Training providers have warned the government that apprentices whose training has been interrupted by the lockdown face being left dangling in the air because of the non-completion of their programmes. Ministers are being urged to quickly intervene. In a new submission to the Department for Education, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) reports that due to Covid-19, widespread disruption to planned training and delays in assessments at the end of programmes mean that

A general lack of awareness among school-leavers about the apprenticeship opportunities available to them remains a huge issue. With Britain in recession and youth unemployment jumping to over 540,000, it is now critical that this is properly addressed once and for all. For those students receiving their A level results in these very challenging circumstances, they have to weigh up whether university is the right option when even in good times, only 41% of graduates are going into full-time

Joint AELP Ufi press release A new digital platform that will support the learning of apprentices, trainees and college students post-Covid 19 is set for an autumn launch. The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) and Ufi VocTech Trust (Ufi) have formed a new partnership to launch the service, which is called #SectorShare. This project is part of Ufi’s VocTech Now funding call, which was a direct response to the impact of Covid-19 on vocational learning across the UK.

£8.6bn skills package needed to boost the post-pandemic economy The government should introduce separate support packages for young people and adults as part of its post-Covid skills response, according to the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) after submitting an £8.6bn costed proposal in advance of the expected July statements from the prime minister and the chancellor.

It was announced today that Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), will be leaving AELP in mid-August to take up a new role within the skills sector. Current chief operating officer, Jane Hickie, has been promoted to become AELP’s managing director as part of a new structure which the AELP Board has put in place to address the challenges that Covid-19 has presented. Her appointment recognises the crucial part that she has played in AELP’s

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) has called on the Department for Education to intervene and ensure that the country’s apprenticeship training provider infrastructure remains in place as part of the post-pandemic recovery plan. This follows the Prime Minister’s statement to the Commons Liaison Committee yesterday that he would “look at the idea” of giving young people aged 16 to 25 an ‘apprenticeship guarantee’. The proposal was put to him by the Education select c

Britain’s response to the growth in pandemic-related unemployment requires a cross-departmental approach within government, according a new set of proposals published by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers. The solution must start with identifying job opportunities and upskilling requirements as the core driver, not a generic skills or Work Programme with different government departments doing their own thing. This requires sophistication and close engagement with employers

Three-fifths of employers have stopped recruiting apprentices altogether and many more have slashed new starts, latest AELP Covid impact survey finds Training providers are facing a massive Covid-related cash squeeze because employers have stopped recruiting new apprentices and the lockdown is preventing existing apprentices from being able to complete their training programmes. The latest findings...

DfE Covid-19 support package for apprenticeships and adult education: ‘An important step but still far from a fair approach for all apprentices’

Training providers are making remarkable efforts during the lockdown to keep training apprentices and other learners on government skills programmes. An extraordinary 81% of current apprentices are still actively learning after providers executed an almost overnight switch to online learning and assessment resources, but the continued lack of Education department support in defiance of Cabinet Office Covid-19 supplier protection guidelines is threatening to destroy much of the good work being