Jo Bridger, SCTP Chair, represented SCTP at the Annual Apprenticeship Conference. Some of the hot topics being discussed at the conference included subcontracting, with the consultation on subcontracting due to close on 17 March, and the IfATE funding recommendations consultation, which is due to close on 6 April. Also discussed was the full roll out of the apprenticeship service, including the recent announcements that all starts will go through the service from November and that providers need to make sure that they sign the new Apprenticeship Agreement by 6 April to minimise potential disruption to payments. Another focus was the rejection by the IfATE of the business administration level 2 standard due to their belief that there is not enough within the standard to justify it being an apprenticeship. At the conference Ofsted expressed concerns about the lack of level 2/3 apprenticeships creating missing rungs on the progression ladder and that off the job training is poor quality or not happening, which is why they are choosing to ‘deep dive’ into this area in their inspections. With regard to inspections they explained that providers must define the starting point in terms of skills, knowledge and behaviours and then evidence the progress, and talked about the importance of apprentices talking about their progression. They also felt that too many providers were not making the move to standards. The simplified EQA system for apprenticeships was also discussed, with the expectation that Ofqual will become the only EQA within the next 2 years, the consultation on this closes on 9 April. The RoATP was also talked about. A version 3 is currently being worked on, and questions remain whether there will be funding limits or restrictions of the number of standards that each provider can deliver.
