A third of independent training providers are struggling to maintain their relationship with learners during the coronavirus pandemic, according to new research.
The study, carried out by the Association of Employment of Learning Providers (AELP) for Bud Systems, the creators of the Bud learning management platform, shows that 45 per cent of ITPs encountered problems with adjusting their curriculum content for online delivery.
The research shows that 37 per cent felt that learners did not have the correct equipment, and 34 per cent said they had problems maintaining relations with learners.
News: Bring back centre-assessed grading, AELP urges
Apprenticeships: Australia to subsidise 50% of wages
DfE: Apprenticeships advice for adults not good enough
The research shows that Excel (16 per cent) and paper-based methods (13 per cent) were the two most used tools for managing apprenticeships – which Bud says are "prone to administrative errors and point to a worrying lack of data security and the ability to collaborate, share data and check KPIs".
More than 20 per cent of providers also commented that they were uncertain they would have suitable compliance evidence from the lockdown period, which could further impact funding.
'Digital transformation'
Paul Warner, the director of research and development at the AELP, said that the research provides a "snapshot of sentiment and industry challenge".
He said: “AELP’s main purpose is to lobby for government-funded skills and employment programmes that increase workforce productivity and improve social mobility. Research like this is important because it provides a snapshot of sentiment and industry challenges and allows ITPs to compare and contrast their own experience with that of their peers.
"In general, the research shows that lockdown has increased the speed of change, increased receptivity to digital transformation and brought about developments that could have easily taken some years more to implement.”
In the research, 79 per cent of providers said the changes they made may improve their overall offer in the long term. Almost 40 per cent reported that the quality of delivery has improved, 28 per cent reported that data capture has improved and 73 per cent said cost-effectiveness of delivery has improved.
Heather Frankham, co-founder of Bud, said: “The economic impact of lockdown has hit providers in different ways depending on the sectors they provide training for and their capability to deliver remotely. Most have seen drops in new and existing business impacting income, but our research also highlights the resilience and adaptability of the sector.
"Changes that would normally take years were implemented in weeks and it’s encouraging that many are seeing positive impacts on their business as a result of these changes that they will integrate into routine practice in a new normal post-Covid.”
