Training providers, who serve 380,000 employers across the country, have confirmed that there are serious issues to resolve in the roll-out of the government’s apprenticeship reforms. Confirmation of the principal concerns go a long way to explain why the latest official set of apprenticeship start numbers are over 50% down on a year ago. In a survey of members published at its annual conference, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) found 70 to 80% of providers reporting that: employers are struggling to understand and engage with the new apprenticeship system; non-levy funding is insufficient to meet SME employer demand; not enough new apprenticeship standards are in place; a lack of available programme end-point assessment is a concern. Click here for more.
