Frequently Asked Questions
This page provides frequently asked questions and answers for the Employer Ownership pilot. This page will be updated regularly.
If you have a question, please email employerownershipqueries@bis.gsi.gov.uk and we will aim to respond to your question within three working days.
We have uploaded a series of Q&A video clips to our YouTube channel which are detailed below :
1. Will bidder receive feedback after round one?
2. Do all delivery partners need to be identified before submitting a bid?
3. Can organisations be involved in multiple bids?
4. What level of employer investment is required?
5. How will bids be assessed?
6. How will innovation be assessed?
7. What are the objectives of the pilot?
8. How can smaller businesses get involved?
A. Objectives and criteria
1. What are the objectives for the pilot?
The overall aim of the pilot is to find more effective ways to improve skills in the workforce and to use these improved skills to drive up productivity and growth.
We are looking for proposals from employers that demonstrate how they will support one or more of the following key objectives of employer ownership:
a. Employer ownership increases the impact of work readiness, workforce development and Apprenticeships activity.
b. Employers are better able to secure the training they need by having the influence they require over quality and content and can shape training provision to meet their needs.
c. Collaboration amongst employers to address cross-sector or supply chain skills challenges is increased.
d. Employer leadership, commitment and investment in skills is increased, including the involvement of employers who do not have a track record of investing in skills.
2. How will bids be assessed?
Bids will be assessed against the pilot objectives set out in the prospectus, with specific investment criteria focusing on economic benefit and value for money, innovation, project feasibility, and quality.
For economic benefit and value for money assessments, only economic benefits which are deemed to be additional to what would happen without Government support will be considered.
The full investment criteria will be made available shortly at www.ukces.org.uk/employerownership as part of the application form and guidance pack.
B. Eligibility and key dates
3. Who can bid?
The pilot is open to employers of all sizes and sectors. We encourage bids from groups of employers working together in their sector, supply chain or local area, but single employers can also apply, provided bids are above the bid threshold levels (see question 10). We are particularly keen that SMEs participate, either as part of a supply chain proposal, or in a collective bid developed in conjunction with other partners, for example a National Skills Academy, a Sector Skills Council or through a Group Training Association.
4. Can public authorities e.g. councils, hospital trusts submit a bid?
The employers who stand to benefit from the proposal need to lead the bid. Therefore, public authorities are able to lead a bid as an employer if the individuals that benefit are employees.
5. I am a participant in a bid. Can you clarify who should lead a bid and the role of partner organisations in the process?
Bids must be led by an employer/employers. This requires the signature of the CEO or an alternative Director from the lead employer(s) who will understand and support the proposal. The lead employer must be a beneficiary of the proposed funding. Partner organisations such as trade bodies can play a broader role in developing a bid beyond a co-coordinating/administrative role. For example, they can play a key role in defining the problem to be tackled in the proposal or bringing together the employers in a sector, supply chain or locality to design and develop the solution.
6. What is the deadline for submitting a bid?
The deadline to register your intention to bid is 13 April 2012. The final deadline for bid submission will be 26 April 2012.
7. Should we put forward an Expression of Interest if we are going to put forward a bid?
No, there will not be an Expression of Interest stage in the first round of the pilot.
8. Can companies based outside England submit bids?
Whilst your organisation can be based anywhere, the benefits of your proposal must focus solely on England.
9. Can employer representative bodies submit bids?
All bids must be led by a named employer(s). Bids will require the signature of the CEO or an alternative Director from the lead employer(s) who will understand and support the proposal. Representative bodies have an important role to play where employers require co-ordination and administrative support. Named employers can nominate representative bodies to perform functions on their behalf as part of the proposal.
10. Are you focussing on particular sectors or geographical areas in the pilot?
The pilot is open to all sectors of the economy in England. Bids will be appraised against a set of investment criteria covering economic benefit, innovation, feasibility and quality. Final decisions on bids will be taken in the context of ensuring a balanced portfolio of investments.
11. Are there limitations on the size of consortia?
There are no upper or lower limitations on the size of consortia, but we will be looking for proposals which include clear project co-ordination and management arrangements.
12. What is the definition of an SME?
Please refer to Annex D in the guidance which gives further details.
13. The guidance says the focus is private sector and that public sector will "be considered". How would NHS partners for example be considered?
We will consider proposals from organisations in the public sector. Overall, what we are really keen to see is bids that show a real impact on productivity, performance and growth, so if NHS partners are interested in developing a proposal, we would encourage them to think about how any proposal would be able to demonstrate an impact on performance and raise productivity. All applicants should refer closely to the investment criteria outlined in the prospectus and ensure their bids meet these.
14. In a consortium bid, who should be the lead and how should we deal with this in registration and application?
All employer ownership applications must be led and shaped by employers. To demonstrate this we require applications to be signed by a CEO or director from a lead employer. In a consortium bid, any of the beneficiaries can be the lead employer. It is entirely up to the applicants to decide which employer should lead the bid. The lead employer should complete the application declaration on p2 of the application form and also the applicant information box on p3. The primary role of the lead employer is to lead the application itself. The lead employer is not the same as the longer-term project manager. This role may be undertaken by another organisation or organisations.
For many consortium bids, partner organisations will play an important role in helping employers with co-ordination, project management and administrative support. Examples of possible partners are (not exclusively): Sector Skills Councils, employer/trade associations, trade unions, professional bodies, city regions, Local Enterprise Partnerships, and training providers. These partners cannot act as the lead employer although they may provide support in drafting the application form.
Unless otherwise specified, we will assume that the lead employer will be the main contact for the application. If employers wish to appoint an alternative point of contact (for example a partner organisation), this should be made clear in section F of the application form.
Registration should be completed by 13th April and will provide a unique reference number for the application. Registration can be undertaken by any of the beneficiaries involved in the bid or (where applicable) by a partner organisation acting on behalf of the employer.
C. Developing your bids
15. Are there minimum and maximum amounts we can bid for?
We want to see significant and scalable proposals for skills investment and therefore the minimum cash investment from Government will be £250,000 for collaborative proposals involving SMEs, and £1 million for individual or consortia bids involving large employers (defined as employing 250 employees or above). We will continue to assess the appropriateness of the eligibility criteria throughout the Pilot.
16. If the bid is from a combination of SMEs and large employers, what is the minimum threshold?
Where a large employer is a beneficiary of the funds, the minimum cash investment from Government is £1,000,000. Where a large company is not part of a bid but merely offers assistance to an SME(s) (eg on how to draft the bid, or through access to facilities), the minimum cash investment from Government is £250,000.
17. What levels of investment are employers expected to make?
There is no defined level of investment we require from employers, but we would expect good bids to have clear and substantial financial commitments from employers. Levels of employer investment will be taken into account in the investment criteria used to assess bids.
18. What can the funding be used for? Does this cover the full cost of a qualification, part cost of qualification, administration costs, management costs, training costs and other potential overheads, such as infrastructure costs?
Funding under the pilot can be used for a wide range of training and skills development activity. It is up to employers, working with partners, to define the activity they want to pursue and set out the rationale for why public investment is needed. Public investment can be used to support administration or management costs as part of an overall proposal about individuals’ participation in skills development, provided that those costs are reasonable and proportionate to the scale of the proposal. Only administration costs directly related to the skills development and training activity of the application can be funded.
The guidance document provides a lot of detail about what public money can be used for. This includes Apprenticeships and wider employee skills development and training opportunities, skills development to help people into work and innovative approaches to the design and delivery of skills development and training. We may consider some bids with an element of infrastructure costs but the pilots are mainly focussed on participation.
The pilot aims to use public investment to directly support individuals’ participation in training or skills development activity, so we would not expect to fund significant development or infrastructure costs. However each proposal will be considered on its own merit and where some development is required to deliver the planned project, we will consider the case made by employers.
In developing your bid you should consider how long any infrastructure may take to develop, and how long before any training activity can take place. If considerable infrastructure work is needed, it might be more appropriate to consider bidding to the Growth and Innovation Fund (GIF). Further information on the GIF can be found on the UK Commission's GIF web pages.
19. Can we use the money for existing employees to upskill or re-shape the work force?
Yes, money can be used to upskill existing employees.
20. Over what timescale is the money available?
Up to £50m is available for the 2012/13 academic year, starting in August 2012. Subject to success of the first round of the pilot, up to £200m will be available for the second round.
21. Can we bid for public investment for more than one year?
Bids can cover a two year period. Where proposals include training or apprenticeships that commence within the two year timeframe but will not be completed within that period, we will fund the completion of that activity where this is considered to be appropriate.
22. Can I include proposals for non-standard apprenticeships within my bid?
Yes. The Specification of Apprenticeships Standards for England (SASE) sets out the minimum requirements to be included in a recognised English apprenticeship. In many cases we would expect bids to include SASE-compliant apprenticeship frameworks. However bidders are encouraged to think creatively about new apprenticeship models. This could include developing new recruitment strategies or other apprenticeship solutions where they do not currently exist. Where this is the case, proposals should explain the rationale for the approach; how the quality of training will be enhanced; and how the breadth and depth of learning apprentices need will be provided.
Through whatever approach is proposed, successful apprentices will be expected to have:
- acquired significant new knowledge and technical qualification(s), recognised to be important to the sector
- become competent in their current role
- been supported towards achieving English and maths to the level of a GCSE A*-C where they do not already possess this
- good progression opportunities once they have completed, either in work or into further/higher education
Apprentices will also have gained significant new skills, and not simply been accredited for those they already have.
If a bid includes public investment for a new apprenticeship framework in an area where a SASE-compliant framework exists, the proposal must explain how this new framework goes beyond and improves on what is already available.
23. Will all training need to be accredited?
The Pilot does not define what types of training can be funded and non-accredited training will be considered. However bidders will need to demonstrate how quality and impact will be assured from non-accredited training. It will depend on the particular problem that applicants are seeking to address through their proposals, but evidence could, for example include the expected impact of the training on an individual’s performance, the impact of the training on productivity or business performance. Applicants may also want to highlight why the particular training or skills need cannot be met through accredited learning options.
24. We already have a contract for apprenticeships delivery with the Skills Funding Agency or National Apprenticeships Service. Can we still submit a bid?
Yes. Bids should set out how the proposal relates to any existing public funding arrangements. You can discuss the relationship between your existing contract and the pilot with your Skills Funding Agency or National Apprenticeships Service account manager.
25. If learning providers are involved as delivery partners, do they need to be on the SFA 'approved' list or can they be any Learning Provider?
Employers who are bidding can use the SFA’s register of training organisations as a tool for assuring the quality of providers. If providers who are not on the Register of Training Organisations (RTO) are chosen, applicants will have to provide evidence that they have conducted due diligence of providers. Please refer to page 25 of the Employer Ownership Pilot Fund guidance for applicants for further details.
26. Will my bid have to comply with State Aids rules?
Yes. All bids will need to be assessed for state aid compliance, and bidders should assure themselves that the bid is state aid compliant. We consider that the De Minimis Regulation and the General Block Exemption Regulation provisions on training will generally provide legal cover.
Click for further information about State Aid.
27. Will factors that affect the cost of delivery be taken into account when considering the value for money aspect of a bid? E.g. delivery is more expensive and time consuming in rural areas.
Value for money is one of the key investment criteria for the pilot, but the Investment Board will ultimately take their decision on the basis of the desire to fund a balanced portfolio of projects across a range of skills development activity, sectors, geographical location and company size. In setting out the public funding that you are asking for to support the proposal, you may wish to set out the rationale for your costings and explain how, for example, delivery would be more expensive and time consuming in rural areas.
28. What is meant by “in-kind” contributions?
These are costs that are paid for, or gifted to the project, by other organisations or employers e.g. free room or equipment hire, free staff or management time, secondees, free training or free advice.
Contributions in time for one off completion of questionnaires/interviews by employers or attendance at short one off meetings is not considered meaningful in terms of direct financial cost to the project itself and therefore should be excluded from any in kind contribution calculations and totals.
29. As an employer it is difficult to provide the level of detail in the application form in relation to all skills development and training activity. What level of detail is required for the purposes of the application?
We would like bidders to provide as accurate a summary as they can of the investment made in these broader areas of skills development to the level of detail that is possible. We recognise that the level of detail might vary by the size of the companies but these details help us assess the economic benefit and value for money. We would still find it helpful if employers can only give an estimate on the amount of skills investment. However, we would strongly encourage employers to also estimate how much of this investment was spent on different levels of training for example: 30% on level 2 training and 70% at level 3.
30. The guidance states that public funding for Higher Education (HE) activities, including Foundation degrees, HNCs and HNDs, is not available in the pilot. Would this apply to Higher Apprenticeships proposals which include HE elements?
We welcome bids that include Higher Apprenticeships, but public funding available through the pilot cannot be used to support directly the Higher Education elements, such as foundation degrees, HNCs and HNDs. Bidders may choose to fund such elements themselves as part of their contribution to a wider package of activities within their bid, or they may wish to seek funding through other routes.
31. Our consortia of SMEs has concerns about whether we have the financial capacity to run a project that would require significant investment from ourselves, where payment of the public contribution is in arrears. Is this the only option available?
For the majority of the bids we will seek to make payment in arrears in line with the BIS standard policy on grant funding. We do however recognise that for some bids, and particularly those involving SME consortia this may present some challenges meaning that some element of payment in advance of activity may be appropriate. Where this is the case bidders should set this out in within their bid (at q15,)explaining why funding on this basis is required, and how appropriate project governance and management arrangements will off set the increased risk to public funds where this flexibility is provided.
D. Successful bids
32. When will we know if our bid has been successful?
We expect to be able to notify successful bidders in June/July 2012
32. If we are successful what happens next?
Once informed of a successful bid, and following necessary due diligence, the Skills Funding Agency will agree a grant letter with the bidder which will set out the terms of the agreement and the structures for accountability.
34. When and how will the payments be made?
Payment schedules will be agreed as part of grant letters issued to successful bids
E. Unsuccessful bids
35. If we are unsuccessful, will there be another chance to bid?
We expect to launch a future round of the pilot. Details will be made available later in the year.
36. If we are unsuccessful, can we appeal?
There will be no opportunity to appeal the final decisions.
F. Further information
37. Where can I find out further information about skills and apprenticeships?
For more information on the current apprenticeships offer, see: www.apprenticeships.org.uk , and for more information about skills, see: www.ukces.org.uk and www.skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk
Please click here to view the Prospectus (PDF, 544 Kb)
12. Can bids include development costs or costs to develop new systems or programmes?
The pilot aims to use public investment to directly support individuals’ participation in training or skills development activity, so we would not expect to fund significant development or infrastructure costs. However each proposal will be considered on its own merit and where some development is required to deliver the planned project, we will consider the case made by employers.
In developing your bid you should consider how long any infrastructure may take to develop, and how long before any training activity can take place. If considerable infrastructure work is needed, it might be more appropriate to consider bidding to the Growth and Innovation Fund (GIF). Further information on the GIF can be found here: www.ukces.org.uk/ourwork/investment/growthinnovationfund
13. What levels of investment are employers expected to make?
There is no defined level of investment we require from employers, but we would expect good bids to have clear and substantial financial commitments from employers. Levels of employer investment will be taken into account in the investment criteria used to assess bids.
14. Over what timescale is the money available?
Up to £50m is available for the 2012/13 academic year, starting in August 2012. Subject to success of the first round of the pilot, up to £200m will be available for the second round.
15. Can we bid for public investment for more than one year?
Bids can cover a two year period. Where proposals include training or apprenticeships that commence within the two year timeframe but will not be completed within that period, we will fund the completion of that activity where this is considered to be appropriate.
16. Can I include proposals for non-standard apprenticeships within my bid?
Yes. The Specification of Apprenticeships Standards for England (SASE) sets out the minimum requirements to be included in a recognised English apprenticeship. In many cases we would expect bids to include SASE-compliant apprenticeship frameworks. However bidders are encouraged to think creatively about new apprenticeship models. This could include developing new recruitment strategies or other apprenticeship solutions where they do not currently exist. Where this is the case, proposals should explain the rationale for the approach; how the quality of training will be enhanced; and how the breadth and depth of learning apprentices need will be provided.
Through whatever approach is proposed, successful apprentices will be expected to have:
- acquired significant new knowledge and technical qualification(s), recognised to be important to the sector
- become competent in their current role
- been supported towards achieving English and maths to the level of a GCSE A*-C where they do not already possess this
- good progression opportunities once they have completed, either in work or into further/higher education.
Apprentices will also have gained significant new skills, and not simply been accredited for those they already have.
If a bid includes public investment for a new apprenticeship framework in an area where a SASE-compliant framework exists, the proposal must explain how this new framework goes beyond and improves on what is already available.
17. We already have a contract for apprenticeships delivery with the Skills Funding Agency or National Apprenticeships Service. Can we still submit a bid?
Yes. Bids should set out how the proposal relates to any existing public funding arrangements. You can discuss the relationship between your existing contract and the pilot with your Skills Funding Agency or National Apprenticeships Service account manager.
19. Will factors that affect the cost of delivery be taken into account when considering the value for money aspect of a bid? E.g. delivery is more expensive and time consuming in rural areas.
Value for money is one of the key investment criteria for the pilot, but the Investment Board will ultimately take their decision on the basis of the desire to fund a balanced portfolio of projects across a range of skills development activity, sectors, geographical location and company size. In setting out the public funding that you are asking for to support the proposal, you may wish to set out the rationale for your costings and explain how, for example, delivery would be more expensive and time consuming in rural areas.
.
