WE WANT TO ACT FREE SPEECH NO ALGORITHM AS A 'DIGITAL AND THE LEGAL WOULD EVER BAKER CLAUSE' CONUNDRUMS HAVE WORKED Page 24 Page 23 Pages 20-22 In-depth, investigative journalism, determined to get past the bluster & explain the facts for the FE & skills sector FEWEEK.CO.UK | @FEWEEK FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2021 | EDITION 358 Providers left waiting Adult Education Budget tender results - DELAYED Skills Bootcamp Lot 1 tender results - DELAYED Traineeship 16-19 market entry opportunity - DELAYED See pages 4 and 5 @FEWEEK EDITION 358 | FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2021 MEET THE TEAM Nick Linford Shane Mann Billy Camden EDITOR MANAGING DEPUTY DIRECTOR EDITOR @NICKLINFORD @SHANERMANN @BILLYCAMDEN [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] JL Dutaut Jess Staufenberg Fraser COMMISSIONING COMMISSIONING Whieldon EDITOR EDITOR REPORTER @DUTAUT @STAUFENBERGJ @FRASERWHIELDON [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] THE TEAM Simon Kay HEAD DESIGNER Nicky Phillips DESIGNER SALES MANAGER Bridget Stockdale ? 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News CONTACT US [email protected] Sector leaders warn of ‘barmy’ delays to 16-18 traineeship expansion no way of getting hold of one. half of 2020/21 – around 20,000 – are hoped GTA England, a membership organisation for to come from a £65 million tender for 19-to- group training associations, also told FE Week 24 traineeships. several of its members want to expand into The procurement was originally planned to get under way last summer but was Exclusive the 16-to-18 traineeship market to fill current vacancies. beset with delays – an issue that FE Week understands personally annoyed Sunak, as Providers are being blocked from offering Chief executive Mark Maudsley said: “Our it hindered his expansion plans. traineeships to 16- to 18-year-olds as the challenge is market entry opportunities at 16 to Steve Latus, the ESFA’s head of government drags its feet on a “market entry 18 as we have many with vacancies that can’t traineeships, spoke at last month’s AELP exercise” that was promised last October. be filled. Opening access would enable those conference and told delegates that growing Sector leaders are warning that the issue, members without traineeship contracts to 16-to-18 starts numbers was now his “big described as “barmy”, will put the nail in the capitalise on their excellent links with employers concern”. coffin of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s target to and create life opportunities via traineeships to “In theory we have got enough capacity to triple the number of starts this year. progress on to the apprenticeship programme. deliver because we have the colleges. But While recruitment of 19-to-24 traineeship “With the trebling of the traineeships target for actually, all the evidence says that we will learners is reportedly seeing a boost following starts, members remain very keen and able to need to grow the programme outside of just an albeit delayed tender, the growth of 16 to respond, but time is of the essence.” colleges. 18s is faltering as no such exercise for this There needs to be more than 43,000 “That is why we will be looking at age group has been forthcoming. traineeship starts between August 2020 and July coming out in the near future with an The Education and Skills Funding Agency is 2021 to meet Sunak’s tripling target, which was announcement about growing the 16-to-18 understood to be relying mainly on colleges set in July 2020 as part of his plan for jobs. programme. I can’t go any further than that with 16-to-19 study programme contracts to Latest government data only spans the period today…but unless we grow the programme ramp up delivery but is now conceding they August to January but shows a total of 8,800 with more independent providers, we won’t will need to expand the independent training starts. achieve the target.” provider market to achieve significant growth. Compared to the same period in 2019/20, Simon Ashworth, the AELP’s chief policy A 16-to-18 “market entry exercise” was starts for 19 to 24s went up 44 per cent, from officer, claimed his organisation is “seeing promised last year but it is still yet to get off 1,600 to 2,300, but starts for 16 to 18s dropped providers with demand for young people the ground. The ESFA continues to tell FE four per cent, from 6,800 to 6,500. but they can’t get hold of any funding to Week that it will be launched in “due course”. The sluggish take-up comes despite the help them”. He said opening up the market Let Me Play Ltd, which won a £3 million government reforming the funding rules for should a “no-brainer”. contract to deliver 19-to-24 traineeships this traineeships in September, which included He told FE Week: “The ESFA is trying to go year, is one provider pleading with the agency increasing the funding rate for 19 to 24s by to colleges with study programme contracts to give it the opportunity to deliver the pre- 54 per cent, from £970 to £1,500, and opening which allows them to move into traineeships employment programme to 16 to 18s. them up to people who already hold a level 3 and encourage them to do more 16-to-18 Its co-founder and director, Matthew Lord, qualification. traineeships. But they’re not going to triple said: “We work with 16- to 18-year-olds Employer cash incentives of £1,000 for each the numbers with that as a strategy. on NEET contracts in London. We are keen traineeship learner they take on were also “It seems barmy that you open up the to develop pathways for young people to introduced. 19-to-24 market, you’ve got providers progress and enter the world of work A big chunk of the starts needed in the last with young people and good links to – traineeships would be one of those employers but nothing on 16 to 18. options, along with our apprenticeship Unless they open up the market quickly, provision. they’re not going to hit the target on “It would make sense to be able to their backs.” offer them the same opportunities as Ashworth believes the ESFA should we can for the 19- to 24-year-olds.” give providers that passed the 19-to-24 The Association of Employment and procurement automatic ability to deliver Learning Providers claims there have to 16-to-18 traineeships and then run a been instances where providers have “mini market entry event for those that had to turn 16 to 18s away as a result of didn’t bid”.