Recent figures released by the EFSA have shown a huge drop-off in apprenticeship starts.
There has been a marked fall, more so in recent months and the official figures release by the DfE in July prove that.
Their Apprenticeships and Traineeships statistic between August 2017 and April 2018 illustrate the situation.
There have been 290,500 apprenticeship starts reported to date between August 2017 and April 2018 for the 2017/18 academic year, which is a drop of 34% compared to 2016/2017.
This compares to 440,300 and 384,500 starts reported in the equivalent period in 2016/17 and 2015/16 respectively.
Systems and policies
This has been caused through employers and providers maximising the number of starters they could have while everything was still fully-funded in April 2017, before the apprenticeship levy and co-financing elements kicked in.
The systems and policies mean the world has now changed!
Previously, it was a case of “Would you like something for free?” and employers were saying ‘yes’.
Now employers are paying for training, they want exactly what they want! Something that is tailored to them and is not just an ‘off the shelf product’. They want something that is attractive.
Smaller employers need to see the value of what they are getting too. Previously, it was costing them time, but not pounds and pence, the apprentice was someone they could develop. Now, they still have to give up time, but now they have to pay for it too.
Ability to tender
As a result, employers who have now got used to the new world will start to put out tenders and find the right providers. Businesses within the sector need to make sure they have got the ability to tender for work, in particularly with local authorities that hold huge pots of money.
For example, the NHS too have not accessed the full range of activities that they could do, as well as larger employers who want to formalise what they are doing in terms of structure.
Having the right tender, having the right approach to tendering and being able to tender effectively will become more and more important as the decrease in take-ups becomes more obvious.
Hopefully, there will be changes within Government policy that will enable this to happen. If it doesn’t, the market will be there but there will be different routes to it.
You can no longer knock on the door and say 'Would you like some apprenticeship training?' There will be a process and ways of working that apprenticeship providers will need to go through.
Join me, in conjunction with AELP on November 7 for the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers Autumn 2018 Workshop at the Hallmark Strathallan Hotel in Birmingham.
You will get a clear understanding the steps required for a successful ROATP submission.
It's aimed at: independent training providers, colleges of all sizes, employer providers & higher education institutes.
Following mixed publicity on previous applications rounds across the market this will be a highly regulated with all eyes on the results. Make sure you are smiling when the results are released.
To book your place and find out more information, click here: https://bit.ly/2psTxAE