AELP welcomes the Skills for Jobs white paper with its outcome focused approach and emphasis on working closely with employers. We are also pleased that the role of independent training providers is recognised, not just in delivering apprenticeships but also in adult education and other forms of training.

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers sees the publication of the DfE/Ofqual consultation on awarding qualifications in 2021 as a distinct ray of light at the end of a long dark tunnel for over 40,000 apprentices and other vocational learners who have been unable to take their maths and English tests due to covid restrictions and whose career progress has been held up by lack of government action over recent months.

AELP congratulates 3 members of the Apprenticeships and Skills sector for their recognition in the New Year’s Honours The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) is absolutely delighted that MBEs in the New Year’s Honours have been awarded for services to apprenticeships and skills to:

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.

New research on Covid’s impact on the further education and skills sector shows that training providers, colleges and government all need to learn lessons from the first covid lockdown if apprentices and learners are to receive better support under similar circumstances in the future. Qualitative research undertaken by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), supported by The Further Education Trust for Leadership (FETL), found that:

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