Next week’s Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ (AELP) national conference is not just about the ups and downs of the apprenticeship reforms. We will also be debating the Sainsbury reforms for technical and professional education, devolution of employment and skills in England, and the current issues surrounding traineeships (see bit.ly/AELPtrain).

But as the new ministers get their feet under the table at the Department for Education, the future of apprenticeships will arguably be their biggest challenge outside of the issue of school funding.

It would be stretching it to say that ministers have inherited a poisoned chalice. After all, the levy components have opened up great new opportunities, especially at higher and degree-level apprenticeships, and driven large employer engagement in the programme.

In the context of Brexit and the government’s renewed commitments on migratory controls, it is vital that its flagship skills programme grows. We’ve said to the new team at the DfE that the emphasis on making training opportunities available wherever you live is why AELP is pressing for properly sustained and guaranteed support in the non-levy-paying business community - and this is not just a reference to apprenticeships.

Growing programmes like traineeships require responsive funding and proper measurement. English and maths, along with digital skills, must be properly funded, and the learner must be supported with whatever programme they are undertaking.

In the general election campaign, many training providers contacted their local parliamentary candidates with their concerns about the potential for “apprenticeship deserts” to appear in large areas of the country because of the very limited funding allocations for smaller businesses’ apprenticeships. Universities have now joined us in arguing that degree apprenticeships should not just be the preserve of large employers. Providers lobbied candidates on AELP’s call for guaranteed apprenticeship funding for non-levy-paying employers of at least £1 billion, no matter what levy is unused, and for non-levy-payers to be placed on the Apprenticeship Service as soon as possible to generate a genuine, employer-led system within the programme.

Ministers should also be ordering an immediate review of the impact of employer cash contributions on the small- and medium-sized enterprise apprenticeship starts. Anecdotal feedback from providers points to a significant fall in starts overall during the next few months because of the non-levy allocations, as well as levy-paying employers holding back from spending their entitlement.

What we don’t want is for the government to hit the panic button and make a major, sudden adjustment to the levers it can pull to stimulate or rein in demand. However, it should be increasing the non-levy allocations as soon as possible to maintain a sustainable and diverse provider base to serve employers across different sectors. A measured debate on the impact of the reforms would also be helped by greater transparency from the government, such as in publishing data on a monthly basis for levy and non-levy starts.

AELP was pleased that the Conservatives’ manifesto retained the 3 million apprenticeship starts target. We have always argued that this can be achieved without endangering the programme’s quality. The Institute for Apprenticeships should work with key stakeholders to ensure that all existing and new apprenticeship standards are fit for purpose, their assessments are reliable, and there is adequate funding to deliver a quality programme. Until these criteria are met, learners should not be started on new standards. Delivery should be inspected under one framework and end-point assessment should have one quality standardisation organisation.

Something new to chew over

The National Retraining Scheme proposed in the Conservatives’ manifesto will have given the civil servants something new to chew over when preparing the DfE ministers’ post-election briefings. Hopefully they will draw on the expertise and experience of our member providers as they draft a blueprint.

We hope the previous commitment to social mobility will remain part of the new government’s mantra. This requires support and development of level 2 programmes across all sectors as a first step for a young person or an adult needing to retrain. Maths and English provision within an apprenticeship should attract the same funding - £724 - as the provision receives on a standalone basis.

The DfE should commission a study of how much the provision now costs, although we can confidently say that, while £471 might cover the costs of delivering level 1 within an apprenticeship, it certainly doesn’t for level 2. Delivery should also count towards the apprentice’s off-the-job training, where appropriate.

The AELP conference will also see us call for tendering of the full £1.5 billion adult education budget, along with other training initiatives to ensure targeted and value-for-money delivery across regions and sectors. With AELP’s membership rapidly expanding to cover other types of providers, and our regional networks strengthening, the conference will demonstrate that we are ready to meet any challenges that the new government may throw at us.

Mark Dawe is chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers