Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of plans to transfer apprenticeship funding to employers from further education providers on the budgets of those providers.

Our apprenticeship reforms are designed to make all apprenticeships world class, so that the programme is rigorous, responsive, and meets the changing needs of business and the future economy. As part of our reforms, we are giving employers control of funding to make them more demanding customers of high-quality training, relevant to their needs.

Training providers make a vital contribution to apprenticeships and we want that to continue. Good providers already offer high-quality provision that is responsive to employers’ needs, which makes them well placed to be successful under any new arrangements. We recognise that these reforms represent a major change in the way that providers operate. The Skills Funding Agency, working with the Education and Training Foundation, Association of Colleges and the Association of Employment and Learning Providers are offering support and guidance to providers to help them prepare for the reforms. However, it will be for employers to decide who will help them deliver a high quality experience for their apprentices. We are trialling a new funding model in 2014/15 and intend to evaluate its impact before any funding system is fully implemented.