The Institute for Apprenticeships has been reviewing the funding bands of 31 apprenticeship standards following a request from the Department for Education. The aim of the review is to identify the most appropriate funding band to support high quality delivery, and provide value for money for employers and government. 

We have contacted the trailblazer groups for 12 standards to tell them the Secretary of State for Education’s final decision.   

We used our new funding process, adapted to reflect that these standards are already being delivered. We also used the Department for Education’s new 30 band structure. Throughout the process, we worked collaboratively with trailblazers to ensure the review was carried out in an open way.

As part of this process we considered a range of factors, including the costs submitted by providers, advice from trailblazers, data we hold, consistency across similar apprenticeship standards and the expertise of our route panels and a provider panel.  We have only recommended changes to current funding bands where there is evidence that justifies a change.

The Secretary of State has approved the following funding bands:

Reference Number

Standard Name

Current Funding Band

Reviewed final funding band

ST0331

Chartered Surveyor (Degree)

£27,000

Band 30 (£27,000)

ST0318

Rail Engineering technician

£27,000

Band 27 (£24,000)

ST0055

Bespoke Tailor and Cutter

£15,000

Band 18 (£15,000)

ST0215

Healthcare Assistant Practitioner

£12,000

Band 15 (£12,000)

ST0158

Dual Fuel Smart Meter Installer

£12,000

Band 13 (£10,000)

ST0002

Assistant Accountant

£9,000

Band 11 (£8,000)

ST0213

Hair Professional

£9,000

Band 10 (£7,000)

ST0240

Insurance Practitioner

£9,000

Band 10 (£7,000)

ST0113

Dental Nurse

£9,000

Band 9 (£6,000)

ST0038

Aviation Ground Specialist

£3,000

Band 9 (£6,000)

ST0217

Senior Healthcare Support Worker

£3,000

Band 8 (£5,000)

ST0072

Customer Service Practitioner

£4,000

Band 5 (£3,500)

Following feedback from employers and providers, the Secretary of State has decided to extend the notification period for funding band reductions. Funding band reductions will take effect on 1 January 2019. Increases will take effect on 6 October 2018.

Reviewed funding bands for the remaining 19 standards have not yet been recommended to the Secretary of State. We expect this process will be finalised in late 2018. 

The Institute is working closely with DfE to monitor the impact of these funding band changes over the coming months. We will continue our work to bring more standards into the new 30-band structure.