The government has stressed it has complied with Cabinet Office guidelines in its support scheme for apprenticeship providers.
Speaking in front of the Commons Education Select Committee, education secretary Gavin Williamson also stressed the majority of apprenticeships were continuing during the pandemic, and the government had significantly increased flexibility to ensure this was the case.
His comments follow criticism from organisations such as the Association of Employment and Learning Providers around the support the government is offering to providers during the coronavirus pandemic. In this morning’s committee session, Ian Mearns, MP for Gateshead, questioned whether the Department for Education’s approach had from the start complied with the Cabinet Office guidelines, and urged the education secretary to look into that matter.
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Mr Williamson said: “We have complied with the Cabinet Office guidelines and always will do.” He went on to say that apprenticeships will play a key role as the country recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
He said: “We have taken a whole load of actions in terms of increasing flexibility so people can complete their apprenticeships. Over 81 per cent of apprenticeships are continuing as we speak, but obviously that means that 19 per cent of apprenticeships aren’t.
“What we’ve been looking at with the ESFA is how we support those apprenticeship providers who aren’t able to continue to deliver apprenticeships through online learning or being able to access those apprentices […] in those critical areas where we can reserve that high quality and putting a package to support those providers and make sure we have a sustainable future in apprenticeships.
“I really think there is an opportunity for us when we come out of this to make sure we really skill our workforce in terms of dealing with a new economy that is going to emerge and some of the new opportunities that we are going to be facing and some of the new challenges we are going to be facing.”
Mr Williamson pointed towards the new Skills Toolkit that was launched yesterday by the government in a bid to boost skills and employability in adults during lockdown.
Last week, the DfE published details on its supplier relief scheme for training providers. To be eligible, providers must hold “a direct contract that was procured as a service under Public Contract Regulations 2015”.
The guidance said: “This applies to apprenticeship contracts that commenced in January 2018, for delivery to smaller employers that do not pay the levy (non-levy), and adult education budget contract for services that commenced in November 2017.”
This means that providers cannot seek this support for apprenticeships funded through the levy.
The Association of Employment and Training providers had pushed for financial support for independent training providers since the start of the lockdown - claiming that according to Cabinet Office guidelines, they were entitled to support.
In response to the support package, AELP said that they were left with no choice but to seek legal advice on the omission of support for apprentices being trained at levy-paying employers.
