Independent training providers (ITPs) continue to be responsible for the delivery of three out of every four apprenticeships in England, according to new data obtained by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers.

The figures, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, show 74 per cent of the 496,000 apprenticeships started in 2016-17 - which includes the first three months after the apprenticeship levy’s introduction - were delivered by ITPs in partnership with employers. This could be either under a direct contract with the Education and Skills Funding Agency or under a subcontract with a further education college or other provider. 

AELP chief executive Mark Dawe said this was “an important reminder to policymakers and opinion-formers what an important role the independent provider sector plays in the delivery of the government’s flagship skills programme”. 

“AELP supports the employer-driven principles behind the government’s apprenticeship reforms. With the information available to them, including Ofsted judgements, employers are perfectly capable of choosing a training provider, college or another type of provider that will be responsive to their needs,” he added.

Subcontracting drops

The proportion of apprenticeship starts delivered using subcontracting dropped by 3 per cent 2016-17 for all providers - from 29 per cent to 26 per cent, according to the AELP data. General FE colleges subcontracted out 36 per cent of all the apprenticeships they provided - a 4 per cent drop compared with the previous year - while ITPs subcontracted out a smaller proportion of their apprenticeships at 21 per cent. 

The rules for subcontracted apprenticeship delivery changed in January of this year in a bid by the government to encourage more direct provision.

Mr Dawe said: “While there is, and should remain, a place for bona fide subcontracting in the sector, the reforms should reduce the subcontracting that has been about protecting the contract value allocated to the lead contractor and boosting its general accounts rather than maximising the amount of funding available for frontline training.  We believe that the ESFA rules should be amended to place a 20 per cent limit on management fees, as the AELP/Collab Group/Holex subcontracting guidance recommends.”

The data’s publication comes as AELP’s national conference starts in London today.