A total of 468 new apprenticeship training providers have been approved to join the government’s official register.

There are now 2,577 providers on the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s (ESFA) register of apprenticeship training providers, which launched last March.

Industry giants such as British Airways, Lloyds Bank, G4S and Greggs are among the 61 new employer providers - those levy-paying employers that are permitted to provide training to their own staff or to apprentices in their connected companies.

Hospitals, police forces and universities

The University of Cambridge, Capita and Thomas Cook join 291 new main providers, which are organisations that can be selected by levy-paying employers to deliver apprenticeship training, or selected by another main provider to work as a subcontractor.

There are 112 new supporting providers, which act as subcontractors on behalf of main providers for contracts worth between £100,000 and £500,0000. New additions include Northern Rail and three NHS trusts.

Some 24 police forces have been registered as providers in the latest round, as well as 15 universities, including the University of Edinburgh and the University of Manchester.

Quality assurance

Cardinal Newman College, a Catholic sixth-form college in Preston, and University Campus St Albans, a joint venture between the University of Hertfordshire and Oaklands College, also join the register.

This represents the third big round of registrations since the register was introduced almost a year ago in order to help monitor training providers directly or indirectly receiving apprenticeship levy funds and ensure quality. Those offering apprentices at levels 2 and 3 are subject to inspection by Ofsted and those offering level 4 and 5 will also be monitored by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.

Want to keep up with the latest education news and opinion? Follow Tes FE News on Twitter, like us on Facebook and follow us on LinkedIn