Last chance saloon means subcontracting rules for the sector must be tightened up Clearer expectations for the lead contractor of a government funded skills programme should be set out and complied with as the way of ensuring integrity in the subcontracting arrangements that are commonplace in the further education and skills sector. In a submission to the Department for Education (DfE) and the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), the Association of Employment and Learning Providers

Emerging economies making more use of Independent Training Providers to improve skills, joint British Council / AELP research finds

Providers call for improvements in future procurements of devolved Adult Education Budget A new AELP survey of independent training providers has identified how the Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and the Greater London Authority (GLA) could improve future procurement arrangements for the Adult Education Budget following tenders related to half of the £1.5bn budget devolved to the English regions. AELP is committed to the devolution of AEB and the combined authorities getting the best

The challenged and slowly rolled-out £100m National Retraining Scheme should be restructured to become a ‘traineeship for adults’. The call in a new policy statement from the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) says a vital rethink is necessary if we are to avoid another “expensive skills white elephant” such as the Employer Ownership of Skills pilot (EOP) which over 5 years until 2017 saw £350m of taxpayers’ money completely wasted. AELP recommends the creation of a

Small and medium sized businesses across the country are being prevented from offering new apprenticeships because the levy which funds the government’s flagship skills programme is running short of cash. The levy funding shortage is so acute that a new survey has found that three out of four apprenticeship training providers can no longer meet demand from SME employers to train new apprentices. The lack of funding is happening at the worst possible time when thousands of school leavers age

The country’s unqualified adult carer crisis is being exacerbated by the government’s refusal to properly fund apprenticeships in the sector, according to a new survey published today. Training providers who train Adult Care Worker apprentices say that the prescribed funding rate for the apprenticeship programme at levels 2 and 3 (intermediate and advanced) is completely unviable. As a result, 59% of the surveyed providers are either reducing the number of apprentice carers they train or

AELP launches ‘Good to Great’ support programme for independent training providers AELP members wanting to become great training providers are being invited to sign up for an 8-month structured support programme to help achieve their ambitions. Announced at the start of today’s AELP annual conference, the programme, delivered by AELP, will support established good quality providers to become great across five core areas of operation. Beginning in the autumn, ‘Good to Great’ will be sponsore

Association of Employment and Learning Providers Press release – Embargoed until Friday 21 June, 00.01hrs ‘Underspends and poor value subcontracting necessitate a complete overhaul of the Adult Education Budget’ Persistent annual underspends and too much poor value subcontracting under the Adult Education Budget (AEB) are letting down adult learners across the country, according to a new analysis published by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP). To replace the now tot

All young adults aged 18 to 24 should be given a fully state funded entitlement for learning at level 2 and level 3 as part of any government reforms arising from the Post 18 Education and Funding Review (or Augar Review). The call from the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) would potentially benefit 300,000 school leavers a year who don’t go on to university. Taking on board advice and support from the LSE economist Lord Layard of Highgate, AELP believes that the