Apprenticeship funding band recommendation process: How to balance simplicity with flexibility

One of @IfATechEd’s roles is to provide recommendations to @GavinWilliamson, the Secretary of State for Education, on what funding band should be assigned to each new apprenticeship.

This is an estimate of the typical, eligible costs for delivering an apprenticeship. The band sets a maximum amount the government will contribute to an employer to cover the costs of learning and assessment. Employers pay apprentices’ wages themselves.

The funding band system supports employers, helping more employers to benefit from apprenticeship levy funding by delivering overall value for money in the programme.

The Institute launched a consultation earlier this year requesting views on a new, more transparent method, which makes use of independent evidence to help set funding bands. It aims to provide funding information at the right time to trailblazers and offer some flexibility for the particular needs of apprenticeships.

We were pleased to receive over 200 responses to our consultation and want to thank those who took the time to comment. The majority indicated that the proposed model was simpler to understand and did indeed strengthen the transparency of the Institute’s funding recommendation process.

People did identify a number of key themes for the Institute to consider in ensuring the approach achieves the right balance. The main issue is how to balance simplicity with flexibility.

We have listened to your feedback and developed a revised model. We are opening a new consultation next week to share this model and find out your views. Your feedback in this consultation will help us refine the approach and support us to model its impact.

The second consultation will run for six weeks, and we’d welcome responses from across industry to help us hone the approach.

We are also planning virtual events to hear from as many individuals and organisations as possible. Details of how to register an interest in these events will be shared shortly on the Institute’s website.

We’ll be sharing updates to keep you updated on progress. If you have any questions in the meantime, please email the Institute team.