On behalf of a group of large apprenticeship levy paying employers including RBS, Coca-Cola European Partners and Kier Group, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers is issuing a statement which calls for the government to leave the levy alone, preserve entry points to apprenticeships at all levels and recognise that SMEs need their apprenticeships properly funded as well skilled supply chains. Chair of the large employer group, Sharon Blyfield of Coca-Cola European Partners, said:

Thousands of SMEs denied chance to recruit apprentices as a result of levy shortage, latest AELP survey finds Two-fifths of training providers are having to turn away smaller businesses wanting to recruit apprentices because of the growing shortfall in funding from the £2.8bn apprenticeship levy. The levy is designed to fund the entire apprenticeship programme for large and small employers but providers are now on average turning down approaches from 40 SMEs each due to their non-levy

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