UKCES

• Government has set out its ambition that, by 2020, one in five young people will have started an Apprenticeship before their 18th birthday – equivalent to 150,000 young people starting an Apprenticeship by 2013; a growth of 42,000 on current starts

• National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) will have a duty to secure sufficient and appropriate Apprenticeship places to fulfill the entitlement for each suitably young person who wants one, as well as addressing adult apprentices needs

• There is an increased emphasis on SSCs therefore and other UKCES contracted organisations, to ensure Apprenticeship frameworks are relevant and attractive to all apprentices, young people and adults, and employers to ensure Ambition 2020 can be achieved

The UK Commission, the Alliance, SSCs and other UKCES contracted organisationsare working together with other key stakeholders to put in place a new system for developing, issuing and performance managing apprenticeships. The programme of work has been designed to:

• help SSCs and other UKCES contracted organisations realign their apprenticeship frameworks to match the SASE/SASW;
• help SSCs and other UKCES contracted organisations prepare to respond to new arrangements that will allow a variety of organisations including employers, awarding organisations and training providers to develop apprenticeship frameworks, including building capacity where it is required; and
• involve SSCs and other UKCES contracted organisations in developing an appropriate approach to performance management that will give visibility across all their work on apprenticeship development

The aim of this programme of work is to help SSCs and other UKCES contracted organisations

• meet the date by which apprenticeship frameworks have to conform to the SASE/SASW, which is 6 April 2011;
• further develop their capacity and capability to develop apprenticeship programmes;
• develop, maintain and review apprenticeship frameworks so that they meet the needs of their employers;
• provide transparent and effective reporting routes; and
• raise the profile of the contribution they make to apprenticeship development

What is this programme delivering?

• a web based system is being developed, which is based on a new template that framework developers will use to develop and issue apprenticeship frameworks;
• we are mapping existing provision to SSCs and other UKCES contracted organisations, which will include identifying sectoral opportunities for expanding Apprenticeship uptake; and
• we are working with SSCs and other UKCES contracted organisations to provide visibility of progress towards SASE/SASW compliance 

What do the changes mean for SSCs? 

• Going forward, SSCs and other UKCES contracted organisations will continue to be responsible for developing and issuing apprenticeship frameworks that meet the ambitions of apprentices, the business needs of employers, the relevant quality standards (SASE/SASW) for England and Wales, and requirements for Scotland and Northern Ireland;
• Removing the role of the Apprenticeship Approvals Group and making SSCs and other UKCES contracted organisations responsible for the quality of the content captured in the apprenticeship framework template represents a significant change and work is taking place to specify and agree quality assurance standards;
• The web portal will have several important uses and potentially be used by a range of different interested parties.  SSCs and other UKCES contracted organisations will need to ensure that the content in the apprenticeship framework template is accurate, comprehensive and useful to apprentices, parents and guardians, employers, careers advisors and training providers, as well compliant with the relevant standards. They will also need to ensure they have appropriate level of resources and internal processes to manage relationships with other bodies, who will register their interest in developing new frameworks through the web portal;

What are the benefits? 

SSCs and other UKCES contracted organisations will be able to use the new template, web portal and performance management arrangements to:

• further develop their capability and capacity to produce high quality apprenticeship programmes;
• challenge themselves further to think about how their apprenticeship frameworks can be used to raise skills levels in their sector;
• help to further establish the reputation of SSCs and other UKCES contracted organisations as effective organisations in the area of apprenticeships

Latest Communication

Feb 2010 - Update on progress to develop the web portal

Useful Documents

Current Blueprint Framework Template
Apprenticeship Framework Booking Form
Current Blueprint Completion of Framework Template
SASE Draft Guidance March 2010
LSC Current Apprenticeship Framework Rates
LSC Guidance for Apprenticeship Framework Rates
Draft Specification of Apprenticeship Standrads for Wales
Read the Welsh Assembly Government Response to the consultation on the Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for Wales