Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote apprenticeships in the woodworking and joinery sector.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We have introduced a wide range of reforms to improve the quality of apprenticeships and to encourage employers, of all sizes and in all sectors, across England to create more high-quality apprenticeship opportunities.
New high-quality apprenticeship standards, designed and driven by industry, are providing employers with the skills they need. Over 530 standards have been approved for delivery to apprentices. From August 2020 all starts will be on these employer-designed standards.
Employers in the woodwork and joinery sector have developed two standards available for delivery – one at level 2 and one at level 3. The sector can also benefit from the 76 new apprenticeship standards in construction-related roles that have been approved for delivery by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. This exceeds the target of 50 set in the 2018 Construction Sector Deal. A further 22 are in development.
We continue to encourage the take up of our apprenticeship programme across all sectors, including in construction. The third phase of the Fire it Up campaign launched in January, targeting audience groups that contribute to widening participation in apprenticeships.
To ensure that young people hear about all the education and employment options available to them, in January 2018 we introduced a legal requirement for schools to give training providers the chance to talk to pupils about technical qualifications and apprenticeships. We offer a free service to schools through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) project to ensure that teachers have the knowledge and support to enable them to promote apprenticeships to their students. In the last academic year, ASK reached over 300,000 students.
Representatives from the National Apprenticeship Service also attended 30 UCAS exhibitions in 2019, engaging with around 10,000 young people, their parents and careers advisers. This work will continue during 2020 alongside our wider communications and marketing activity to raise the profile of apprenticeships.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to prioritise the woodworking and joinery sector as part of any review of apprenticeship standards.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
This is a matter for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. I have asked its Chief Executive, Jennifer Coupland, to write to the noble Lady and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent steps they have taken to allocate additional resources for the roll-out of the apprenticeship standards in the woodworking and joinery sector.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
New high-quality apprenticeships standards, designed and driven by industry, are providing employers with the skills they need. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education is responsible for working with employer trailblazer groups to design and approve these standards. The standards describe full occupational competence, as agreed by employers, and must include a rigorous and independent end-point assessment.
Over 530 standards have been approved for delivery to apprentices. From August 2020 all starts will be on these employer-designed standards. Employers in the woodwork and joinery sector have developed two standards available for delivery – Carpentry/Joinery and Advanced Carpentry/Joinery. The sector can also benefit from the 76 standards in construction-related roles.
We support employers via the National Apprenticeship Service, offering free impartial, expert advice to employers in every sector. To support SMEs in sectors such as joinery and woodwork to use these standards to address their skills needs, we have begun to move smaller employers onto our apprenticeship service, giving them a greater choice of training providers. Smaller employers, such as those in supply chains, can also benefit from transferred funds from levy payers. This year, 2019-20 funding available for investment in apprenticeships in England is over £2.5 billion; double what was spent in 2010.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much in total the woodworking and joinery sector has contributed to the apprenticeship levy fund to date; what proportion of that total has been spent on apprenticeships; and whether any unspent levy can be redistributed back to non-levy payers to be used by SMEs to address skills shortages.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The apprenticeship levy is collected by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs from all UK employers with a pay bill above £3 million.
Employers in England access their levy funding through their apprenticeship service accounts. The Education and Skills Funding Agency does not require levy-paying employers to document their industry sector when registering an apprenticeship service account. For this reason, we are unable to provide data which shows the amount of levy funds entering the accounts of employers in the woodworking and joinery sector, or the proportion of that total which has been spent on apprenticeships.
In 2019-20, funding available for investment in apprenticeships in England has risen to over £2.5 billion, double what was spent in 2010-11, allowing employers of all sizes, including those in the woodworking and joinery sector, to access funding for apprenticeships.
The department’s annual apprenticeships budget, which is distinct to the funds available to levy-paying employers through their apprenticeship service accounts, funds apprenticeships in England for both levy payers and Small and Medium Enterprises. This means that levy payers’ unspent funds are not lost but are used to support apprenticeships in smaller employers.
We are also supporting smaller employers who do not pay the levy by moving them onto our digital apprenticeship service, giving them a greater choice of training providers and more control over their apprenticeships. In addition, smaller employers can benefit from transferred funds from levy payers, supporting new starts in supply chains and addressing sector skills shortages and local skills needs.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with further education colleges about the delivery of practical qualifications needed to support the woodworking and joinery sector.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The government approves a number of qualifications for funding, across a range of subjects and levels, which providers, including further education (FE) colleges, can offer to their students. Qualifications are approved for funding in line with the government’s funding conditions and in response to student, employer and local skills needs. We expect those qualifications approved for government funding to be delivered in line with guidance set out by the awarding organisation offering the qualification, and all government funded provision is subject to inspection by Ofsted.
The government is conducting a review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below to ensure that there is a simpler, clearer qualifications offer in which all qualifications are high quality, have a clear purpose and support students to progress to positive outcomes. The government will be publishing the next stage of the consultation on this review later in the year.
We continue to engage with stakeholders, including FE providers and their representatives, on matters relating to technical education.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that the national skills fund is fully accessible to SMEs in the woodworking and joinery sector on a (1) national, (2) regional, and (3) local basis.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
Over the course of this parliament, the government will provide an extra £3 billion for a new National Skills Fund. The Fund is part of a dramatic rebooting of our skills system and will help workers to have the skills they need to flourish and fulfil their potential.
To decide how best to develop the National Skills Fund, the government are planning to consult widely on the Fund, to ensure the Fund provides the best return on investment.
The insights gained will help to build an understanding how to target the National Skills Fund to ensure it best supports people to learn new skills and prepare for future changes to the economy.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that resources allocated by the national skills fund fully support the provision of (1) training for specialist technical trainers, (2) training for assessors, and (3) machinery and materials, in the woodworking and joinery sector.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
Over the course of this parliament, the government will provide an extra £3 billion for a new National Skills Fund. The Fund is part of a dramatic rebooting of our skills system and will help workers to have the skills they need to flourish and fulfil their potential.
To decide how best to develop the National Skills Fund, the government are planning to consult widely on the Fund, to ensure the Fund provides the best return on investment.
The insights gained will help to build an understanding how to target the National Skills Fund to ensure it best supports people to learn new skills and prepare for future changes to the economy.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their proposed replacement student exchange scheme to be used in the event that the UK does not participate in Erasmus after 2021 will be open to further education students.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The shape and content of EU Programmes post-2020, including Erasmus+, are currently being negotiated in the EU institutions and have not yet been finalised. The UK government is preparing for every eventuality, and is considering a wide range of options with regards to the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, including potential domestic alternatives.
The UK is ready to consider participation in certain EU programmes, once the EU has agreed the baseline in its 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework and has taken into account the overall value to the UK of doing so.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and his ministers regularly discuss matters relating to education and EU exit with the devolved administrations, including on Erasmus+. Officials also hold regular meetings on the topic of Erasmus+ with officials from the Devolved Administrations to ensure close cooperation on this matter. Ministers and officials engage with stakeholders from across the education sector, including further education, to understand their views.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their proposed replacement student exchange scheme to be used in the event that the UK does not participate in Erasmus after 2021 will be open to students from (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The shape and content of EU Programmes post-2020, including Erasmus+, are currently being negotiated in the EU institutions and have not yet been finalised. The UK government is preparing for every eventuality, and is considering a wide range of options with regards to the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, including potential domestic alternatives.
The UK is ready to consider participation in certain EU programmes, once the EU has agreed the baseline in its 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework and has taken into account the overall value to the UK of doing so.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and his ministers regularly discuss matters relating to education and EU exit with the devolved administrations, including on Erasmus+. Officials also hold regular meetings on the topic of Erasmus+ with officials from the Devolved Administrations to ensure close cooperation on this matter. Ministers and officials engage with stakeholders from across the education sector, including further education, to understand their views.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the maximum funding for a Level 3 Adult Care Worker apprenticeship is set at £3,000 when the maximum funding for Level 3 apprenticeships for veterinary nurses and project control technicians is set at £15,000 and £21,000 respectively.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Each apprenticeship standard is allocated a funding band based on recommendations by the independent Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (the Institute). The Institute uses a wide range of evidence to inform these funding band allocations, including information from trailblazer groups, training providers and assessment organisations, and consideration of comparable qualifications such as relevant standards.
A longer duration often drives a higher funding band, due to the larger volume of material delivered in the standard. In this instance, the level 3 Adult Care Worker has a 12-month duration, compared to a 30- and 36-month duration for Veterinary Nurse and Project Controls Technician respectively.
The Institute is improving the transparency and operation of the funding band recommendation process in 2019-20 and will test improvements with employers.