Flexi-job apprenticeships: Can they work in the finishes and interiors sector?

by Clair Mooney | 7 May, 2021 | Skills

Help shape the future of construction skills

by Clair Mooney | 7 May, 2021 | Skills

Nation Council Chair vacancies: Help shape the future of construction skills

CITB is seeking senior, experienced and knowledgeable industry representatives for its Nation Council Chair in England and Scotland.

The Nation Councils have an important role in supporting the CITB Board in its strategic leadership, by providing insight into industry challenges, across nations, regions and sectors and acting as a sounding board for Trustees.  Applications are invited from across the industry, including SMEs, large employers, and independent consultants.  The Nation Council Chair will help shape the future of construction as the industry begins to emerge from the shadow of the pandemic and adapt to new challenges, including Brexit and achieving Net Zero targets.  They will:

• Capture and articulate to the Board key issues affecting or likely to affect industry;
• Assist the Board to accurately prioritise support for key issues affecting industry across Great Britain;
• Help review and advise the Board on CITB’s Business Plan to ensure that it addresses industry opportunities, pressures and priorities;
• Shape individual Nations Plans and to review performance against them; and
• Make recommendations to the Board about extraordinary matters arising that may impact on the ability of the Board to deliver the Plan.

Interested candidates should have a wealth of senior level experience in the sector and represent the voice of industry. It is essential that the Chair has a sound knowledge and understanding of both their nation and the wider construction landscape.

CITB Policy Director Stephen Radley said: “The role of Nation Council Chair is challenging and incredibly rewarding and represents the perfect opportunity for someone with industry insight and an understanding of the challenges facing the sector to make their mark.  To fill the shoes of our current Chairs will be no easy task but we know the construction industry is full of incredibly talented people who I know will rise to the task.”

CITB is also recruiting independent members of its Audit and Risk, and Industry Funding committees.  Anyone interested in applying for the vacancies should visit: http://sscl-innovation.com/CITBmicrosite/volunteering/

CITB Year End Progress Report

by Clair Mooney | 5 May, 2021 | Skills

CITB has published its End of Year Progress Report.  This performance report shows progress against a plan reprioritised significantly when the pandemic hit back in March 2020.  CITB has indicated that they will continue to develop the simpler, more targeted plan and new delivery approaches (including the focus on digital), into this year’s business plan.

Highlights identified in the plan included:

• suspending Levy collection as businesses faced critical cash challenges.
• offering an advanced apprenticeship grant which saw £3.4 million paid to over 2,000 employers.
• providing e-learning and remote working, with remote learning and new courses ensuring qualifications were not a barrier to returning to work.
• Offering Covid-19 support which saw 21,800 people complete our pandemic health and safety eCourse

Encouragingly, as few as 248 out of 11,000 CITB’s apprentices were made redundant during the pandemic. More than half of those that were made redundant have been placed with alternative employers to help get them to completion, and CITB continues to support others who have not been successfully replaced to restart their apprenticeship. CITB grants have supported 23,322 apprentices, and 8,883 employers.

Employers proved to be much more resilient than expected in the reforecast at the outset of the pandemic meaning Levy receipts were significantly higher than envisaged and a total of £122.5m was collected.  The excess of £48.7m will be carried forward and used on Grants Scheme and funding programmes in 2021-22 when Levy income is anticipated to be approximately £96m less than a normal year.

Grants and funding expenditure was £5.5m below forecast, however demand for advanced apprenticeship grants held up better than expected.  Direct support costs for apprentices was also above plan, by £9.7m, making overall investment in apprentices £89.3m, £16.7m above plan. This was part-funded by lower than forecast claims of grants and funding (£14.5m) and savings in operating costs (£4.1m).

George Swann, Skills and Training Lead at FIS stated:  “This report quantifies CITB’s activities between April 2020 and March 2021, the executive summary provides a snapshot.  The detail gives an indication of what grants and funding employers can and should apply for and if the bid is aligned to the statements in this report you should be successful.  If you need assistance the FIS Skills and Funding Clinic will help, just fill in the form at: https://www.thefis.org/registration-form/ and we will contact you.”

You can access the report here.

Employer representative bodies needed to pilot local skills improvement plans

by Clair Mooney | 29 Apr, 2021 | Skills

Employer representative bodies are being asked by government to step forward and lead pilots for new local skills improvement plans (LSIP).  First mooted in the FE white paper, the plans will aim to make colleges align the courses they offer to local employers’ needs.

They are hoped to address concerns that employers do not currently have enough influence over the skills provision offered in their locality and struggle to find staff to fill their skills gaps.  Keith Smith, the director for post-16 strategy at the Department for Education, told an FE Week webcast last month that new legislation is being worked on to enable the education secretary to intervene where colleges refuse to deliver courses decided through LSIPs.  Led by “established employer representative bodies”, such as chambers of commerce, as a Trade Body FIS is an Employer Representative Body, the plans will be piloted in six to eight trailblazer areas this year, backed with £4 million of revenue funding.  The funding must be spent by the end of March 2022.

In application guidance published last week, the Department for Education said the plans will “set out the key changes needed to make technical skills training more responsive to employers’ skills needs within a local area”.  They should be created in collaboration with colleges and training providers, with employers setting out a credible and evidence-based assessment of their skills needs, to which providers will be empowered to respond.  The plans will help ensure provision is more responsive to emerging and changing skills needs and being locally driven, can be tailored to the challenges and opportunities most relevant to the area, the guidance added.  In the longer-term, the government hopes LSIPs will support and complement its reforms to the FE funding system, which will give providers more autonomy to use government funding to meet the skills needs of local employers.

In return, the DfE adds, we will reform the accountability system to focus less on process and more on the effectiveness of provider performance and the outcomes they achieve.  By taking a more outcome-focused approach, providers will be incentivised to continually review their provision to ensure it leads to meaningful employment for their learners, scaling back where there is an oversupply of provision and expanding other areas in line with agreed LSIP priorities, the department continues.  The plans will be put on a statutory footing and DfE promises to “develop an accountability structure for local areas to ensure that providers are engaging in the process and contributing to actions they have agreed.

George Swann, FIS Skills and Training Lead says: this is great news, it means colleges will be duty bound to provide training and qualifications that meet local employer demand. I encourage FIS employer members to get involved with this, get together and tell us what you expect from your local college what skills you need to support your business.

CITB to retain National Construction Colleges

by Clair Mooney | 29 Apr, 2021 | Skills

CITB has announced that they are retaining the CITB National Construction Colleges (NCC) in Norfolk and Glasgow.  The facilities offer mainstream and apprentice training in Dry Lining, Partitions and Ceiling Fixing.  More details about the training available can be found here.

Have your say on flexi-job apprenticeship schemes

by Clair Mooney | 29 Apr, 2021 | Skills

The new flexi-job apprenticeship schemes were announced by the Chancellor in the last Budget.  It is proposed that the schemes will build on the existing Apprenticeship Training Agency model, to allow employers to join forces and access funding to create new or expand existing schemes to boost the use of apprenticeships in sectors with non-traditional employment patterns, including construction.  DfE will launch the flexi-job apprenticeships fund in July 2021 with employers set to be invited to bid for a share of a £7 million fund to create and test new flexi-apprenticeships schemes, with the first approved flexi-job apprenticeships expected to start in January 2022.

A consultation seeking views on DfE vision and operating framework for flexi-job apprenticeship schemes as a means to increase the use of apprenticeships in certain sectors and professions.  Apprenticeships are more important than ever in equipping individuals and businesses with the skills they need as we build back better from the coronavirus (covid-19) outbreak.  Government want to make sure apprenticeships reflect modern models of employment for all employers in all sectors.  They are developing portable apprenticeships, putting apprentices in the driving seat and enabling them to move between employers in industries where short-term contracts are the norm.  This consultation asks you to consider how flexi-job apprenticeship schemes can support the growth of apprenticeships in sectors where short-term and project-based contracts are the norm.  To complete the survey please go to:  Flexi-Job Apprenticeships: Reshaping the role of Apprenticeship Training Agencies – Page 1 of 7 – Department for Education – Citizen Space

This flexi-job apprenticeship consultation will close on 1 June 2021.

George Swann said: “This scheme has potential for encouraging employers in the finishes and interiors sector to collaborate in the training of apprentices.  Although the focus is on the duration of the apprenticeship programme, a Flexi-job apprenticeship could provide individuals with more variety than they may get when working with a single employer, which could ensure they cover every criteria listed in the Apprenticeship Standard prior to the end test.  FIS will keep a watchful eye on this as it develops.  Please take a few minutes to complete the survey”.

New manual published to support flexible apprenticeships

by Clair Mooney | 28 Apr, 2021 | Skills

A new manual, co-authored by industry and government, has today been published to set out how flexibilities in apprenticeships can be used and delivered in construction – to meet the needs of employers and apprentices.

Apprenticeships have been on a transformational journey since 2012, with reforms such as the introduction of employer led standards leading the way in ensuring apprenticeships are relevant, high quality, and meet the skills needs of employers. In 2020, the Prime Minister committed to building on this success, and making apprenticeships more flexible, to better meet the needs of employers and apprentices.

The ‘Flexible Apprenticeships in Construction’ manual sets out:

• how the delivery of apprenticeship training can be flexed to meet employer needs; and
• how the length of an apprenticeship can be reduced where an individual has existing relevant knowledge or skills.

Some employers are already making use of apprenticeship flexibilities and are seeing the benefits of this, in workforce satisfaction, productivity, and improved value for money.

George Swann, FIS Skills and Training Lead said “This manual fully explains and gives examples of how off-the-job training can be flexed to meet individual employer needs. It includes information and case studies about: Flexible training models, options for delivering off-the-job training, including front-loading blocks of training at the beginning of an apprenticeship. Accelerated apprenticeships, approaches to adjusting the content and duration of apprenticeship training plans through recognition of prior learning.

Any delivery process will be restricted by what the Universities, Colleges or Independent Training Providers can or are willing to deliver.  Employers must contact and negotiate with the Training Providers to get the best deal in a format that suits the individual apprentices and your organisations needs.  Use this manual to bust the jargon and ensure you know what the training provider is offering and remember to confirm your employer responsibilities to the apprenticeship training programme and what you can expect from the training provider and don’t forget to fully brief your apprentice.”

Employers should think creatively about how they can tailor apprenticeship training to meet their needs. Be it through a flexible delivery model, such as front loading which can support apprentices new to the sector to hit the ground running, to delivering accelerated apprenticeships for more experienced individuals who are able to build on their existing skills and complete more quickly.

The manual can be downloaded here or you can visit www.gov.uk/employ-an-apprentice for more information.

Employer incentives payments, in place until September 2021, mean there is £3000 available for every apprentice hired.