I hope you have all had a good week so far- it’s been quite a week here at AELP, and here are just some of the highlights…

This week I have had the opportunity to catch up face-to-face with lots of colleagues from across the sector. I will come to that later but first news we have been waiting for has landed at long last.

This week, AELP’s board met, and we covered a huge amount of ground with some very lively discussion around key issues for members. We were unanimous on many of the challenges for providers, including Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and Off the Job Training (OTJT), as well as inflation and the impact of rising costs of delivery on providers. Last week, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), published the subcontracting funding rules (non-apprenticeships) 2022/23, which included a

It has been a shorter week and I am sure that most of us are looking forward to the break that the Easter bank holiday weekend brings! Level Two and Below Qualifications I thought I’d start with the current situation on the plans to streamline the number of qualifications at level 2 and below. We are concerned about the significant impact this could have on members. We have been doing as much as we can behind the scenes to find out more about the government’s plans and to get more information

“We know that the limit of ten learners is really impacting lots of non-levy employers and this week we have been inundated with requests from members for any information on the refresh.” Non-levy Cap of Ten Apprenticeship Starts Last week, we were inundated with requests from members about what was meant by a ‘review’ of the apprenticeship levy in the Chancellors statement – I will come back to that. This week at AELP has been dominated by a real concern from members about lack of updates on t

I can’t quite believe we’re already into April, when it feels like 2022 has only just begun. It’s certainly been a whirlwind start to the year, with lots of policy change afoot. Last week, the Chancellor announced there were plans to carry out a ‘review’ of the apprenticeship levy - yet the Treasury have been quite keen to play down the scope of this. Today, I will be meeting with Treasury officials to discuss the levy and a number of other issues following last week’s Spring Statement. I will

Annual Apprenticeship Conference (AAC) 2022 It was great to start the week in Birmingham at the AAC 2022 meeting up with so many colleagues I haven’t seen in person for a while and rounding off the two days celebrating apprenticeships with the Apprenticeship Awards ceremony. It was fantastic to see Nicki Hay undertake her first major speech as Chair of AELP, which she began with a lovely and very well-deserved tribute to her predecessor, Martin Dunford. Nicki used her keynote speech to outline

Annual Apprenticeship Conference I’m really looking forward to attending the Annual Apprenticeship Conference (AAC) at the ICC in Birmingham next week. The theme this year is 'Building Back Better with Apprenticeships' – which is very apt, as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst there is no doubt we are all still feeling the impact of the pandemic, we are certainly moving steadily towards a phase of recovery. AELP are as pleased as ever to have a key role in the conference, as a

National Careers Week This week we’ve been celebrating National Careers Week – a great opportunity to promote the importance of high-quality careers advice and guidance. There’s a vast range of routes into the workplace that students can take after they leave school - but they need to know what they are, and unfortunately we know that doesn’t always happen. The Baker Clause – which means schools must allow colleges and training providers access to students to inform them about all their options

As we come to the end of another week, I am sure that we are all watching the devastation in Ukraine with sadness. It is a truly awful situation and we can only hope that there will be peaceful solution quickly. Our thoughts will be with the Ukrainian people in the days and months ahead. Level 2 and below qualifications This week, the Department for Education announced its intention to reform post-16 qualifications at level 2 and below excluding GCSEs, functional skills and essential digital