Colleges and training centres in the South West are calling on the government to do more to support apprentices and the businesses that employ them during the coronavirus outbreak.
The government has already announced that A Level, GSCE, and university students will not have to sit exams and will be given assessment-based final grades. But these measures do not extend to apprentices, who still need to be assessed.
The Department for Education (DfE) announced guidance on March 23, including encouraging training providers to offer remote learning and assessment, rescheduling assessments for those who have fallen ill with Covid-19, and giving breaks in learning if necessary.
The government has also said that apprentices could be furloughed along with full-time employees.
But there is concern among colleges and training providers in the region that apprentices are being “forgotten”.
Patrick McLeod, assistant principal of South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, believes apprentices should have “comparable flexibilities and support” as those put in place for A level and GCSE learners.
SGS College said: “Guidance released on Monday by the DfE and IFATE falls way short of recognising the severity of the measures we are now having to take and the consequences for apprentices, their employers and colleges and providers.
“The supposed relaxations to continue to support the apprenticeship programme are minimal, and largely amount to a reiteration of the current rules and audit regime, with some minor flexibility on how we apply breaks in learning and remote End Point Assessment in some circumstances.”
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The City of Bristol College agrees. It said: “Almost all apprentices are now having to stop attending work, as employers and apprentices adhere to the government directions on distancing and isolation.
"Many are facing redundancy and almost all will soon be unable to continue with their training as college income needed for delivery will almost immediately dry up, as it’s paid monthly.
“Those who are from low income families have the added barrier of needing to access high-quality online technology to continue their training at home, which for many is unaffordable.
"For apprentices, the impact of this emergency on their daily lives is far greater than for many other students.”
'If change is not imminent apprenticeship routes will be tarnished'
Dr Paul Phillips, principal and chief executive of the Weston College Group, said that despite the government making apprenticeships one of its key priorities, the current solutions to support learners were "nothing short of abysmal".
He confirmed that issues had been raised with the Education, Skills and Funding Agency locally, which had "realisation of the inadequacies".
He said: "If change is not imminent then the fantastic apprenticeship routes which were so welcomed by learners, parents and employers will be tarnished. "
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There are also concerns around the lack of support for businesses that employ apprentices, especially small and micro firms.
The Western Training Provider Network (WTPN), which represents 35 independent training providers in the region and colleges including City of Bristol College, Weston College, SGS College and UWE, says the education secretary needs to give apprenticeship providers use of the DfE budget for 2020/21 – funding which has already been allocated.
The WTPN says the Treasury’s business support measures will not be enough by itself.
They said: “Loans are not useful because, with employers stopping apprenticeship programmes, apprenticeship providers have no income to repay them and cover ongoing overheads.
“Furloughing apprenticeship provider staff also means that these staff will be required to stop working meaning that are not able to support existing apprentices with employers who can continue in the interim to access vital training remotely.”
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Alex Richards, operations director of the Western Training Provider Network, added: "We are very concerned that the DfE has declined to guarantee funding for apprenticeships as in the manner that they have guaranteed money to colleges for full-time provision.
"We urge that the Education Secretary reverses his decision and guarantees use of the already allocated DfE apprenticeship budget to stop these apprenticeship opportunities disappearing across the country and our region – in many cases, for a very long time."
Bristol-based integrated services company Mobius employs three apprentices. The company’s managing director, Lee Bignall, says “urgent measures” are needed to help businesses that employ apprentices.
“Apprentices should be supported in the same way as school leavers,” he said.
“Our long-term fear is the next generation of apprentices. If there are no measures in place to support apprenticeships now it may put people off from taking them up in future.
“What’s going to happen with the September intake? The government must help protect the next intake of apprenticeships by offering more support to employers.”
'It is a battle for survival'
The Association of Employment and Learning Providers, which is based in Bradley Stoke, has also hit out at the government, warning it is “now a battle for survival” for training providers.
Chief executive Mark Dawe said: “The omission of any DfE funding support for apprenticeships and other skills training goes completely against the assurance offered by the Secretary of State to the House of Commons last week.
“We are left to conclude that the government is not serious about apprenticeship training or any other forms of skills training continuing while the pandemic goes on or that it is very happy to preside over many independent training providers (ITPs) going out of business over the next three months.”
Mr Dawes says the “majority of provider staff” have been furloughed which means they will not be available to support the training of apprentices and other learners.
He added: “Unless the government urgently rethinks its stance that it has had two weeks to think about, we are likely to see the start of the collapse of the training and assessment sector over the next week.”
Nicky Williams, head of people and skills at chambers of commerce Business West, says the government needs to “act quickly” to support learners, training providers and businesses.
She said: “As a business support organisation that works very closely with education provision both locally and nationally, we are very concerned that the Dept of Education has declined to guarantee funding for apprenticeships and explore ways of supporting training providers to continue delivery and End Point Assessment in a more flexible manner.
“In my role as Vice Chair for the South West Apprenticeship Ambassador Network we are working closely with the Education and Skills Funding Agency to ensure the right information and support is getting out to employers quickly – we are also directly feeding back employers and providers concerns from across the region."
West of England Mayor Tim Bowles added: “We are talking to our colleges about how we can best support those currently in apprenticeships to continue to learn and gain skills.
"We are also looking at how the West of England Combined Authority can help residents to build their skills in future, considering how we might adapt some of our key initiative such as the Careers Hub and the Adult Education Budget to support more people when we come through this.”
The WTPN, SGS College, City of Bristol College, Weston College and Business West are now calling on the government to:
- Protect the apprenticeship income to all training providers, as they have for full time learners in colleges, to provide stability
- Review how training providers can continue to support those furloughed or made redundant so that all apprentices can complete their apprenticeship and have a qualification
- Where feasible, allow ‘in-provider’ teacher-assessment, on lines of the measures for GCSEs and A levels, to allow apprentices to complete on time
- Suspend finish of current Apprenticeship Frameworks ( 31st July), to be replaced by Apprenticeship Standards – so providers can manage the transition arrangements
A DfE spokesperson said: “We recognise this is a difficult time for the sector. We are continuing to work closely with key stakeholders and the Treasury to monitor how our support packages are benefitting organisations and to consider any further action which may be required.
“We’ve announced measures to support apprenticeship providers by offering a number of flexibilities so that apprentices can continue and complete their apprenticeships, including permitting distance learning wherever possible, providing flexibility on End Point Assessments and enabling breaks in learning, if this is due to coronavirus.”
Karin Smyth, MP for Bristol South and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Apprenticeships, says she has written to the secretary of state, Gavin Williamson, asking for him to "reinstate funding".
She said: “I was very disappointed to hear that the organisations providing training for apprentices have suffered so badly when the Department for Education was able to support funding for ‘A’ level students."
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She added: "Without this funding, training providers could fold and the relationships which have been built up between trainers and employers lost for good. Apprentices may lose out in a big way too. These young people have not been treated fairly by the Department for Education to date.”
Jack Lopresti, MP for FIlton and Bradley Stoke, added: “SGS College has raised concerns with me regarding the impacts that the coronavirus outbreak is having on industry and education.
"I have long supported SGS and other providers and have been privileged to see the opportunities they offer help people from all walks of life achieve their aspirations.
"It is vital that measures are in place to ensure that the great strides we have made on apprenticeships are not lost along with their contributions to social mobility, our future manufacturing capability, and our economy.
"The Government has committed to working hard to mitigate the impact of this crisis on apprenticeships. The announcement to suspend the existing ‘break in learning’ rules to allow those people on apprenticeships to stay home, as per Government guidelines, without financial penalty, is encouraging.
"Whilst this is a welcome first step, I believe that more can and should be done."