There has been a drop in the proportion of apprenticeships trained by independent providers, new data reveals.
In 2017-18, 67 per cent of apprentices were trained by providers, either directly or through subcontracting arrangements. This is down from the 74 per cent figure for 2016-17.
In the same period, a crackdown on subcontracted delivery meant that out of the 376,000 apprenticeship starts in 2017-18, only 11 per cent were subcontracted, compared with 26 per cent the previous year.
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‘State of transition’
The figures have been obtained by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP). It believes that the overall drop of 24 per cent in apprenticeship starts was a factor behind the decline in market share. Other reasons could include 200 fewer independent training providers delivering apprenticeship training to non-levy paying employers as a result of a controversial government procurement exercise in 2017, and the halving of the budget for SMEs’ apprenticeships since April 2017.
Chief executive Mark Dawe said: “It is clear that the change in subcontracting rules and an inability to access funding has reduced the ability for independent training providers to deliver apprenticeships and this would seem to be a major contributor to the fall in apprenticeship numbers in 2017-18.
“While genuine subcontracting in the interests of employer need shouldn’t be banned, its use as an income source for the lead provider with little benefit to the employer or learner certainly shouldn’t be accepted.
“We are still in a state of transition on the apprenticeship reforms which may or may not lead to the end of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) contracting system, so share of the market by provider type may fluctuate for a while.”
Despite the reduction in subcontracting, AELP maintains that the ESFA funding rules should impose a 20 per cent limit on subcontracting management fees.
