No need for yet another Myth

“The apprentice employer is responsible for 80% of the training” is what I have just been told for the second time by one of our apprenticeship training providers. Not only is this untrue, it also shows that a very unhealthy discussion is taking place amongst training providers struggling to make their apprenticeship provision work. I hope that by writing this article I might bring the discussion with its underlying assumptions out in the open and resolve the question before this myth takes hold any further.

When I queried the assertion with the first training provider I was referred to the ESFA provider rules specifically paragraph 49, the ESFA’s definition of off-the-job training:

P49.1 the teaching of theory (for example, lectures, role playing, simulation exercises, online learning, and manufacturer training); College

P49.2 practical training, shadowing, mentoring, industry visits, and participation in competitions; Employer

P49.3 learning support and time spent writing assessments/assignments; College/ Employer

The words in bold are the training provider’s interpretation where those responsibilities are supposed to lie.

Not only is this an interpretation which had neither been discussed nor agreed with us. Nothing in those regulations says that the employer is thus responsible for 80% of the training !

If we were, I would expect us to have the status of an employer provider, thus allowing us to draw down 80% of the funding for an apprenticeship ourselves instead of paying 100% to a training provider.

80% used to be the time that an apprentice was supposed to spend in the workplace doing the job the apprenticeship has been designed for. In this time, the employer exposes the apprentice to work based experience, projects and ample opportunity to try out and use learning, and show that s/he meets the requirements of the qualification to the employer’s satisfaction. Structured training that supports and complements the work of the training provider may be part of this but to assert that that would amount to 80% of the training required for the candidate to pass the End Point Assessment of the apprenticeship only creates confusion.

As with all things in life, my recommendation is to follow the money: 100% grant payment does not equate to 20% of the training work.