Apprenticeship: Opportunities and Challenges for Higher Education

Natasha Chopra, BIS

Adrian Anderson, CEO, UVAC

Higher Apprenticeships

• Update on developments – policy, operational developments and funding

• Consider - whether to, where to (i.e. occupations) and how to get involved

Apprenticeship Definition

‘An Apprenticeship is a job, in a skilled occupation, that requires substantial and sustained training, leading to the achievement of an Apprenticeship standard and the development of transferable skills to progress careers.’

Source: BIS/DfE

• Apprenticeships are central to Government’s drive to give people the skills employers need to grow and compete.

• Government’s planned investment in 2013-14 is over £1.5bn.

• Over 850,000 Apprenticeship participants in 2013/14, of which 18,100 were Higher Apprentices

• Over 220,000 workplaces employ an apprentice.

Apprenticeships are already highly successful…

• Learners: Advanced Level apprentices earn between £77,000 and £117,000 more over their lifetime than those with lower level qualifications; this rises to £150,000 for those doing Higher Apprenticeships.

• Employers: 70% report higher productivity and improved quality of product/service.

• Economy: National Audit Office Report estimates that adult Apprenticeships deliver £18 of economic benefits for each £1 of Government investment.

…providing strong returns for all parties

Higher Apprenticeships –Timeline

• Summer 2011 - Prime Minister announces Higher Apprenticeship Fund to support development of Higher Apprenticeship frameworks

• November 2012 - Richard Review published (remit includes Higher Apprenticeship)

• April 2013 - Specification of Apprenticeship Frameworks in England revised to encompass Level 6 and 7 and HE qualifications at these levels

• October 2013 – Prime Minister announces Apprenticeship reforms and first Trailblazers

• Autumn Statement 2013 – £40m to fund 20,000 Higher Apprenticeship starts over 2 years

• March 2014 - First round Trailblazer Apprenticeship standards published – and further Trailblazers announced

• Budget 2014 – announced Government would fund HE within Higher Apprenticeships and provided £20m additional funding for HE within Higher Apprenticeships over 2 years

• May 2014 –Trailblazer funding model announced for 2014/15 starts

• August 2014 - Second round Trailblazer Apprenticeship standards published

• September 2014 - First Apprenticeship starts using new standards

• November 2014 – Government announces new level 6 and 7 model where degree and apprenticeship are fully integrated

• 2017/18 - All new Apprenticeship starts to be on standards

7

“Higher apprenticeships are an important solution to the sub-degree gap, and there are already some superb schemes, for which entry is as competitive as getting into Cambridge... The kind of programme, including a sponsored degree, has huge advantages both for employers (who gain staff with theoretical as well as practical knowledge tailored to their specific needs) and for individuals (who gain a career-focused degree, earn good money while they study and graduate free without student loans).

Previous governments did not support this route effectively. Higher apprenticeship funding is difficult to claim and poorly administered. We are changing that by routing funding directly to employers, enabling them to purchase training…apprenticeships can include full undergraduate and masters degrees, funded through employer and government co-investment.

This is an essential step to making higher apprenticeships the norm rather than a niche in the overall skills programme – making it as plausible to complete a degree via an apprenticeship as to go to university for 3 years. This is a huge opportunity for universities, who think of their customers in terms of employers as well as individuals. Doing so can attract significant investment, as well as Introducing cutting-edge practice into their degree programmes…”

Vince Cable, Cambridge Public Policy Lecture on the Future for HE & FE, April 2014

Higher Apprenticeships – the norm not a niche

• Relatively new, huge growth (but slight dip in starts): 9,200 starts in 2013/14 (9,800 in 2012/13)

18,100 participants 2013/14 (13,000 in 2012/13)

2,700 achievements in 2013/14 (1,600 in 2012/13)

• Around 50 Higher Apprenticeship frameworks

• 21 Higher Apprenticeship standards designed by employer-led Trailblazers approved and published – 40% of total…more to come

Higher Apprenticeships – key statistics

What are the main aims of the reforms?

Employer driven Employers designing

apprenticeships to meet their needs and having

more control of the funding

Quality Improving quality

through more rigorous testing and grading at end of apprenticeship

Simplicity Replacing complex

frameworks with short, simple standards written

by employers

• Standards designed by employers, working with professional bodies where relevant, will replace existing Frameworks

• New standards will be clear and concise, written by employers and no more than a few pages’ long

• All Apprenticeships will last a minimum of 12 months

• All Apprenticeships will have an end-point assessment

• Apprenticeships will be graded for the first time

• Apprenticeships will meet relevant professional registration / licence to practice requirements

What changes are we making to Apprenticeships?

• Employer concerns that apprentices are able to pass Apprenticeships but they do not judge them to be competent.

• All new apprenticeships will have an end-point assessment - apprentice will be required to demonstrate competency across the whole standard.

• End-point assessment will be synoptic – assessing skills and knowledge in an integrated way – and will be graded.

• Trailblazers will set out their high level approach to the end-point assessment –what, how and who should assess.

• Successful completion of an apprenticeship will require passing pre-requisite qualifications, as stated on the standard, and passing the end-point assessment.

What are we doing on assessment?

Approved and published so far:

Level 4:Actuarial Technician, Construction technician, Conveyancing technician, Cyber intrusion analyst, Dental practice manager, Digital media technology practitioner, Network engineer, Professional accounting technician, Software developer, Software tester, Senior chef: culinary arts

Level 5:Dental Technician

Level 6:Chartered legal executive, Control/Technical support engineer, Electrical/Electronic technical support engineer, Manufacturing engineer, Product design & development engineer, Licensed conveyance, Professional accountant, Relationship Manager (Banking)

Level 7:Solicitor

Higher Apprenticeships developed by Trailblazers…

• Following Budget 2014, funding model for frameworks is simpler for starts from April 2014:

• Funding apprenticeship standards – employer-routed funding to give them greater control and purchasing power over apprenticeship training. Trialling a simple funding approach in 2014/15: For every £1 that an employer invests in training an apprentice, the

Government will pay £2 up to a clear cap Extra funding will be provided to support small businesses with fewer than 50

staff, for apprentices aged 16-18 and for successful completion

Higher Apprenticeship funding…

16-18 19+

FE & HE QualificationsLevels 4-6

Fully funded Government co-invests with employers

Professional Qualifications

No Government funding No Government funding

AY14/15 Funding Model for TrailblazersCore Government Contribution (CGC) Cap - £2 for every £1 from employer

Cap 1 Cap 2 Cap 3 Cap 4 Cap 5

£2,000 £3,000 £6,000 £8,000 £18,000

Additional incentive payments

Recruiting a 16-18 year old

£600 £900 £1,800 £2,400 £5,400

For a small business (<50)

£500 £500 £900 £1,200 £2,700

For successful completion

£500 £500 £900 £1,200 £2,700

Maximum total Government contribution

£3,600 £4,900 £9,600 £12,800 £28,800

UVAC – Our Role in Apprenticeship• Commissioned to support BIS/National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) on

the Consultation on the Criteria for Apprenticeship at Degree levels• Advised BIS/NAS on the Revision to the Specification of Apprenticeships

Standards in England (SASE)• Co-authored – Developing Quality Higher Apprenticeship Frameworks

for England – the guidance that underpins SASE• Supported the development of the first Higher Apprenticeship to

incorporate a Foundation degree to recognise both the knowledge and competence requirements of the framework

• Supporting several HEIs to develop Apprenticeship strategies• Asked by BIS to support Apprenticeship Trailblazers to engage HEIs and

‘Provider Readiness’ for the Apprenticeship Reforms (with AoC and AELP)

HE Qualifications and Apprenticeship Standards

• When a qualification is specified in the standard, employers must use this qualification - outside this, employers and providers can agree their preferred route to achieving the learning/competency set out in the standard and assessment plan

• The content level including any qualifications included or chosen would reflect the level assigned to the standard

Apprenticeship – Issues for HE (1)

• Shift in Apprenticeship focus from predominately level 2 and 3 to level 3 and HE levels

• Apprenticeship is moving into core HE vocational territory• The employer is in the ‘driving seat’ as the ‘standard setter’,

customer and actual purchaser of learning and accreditation• The employer as customer vis-à-vis the individual,

transferable skills and progression/social mobility• New funding system supports the use of prescribed HE

qualifications (and other provision)

Apprenticeship – Issues for HE (cont.)

• Apprenticeship an ‘alternative’ to existing HE provision• Apprenticeship ‘provision’ focused on those in work and achieving

the skills, knowledge and behaviours set out in the Apprenticeship standard and assessment plan

• Competition and opportunities for collaboration with FECs, Awarding Organisations, Professional Bodies to deliver learning and accreditation to meet the requirements of a ‘national’ Apprenticeship standard

• Growing importance of technician levels 4 and 5 (areas of recent decline in HEI provision)

• Change often results in winners and losers – responsiveness to employer demand will be key

New Models of HE Delivery and New Entrants to the ‘Skills System’

The new approach to Apprenticeship signifies some key developments in the overall ‘skills system’ in particular:• An emphasis on employer leadership and control • New programmes and models of delivery based on employer demand as

alternatives to full-time three year bachelor degrees• An opening up of the market and encouragement for new providers to

enter the market on the basis of employer demand• Some breakdown in the divides between HE, FE and private training

providers • Growing importance in policy on technician levels 4 and 5• The emphasis placed on LEPs is growing• Interest in exploring how employers should make a greater contribution to

the cost of HE provision.

A University Partnership Approach to Apprenticeship – A Way Forward

• Start with employers, employer demand and work with partners• Explore SFA support (£20m) for prescribed HE qualifications in Higher

Apprenticeship frameworks– be aware of the changeover from Apprenticeship frameworks to standards

• Identify Apprenticeship Trailblazer occupations with which a university/partners have synergy and where employer interest is or may be apparent

• Liaise with Apprenticeship Trailblazers - use UVAC as an ‘introducer’• Raise Apprenticeship with HEFCE at a regional level• Liaise at a LEP level re. Apprenticeship frameworks and standards• Monitor the approaches of other HEIs and Awarding Organisations, Professional

Bodies, FE and private providers

A University Partnership Approach to Apprenticeship – Some More Help

• A UVAC step by step approach for HEIs and partners on how to engage with Apprenticeship – Jan 2015

Apprenticeship frameworks, Apprenticeship standards, assessment plans, funding, partnerships, progression, professional registration, assessment, accreditation, certification, case studies etc.

• HEI and partner briefings• Policy updates, alerts to Trailblazer briefing events

etc.