Apprenticeship levy to cost schools £110m

Apprenticeship levy to cost schools £110m, but only half of single-school academies have to pay – compared with all maintained schools, DfE estimates.

Tes reports that the apprenticeship levy will hit more than 16,000 schools, which will have to pay a combined £110m into the fund, according to Department for Education estimates.

But, while all maintained schools are expected to contribute to the levy, the DfE predicts only half of single-school academies will be covered.

The levy, introduced this financial year, is a tax of 0.5%, which can be used to train apprentices.

A Department for Education document published today states: “We estimated that over 16,000 schools (three quarters of the total) will pay a combined apprenticeship levy of around £110m.”

The levy has been criticised for adding an extra pressure to maintained schools’ budgets – while exempting many academies from the costs.

This is because it is only paid by employers with annual wage bills of more than £3m – and for maintained schools it is their local authority’s pay bill that is taken into account.

The decision to include small maintained schools in this way was branded “the most bizarre unintended consequence in education policy” by Jonathan Simons, former head of education at Policy Exchange.

The document published today assumes that all community, voluntary-controlled schools and pupil referral units, and around 90% of multi-academy trusts will have to pay the levy.

But only around half of single school academy trusts are expected to be covered, and only 10 per cent of foundation and voluntary-aided schools.

The DfE document sets out the costs facing schools over the next two years. It says: “At the national level, total core schools and high needs funding over the period will increase at 3.1% on a per pupil basis. This slightly exceeds the latest forecast for the rate of inflation, which is 2.9% over the same period.

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Bozeman company offers state’s first manufacturing apprenticeship

A Bozeman company that makes toys, apparel and beds for cats and dogs is offering the state’s first manufacturing apprenticeship.

West Paw Designs is hosting Holly Evans, 20, for an injection molding apprenticeship. The program is aimed at training workers to meet the demands from the state’s growing manufacturing industry.

Evans has been with the company for about four months, but has been in the apprentice program for about four weeks.

In her first couple of months at the company, Evans said she’s operating machinery that would normally take five years to build at other companies. She said by the end of the program, she’ll be able to say she knows how to operate machinery for injection molding and will have the certificate to prove it.

“For me, right now, I feel like I’m getting paid to go to school,” she said.

On Thursday, Gov. Steve Bullock toured the company’s building and met with Evans.

Bullock touted that the program was driven by the company and was helping to increase the workforce for the manufacturing industry, which he said was booming in the state. Put simply, Bullock said, Evans is earning money while learning skills.

“Once we bring those two together, folks like Holly are getting paid better while she’s gaining those skills, and the employer is getting what they need out of them,” he said.

The company attended a presentation on apprenticeships at an Innovate Montana Symposium last summer, put on by the governor’s office. Since then, the company has created a set of standards for the injection molding apprenticeship.

A curriculum designed by West Paw has been developed and is being taught in high schools in Bozeman, Three Forks and Livingston. West Paw CEO Spencer Williams said the program was for anyone who wanted to learn and wasn’t restricted to high school and college students.

He said the apprenticeship provides for those who want hands-on learning.

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Information on how to become a provider of apprenticeships published

The publication includes details on how to register as a provider, to sign apprenticeship agreements and contract for services

Information for organisations who want to offer apprenticeship or further education training funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has been published.

The publication includes details on how to register as a provider, to sign apprenticeship agreements and contract for services. It also sets out how to register for the Learning Records Service and the Employer Data Return Service (EDRS), and submit your training offer to the course directory.

Details on how data is to be returned for payment and how providers’ performance will be monitored are also included in the publication.

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Give apprenticeship levy more time, says Abta and leading firms

Leading travel firms and Abta have called for an apprenticeship levy on businesses to be given more time to have an impact.

Last week the British Retail Consortium seized on a 27% year-on-year fall in the number of new apprentices in England to demand a review of the levy.

Since last April, large firms have had to contribute 0.5% of annual wage bills above £3 million to help fund apprentice schemes.

The government has targeted creating an additional three million apprentices by 2020.

The nationwide fall in numbers was blamed on a lack of flexibility on what levy funds can be spent on. Figures are not available for apprentice numbers in travel.

Andy Smyth, Tui early talent and apprenticeships manager, said: “The new apprenticeship standards will take time to embed into organisation and training provider practices.

“We are moving in the right direction and must allow the new system to settle.”

Carole Hodgson, Hays Travel apprentices delivery manager, was not surprised some firms are struggling, but added: “The levy needs time because it’s all about quality now.

“At Hays we have the knowledge and confidence, but even for us it’s been a challenge because we have had to rethink how we do things.”

Vicki Wolfe, Abta education partnerships manager, said: “It’s unsurprising there has been a fall in apprentice numbers as industries and businesses adapt.

“We expect [the levy] to take some time to bed in before the success…can be fully measured.”

Annette Allmark, director of strategic policy at sector skills body People 1st, said apprentice numbers were always likely to fall as businesses adapted.

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Total of 468 new apprenticeship training providers approved

British Airways and the University of Cambridge are among those to have joined the government’s official register of apprenticeship training providers in the latest round of approvals.

A total of 468 new apprenticeship training providers have been approved to join the government’s official register.

There are now 2,577 providers on the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s (ESFA) register of apprenticeship training providers, which launched last March.

Industry giants such as British Airways, Lloyds Bank, G4S and Greggs are among the 61 new employer providers – those levy-paying employers that are permitted to provide training to their own staff or to apprentices in their connected companies.

Hospitals, police forces and universities

The University of Cambridge, Capita and Thomas Cook join 291 new main providers, which are organisations that can be selected by levy-paying employers to deliver apprenticeship training, or selected by another main provider to work as a subcontractor.

There are 112 new supporting providers, which act as subcontractors on behalf of main providers for contracts worth between £100,000 and £500,0000. New additions include Northern Rail and three NHS trusts.

Some 24 police forces have been registered as providers in the latest round, as well as 15 universities, including the University of Edinburgh and the University of Manchester.

Quality assurance

Cardinal Newman College, a Catholic sixth-form college in Preston, and University Campus St Albans, a joint venture between the University of Hertfordshire and Oaklands College, also join the register.

This represents the third big round of registrations since the register was introduced almost a year ago in order to help monitor training providers directly or indirectly receiving apprenticeship levy funds and ensure quality. Those offering apprentices at levels 2 and 3 are subject to inspection by Ofsted and those offering level 4 and 5 will also be monitored by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.

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Talented 17-year-old wins Barratt apprenticeship award

A trainee carpenter and joiner has been rewarded for his hard work and high standards by being named Apprentice of the Quarter by Barratt Homes.

17-year-old Jack Ford, from Bordon in Hampshire, was given the accolade in recognition of the quality he has shown by the five-star rated national housebuilder as he continues his training through the Future Skills Centre, part of the Basingstoke College of Technology.

Starting his career journey at Mill Chase School in his home town, Jack has already shown signs of success with excellent performance at construction workshops held with the school as part of Barratt Homes’ educational program. As well as focusing on completing his training and qualifications, this latest success also gives him the role of a mentor to his peers at the New Quarter development underway in Bordon, providing a range of properties in a £1bn ‘green town’ masterplan.

Barratt Homes community liaison manager, Anthony Dimmick, encouraged Jack to apply for the apprenticeship after seeing the young man’s potential at the workshop.

“Jack’s developing a great set of skills and we’re delighted to have him working and learning on our new Bordon development,” says Dimmick. “His enthusiasm and willingness to help others has made him a stand out student – he’s now at the stage where he can mentor others doing work experience.”

The manager of the Future Skills Centre, Steve Gilder, also praises Jack’s success: “[He] has made an excellent start to his carpentry and joinery apprenticeship at the Future Skills Centre. His work as a mentor to current students, while they complete work experience has been a tremendous help. It’s given them the confidence to be part of Barratt’s team when they are on site.”

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Hays Travel to recruit one apprentice per branch

Hays Travel is hoping to recruit more apprentices than it did last year, targeting “one for every branch”.

The UK’s largest independent agency chain, with 157 branches, has employed apprentices since the 1980s, including 146 new recruits in 2017.

When added to those already on the programme, there were 242 apprentices on Hays’ books last year after 3,145 applications. The agency was recently voted among the top 100 companies for employing apprentices.

So far this year, there have been 983 applications and roles are available as travel consultants and in head office roles such as customer service, marketing and IT.

Carole Hodgson, the apprentices delivery manager, said: “Every year we’ve seen a huge number of applications. We firmly believe in the apprenticeship programme and what apprentices can do for Hays Travel.

“This year we want to recruit the same or more than last year. One for every branch.”

Hodgson, who joined Hays as an apprentice in June 1988, said the agency is looking for “enthusiasm, passion and personality” in its apprentices and vowed to help them progress their careers.

Applicants are asked to attend an assessment day where they present a holiday as part of the recruitment process. Open days have also been arranged for early March, around National Apprenticeship Week.

She added: “Apprentices bring new, fresh ideas, especially in evolving areas like digital marketing.

“We find apprentices quickly progress into our rising stars and management positions. Progression rates are really high.

“Hays Travel has expanded hugely, and we are continuing that expansion. Having apprentices who have been with us from the start of their careers helps us with that.”

Offering progression is key to retaining the apprentices, Hodgson added, as well as saying that it creates a talent pool for the whole industry.

“These are young people who want to explore and see the world. We find that apprentices learn a lot at Hays Travel, sometimes move on to be reps or work for airlines, and then return to us later in their careers,” she said.

To find more details, click here to visit Hays Travel’s career page.

First seen here.

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