Around 86,300 apprentices are currently beyond their planned end dates, with 25,000 finding still on their apprenticeships six months after their planned finish date, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) has said. 

In her weekly newsletter to members, AELP chief executive Jane Hickie said that 55,800 of those apprentices were on standards where Gateway and end-point assessment apply. 

She added that while AELP was unsure how many were delayed specifically due to the functional skills qualification (FSQ) “log jam”, training providers were supporting the bulk of the apprentices without any government funding. 

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Speaking to Tes, Ms Hickie said AELP has called for a “new time-bound second success payment” to ensure targeted support for the thousands of learners left behind.

She said: “While the lockdown period has enabled many apprentices to undertake valuable off-the-job training, being restricted from going into work and the need to re-sequence the pedagogy of the curriculum mean that many apprentices, especially those in practical occupations, will still need significant provider support once back in the workplace. 

“It is vital to ensure that knowledge can be converted to real-life practical competence and there shouldn’t be an assumption that the provider’s job is done and employers will pick up the remainder of the on-the-job competency attainment and refinement.”

In the newsletter, issued on Friday, she said: “If this is going to be the final lockdown, we must all work together to rid ourselves of legacy issues and to clear backlogs before the end of July. Then providers can lend maximum support to employers and learners, especially those who have been impacted so badly by the pandemic.”

The functional skills ‘log jam’ 

Rules stipulate that learners must pass functional skills to complete their apprenticeships. In summer 2020, the government allowed centre-assessed grades to be awarded for functional skills where exams could not take place. However, that flexibility ended at the end of August. 

At the time, AELP warned of a functional skills “log jam”, with thousands of apprentices ready to complete their course but unable to take exams due to Coronavirus restrictions. 

In February, the government confirmed that apprentices could start their end-point assessment (EPA) prior to achieving their functional skills qualification, and confirmed functional skills exams could continue in line with public health measures, with teacher assessments available for those who cannot access the exams remotely. 

At the time, Ms Hickie said: “The government is concerned that the end-point assessment organisations (EPAOs) may not be seeing the EPA volumes coming and AELP is encouraging providers to let the EPAOs know what they need. 

“Currently, the funding rules say providers need to let EPAOs know at least three months in advance, but with the current functional skills testing log jam, providers have understandably been unable to book EPAs confident that they can go ahead.”