what do apprenticeships mean for schools?

@LouisMMCoiffait @ReformThinkTank

What do apprenticeships mean

for schools in England?

Louis Coiffait

Head of Education

Reform – an independent, non-party think tank


ICYMI: Why apprenticeships? 1/2

Jobs, skills, progression, productivity, growth

1 2015 & 2017 Con. manifesto pledges to

deliver 3m new apprenticeships by 2020,

for young people (2.5m 2010-2015)

2 April, new levy (tax), to incentivise employers

3 £3m+ wage bill = must pay 0.5%

4 £ = a voucher that employers pay to providers


ICYMI: Why apprenticeships? 2/2

Jobs, skills, progression, productivity, growth

5 10-90% subsidy, esp. SMEs & under 19

apprentices, (and even wages while retraining?)

6 Public sector employer target, lead by example

7 250+ staff = must employ ave. 2.3% apprentices

8 £2.8bn raised by 2020, only £640m to be spent

(actually under-funded)


ICYMI: What is an apprenticeship?

Evolving definition, but all on the job training

1 Real job with training (earn while you learn)

2 Recognised qualifications / standards

3 Meaningful progression

4 Aged 16+

5 Work 30+ hours per week, for 1-5 years

6 Paid £3.40+ per hour / £6,630+ per year


ICYMI: What levels are apprenticeships?

Four broad categories

Name Level Equivalent edu. level

Intermediate 2 5 GCSEs A*-C

Advanced 3 2 A levels

Higher 4-7 Foundation degree + above

Degree 6-7 Bachelor’s or Master’s

“a ladder of opportunity”


Are apprentices already in schools?

Yes some, typically L2 or L3 support roles

1 Some Intermediate / Advanced there already

2 Non-teaching roles e.g. administration, catering

3 Search ‘teaching’ in new service for employers

- Supporting T&L in PE & School Sport (L3)

- Early Years Educator (L3)

- Supporting T&L in Schools (L2 and L3)

4 Latter has 430 training options from providers,

370 of which are national

5 Delivered by schools, FE, and private providers


What issues surround apprenticeships?

Parity: quantity, quality and progression

1 “for other people’s children” says Prof. Wolf

2 Voc./academic parity of esteem, false dichotomy?

3 Often low quality at L2, that should change…

4 Non-completion (33% overall, 42% for Highers)

5 Age, 66% of completers aged 19+

6 Equality and diversity, choices often gendered

7 Re-badging, double counts, real progression?

8 NAO called for ‘right mix’ to improve productivity

9 Could engage employers in developing staff…


Do apprenticeships meet employer needs?

New Standards developed by employers

1 1,200+ employers in ‘trailblazer’ groups

2 Started 2014, more being formed (but slow)

3 Develop Standards and assessment plans

4 Standards = a suite of sector apprenticeships

5 Replacing old apprenticeship ‘frameworks’

6 Were approved by DfE (rush, bottleneck, purdah)

7 Since April by new Institute of Apprenticeships

8 Rigid, narrow, constrained level ‘mix’, volumes?

9 Strategic coordination across c.170 Standards?


What are Higher or Degree apprenticeships?

To fill intermediate-high (L4-7) skill gaps

1 Expect growth in Degree apprenticeships

2 ‘a real alternative to traditional university study’

3 Highers can be same level, but don’t = a degree

4 Less debt than university

5 First Degree apprenticeship pilots 2014

6 509,400 total apprenticeship starts in 2015-16

7 4,300 Degree apprenticeship starts 2015-16

8 Less than one per cent so far…

9 But huge opportunity for HE, FE, other providers


What’s already available to schools?

Non-teaching apprenticeships

> Standards/Frameworks relevant to schools:

- Accounting (L4)

- Management (L4/5)

- Chartered Manager (L6)

- Project management (L4)

- Facilities management (L4/5)

- Public sector commercial professional (L4)

- IT, software, web & telecoms professionals (L4)


What school specific Standards are there?

Teacher, TAs and SBMs ‘in development’

Three stages: a = standard in development

b = standard published

c = standard & assessment plan approved for delivery

Childcare and education Level Stage

a b c

Children, young people and families manager 5 X X

Children, young people and families practitioner 4 X X

Early years educator 3 X X

Education learning mentor 3 X X

School business director 4/6? X

Teacher X

Teaching assistant X


What will teacher apprenticeships mean? 1/2

A ‘new’ route to the profession

1 Schools forced to pay and hire since April

2 Low cost (subsidised) option amid -2.8% cuts?

3 Additionality: different route = different applicants?

4 Could lead to a more diverse workforce?

5 SoS said teaching should have “high bar to entry”


What will teacher apprenticeships mean? 2/2

A ‘new’ route to the profession

6 An entirely vocational QTS route by 2018?

7 L6+ Degree app., to replace SD Salaried route?

8 Or a ‘no degree’ option, e.g. a L6+ Higher app.?

9 Cost/quality tensions between routes/providers?

10 Sponsored by major (STEM) companies?

11 Coherent and sustainable overall ITT system?


FEHEIs TSAs Lead

Schools

Accredited

Providers

TeachFirst

& others

What ITT routes and providers are there?

L6+ apprenticeship to offer/replace an option

Postgraduate Cert. in Education (PGCE)

Teach First, maths, PE, EYFS and other ‘specialist’ routes

School-centred ITT (SCITT)

Schools Direct un/salaried

L2-5 Advanced/Higher apprenticeships

2018 L6+ Higher/Degree apprenticeship? (extra/replace SD salaried?)

QTS

TES Straight to Teaching QTS programme and Assessment Only


What do school leaders think?

Mixed, some ‘siezing the opportunity’

1 ”I’ve seen the standards, they’re not

standards at all, just a simplistic checklist!”

3 “It’s going to be an important new route for us”

2 ”Teaching apprenticeships are poorly thought

through, developed through a scramble to help

schools get their levy back”

4 “It’s a great route for some TAs”

5 ”Slippery slope for subject knowledge and status

of profession, if the education system doesn’t

value education qualifications why would others?

It’s a big risk.”


Politics unlikely to change direction

(though who knows these days)

1 Brexit and the ‘forgotten 50%’

2 (Re)training, jobs, the economy

3 Social mobility & inclusion


Thank you!

What’s Reform doing in education

We’re currently doing research on

the teaching workforce (today and in 2030),

and on access to universities.

We’re also running a conference on social mobility,

events at party conferences,

and roundtables on … apprenticeships…

Questions?