August 2011 Newsletter

From the Skills Funding Agency

  Guidance Note 8 was released in July and is available from the Skills

  Funding Agency (SFA) website. The Guidance Note covers the following areas:   

·          Updated performance management arrangements for 2011/12 colleges, training organisations and employers for the Adult Skills Budget and 16-18 Apprenticeships. The guidance includes profiling, performance review details and payments. 

·       Discretionary Learner Support (dLS) – payments and performance management. 

The dLS has been allocated to colleges and training organisations as part of the funding statement for 2011/12. The dLS budget is outside of the Adult Skills Budget. 2011/12 will be the last year of this separate budget. 

·       Update on Outcome Incentive Payments  

2011/12 will be a transitional year for many providers with respect to Outcome Incentive Payments, where the SFA are asking them to work with the sector in a different way and with new client groups, particularly unemployed clients.  

Colleges will be paid for this provision as part of their combined payment profile. Training organisations will claim their 2.5% through the Training Provider Statement (TPS) throughout the year. Further guidance on how to claim through the TPS will be covered in the Funding Requirements. 

For all providers, the 2.5% OIP fund will not form part of the in year performance managment process. This will allow all providers to set up the infrastructure required to deliver job outcomes to unemployed learners.

It is anticipated that the SFA will be in a better position to administer this initiative in contract year 12-13 when the scheme will be piloted with a planned a£80m going to colleges and training groups whose students have moved from collecting unemployment benefits into jobs. 

At present there seems to be a lot of uncertainty especially for providers only working with apprentices.

·       Apprenticeship update including additional funds and Framework Rates–

Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for England (SASE). 

No new starts will be funded on old blueprint frameworks from 1 August 2011. The introduction of SASE puts in place new statutory requirements governing the content of frameworks and embeds the transition of qualifications in the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF). 

Apprenticeship Frameworks Online (AFO)

I really like Apprenticeship Frameworks Online (AFO) the online library forApprenticeship frameworks. As such it contains detailed information on all of the Apprenticeship frameworks currently available, including 

At last some consistency in approach with respect to detailing framework requirements however, a point to note is that the AFO contains information on both publicly funded and non-funded frameworks with England and Wales but the National Apprenticeship Service only supports frameworks which are publicly funded. 

A spreadsheet has also been designed to give information of the transition from the current 'Blueprint compliant' frameworks and the new SASE compliant frameworks.   

Called the Framework Implementation Planner it can be downloaded via

http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Partners/Frameworks/SASE/Implementation.aspx

Should you need to view old (non-SASE compliant) frameworks you can still do that here:

http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Partners/Frameworks/FrameworkSearch.aspx

However this Framework Search facility will be removed once all frameworks become SASE compliant. 

SASE Implementation Q&A section

As the SASEs are rolled out and you attempt to adhere to the requirements it is worth keeping a close eye on the SASE Implementation Q&A section on the www.apprenticeship.org.uk website. This is particularly so with respect to the ‘thorny’ issue of the Guided Learning Hour’ (GLH) requirement, examples of Q&As include: 

If the apprentice has already achieved one elements of the framework i.e. functional skills, can the provider offset the GLH for the qualification against the GLH required for the framework?

Yes. If elements of the framework have already been achieved then the GLH requirement is reduced accordingly as the learner will have undertaken the GLH through a different route as part of their entitlement. 

What does ‘off the job’ GLH mean?

In terms of an Apprenticeship, ‘off the job’ guided learning means learning which encourages and enables the apprentice to develop the technical skills of the job and to develop their knowledge of theoretical concepts across a range of contexts and the wider market. This type of guided learning will be delivered away from the immediate pressures of the job. It may be delivered in the workplace, in a college or training provider premises. 

What does ‘on the job’ GLH mean?

In terms of an Apprenticeship, ‘on the job’ guided learning means learning which encourages and enables the apprentice to demonstrate practical job-related skills and to practise and apply these skills in the context of the job. This type of learning will be delivered in the workplace and through practical experience of doing the job. 

What can be included in the on and the off training in relation to GLH? 

Each SASE compliant framework will contain details of the breakdown of the GLH to be delivered for both on and off the job learning. Examples of on the job include the competence qualification. Examples of off the learning include the knowledge based qualification, mentoring and induction. 

What is the outcome if not all the GLH are completed? 

The apprentice is entitled to receive all of the GLH as set out in the framework. If the apprentice declares that not all of the GLH has been undertaken at the point of certification, then a completion certificate will not be issued. 

The GLH within an Apprenticeship is an entitlement for the learner as part of the Education Act. Therefore providers will need to ensure that the programme of learning they deliver includes the requirements of the GLH for the individual sector framework. They will be required to set out how the GLH is to be delivered to the apprentice in the Learning Agreement. They will not be required to record individual hours. For certification purposes, the apprentice will be required to declare that they have completed the GLH requirement as set out in the individual sector framework. 

NB A declaration form has already been added to FrameUp making it very simple for users to fulfil this requirement. Plus there is the option to record individual hours should this be required. 

 The SASE refers to ‘GCSE English’ does this also mean the GCSE Literature also applies in this context.?

Under SASE the reference to 'GCSE English' relates to 'GCSE English Language' only. 

I am still struggling to get my head around the the extended ruling applicable to the Functional Skills component of the SASE and find the guidance on the same website extremely useful where it stats:

Learners will satisfy the Apprenticeship requirement for the relevant Functional Skills qualification if they have achieved either; 

(a) within the previous five years and before September 2012:  

·          Key Skills Communication at the equivalent level or GCSE English (Grades A* - C) or A level or AS Level English Language, English Literature, or English Language and Literature (Grades A – E);  

·          Key Skills Application of Number at the equivalent level or GCSE Mathematics (Grades A* - C) or A level or AS level Mathematics, Pure Mathematics, or Further Mathematics (Grades A - E),  

·          Key Skills ICT at the equivalent level or GCSE ICT (Grades A* - C) or A level or AS level ICT; or  

(b) beyond the previous five years:  

·          GCSE or O’ level English (Grades A* - A) or A level or AS Level English Language, English Literature, or English Language and Literature (Grades A* – A);  

·          GCSE or O’ level Mathematics (Grades A* - A) or A level or AS level Mathematics, Pure Mathematics, or Further Mathematics (Grades A* - A),  

·          GCSE or O’ Level ICT (Grades A* - A) or A level or AS level ICT (Grades A* or A). 

Hot Topics

Access to Apprenticeships

In May 2011 the Government announced a new pathway within the Apprenticeship programme to start in August 2011 with the aim of widening access for young people with the potential to benefit from an Apprenticeship. 

Every participant will be a prospective apprentice from the start, and the Government expects to see everyone progressing into a full Apprenticeship, employed and paid, as quickly as possible within the maximum timescale of 6 months. However, the expectation is that for many it may take approximately 3 months, depending on their individual circumstances.  

Access to Apprenticeships will provide up to 10,000 places in the first year with a similar amount in following years. It will be funded from existing Apprenticeship budgets.

Full details and a very useful Q&A document can be viewed via http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Partners/Policy/AccesstoApprenticeships.aspx 

For providers to fulfil the Government's expectation of progression into a full Apprenticeship, (employed and paid) it is essential that they have an effective system in place to monitor prospective employer and learner activity with respect to recruitment.

To see how CRM Extra (software specifically designed to do this) works click here.
 

2011/12 ILR changes and the single ILR

The information authority has launched two online learning tools to assist understanding of the 2011/12 ILR changes and the single ILR. They can be downloaded via http://www.theia.org.uk/ilr/ilrdocuments/

They have also created both tools in the format of a PowerPoint show, which providers can download via http://www.theia.org.uk/ilr/ilrdocuments/201112_ilrdetail.htm

It contains the same information in the same interactive format as the online tools and can be used for in-house training sessions.

 2010/11 Period 12 Employer Responsive Qualification Success Rate

The Data Service published the 2010/11 Period 12 Employer Responsive Qualification Success Rate reports on 25 August 2011. These reports are now available to download from the Provider Gateway.

2011/12 Funding Requirements and Learner Eligibility

The Funding Guidance for 2011/12 has now been published so has an amended version of the recently published Learner Eligibility and Contribution Rules. The amendments to the previous version are listed at the front of version2.1 which replaces the  2011/12 Learner Eligibility and Contribution Rules Version 2.

Snippet

9-in-10 employers value fresh school leaver talent

More than 90 per cent of employers believe that organisations benefit from hiring school leavers, a new survey has revealed.

The survey, commissioned by Apprenticeship provider Lifetime, highlighted that 93 per cent of employers value school leavers' ability to bring enthusiasm and fresh ideas to the work place. 

Some 66 per cent stressed the benefit of learning employment-related skills, such as communication, teamwork and customer awareness as on top of the academic curriculum, before entering the working world.

  http://www.fenews.co.uk/fe-news/9-in-10-employers-value-fresh-school-leaver-talent

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