MPs warn apprentices are being ‘let down’ as they call for crackdown on poor quality providers
2 min read
Ministers should do more to ensure apprenticeships are of high quality by allowing regulators to bar firms that are not up to standard, MPs have said.
The Education Committee said the Government should take a “tougher approach” to poor training as too many apprentices are not getting the high-quality training they deserve.
They recommend a “kitemark system” for good employers, which would help apprentices choose the best firm for them.
In a new report, the group of also MPs called for regulator Ofsted should to be given an “expanded role” amid a tripling in the number of approved providers.
There should be a cap on the amount of training new providers can offer for a year, the report says, until the regulator has deemed them either up to standard or not good enough to continue offering them.
The Committee also calls for redoubled efforts to recruit apprenticeships from disadvantaged backgrounds, including an increase in the £3.70 per hour minimum wage apprentices of any age receive in their first year.
Those businesses which fail to pay enough should face “more severe sanctions”, the report adds.
Committee chair Robert Halfon said apprentices can offer a “crucial role in achieving social justice” but that boost quality and breaking down barriers was urgent.
“There has been an explosion in the number of training providers in recent years but neither employers nor apprentices can have genuine confidence that quality training is being provided by these new entrants,” he said.
“It’s time for a cap on the amount of training which new providers can offer until they prove they are up to scratch.
“It’s time to get tough on sub-contractors, who too often seem to be delivering training which doesn’t deliver for the apprentice or the tax-payer, and lead providers who cream off large management fees while providing nothing of value themselves.
“Apprentice funding needs reform to ensure the system is working with and not against employers such as in increasing the top funding band to better match the full cost of delivery for some apprenticeships.
Elsewhere the MPs urge the Social Mobility Commission to conduct a study into how the benefits system helps or hinders apprentices and for the Government acts upon its findings.
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