27 12
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