Seven calls to action that will improve Further Education funding

Incorporating work experience into the curriculum and reviewing pre-apprenticeships, among the seven recommendations from YMCA Training
5 September 2017

YMCA Training calls on the Government to consider seven calls to action to improve Further Education funding.  

Last month, the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee launched an Inquiry into Higher Education, Further Education, and Vocational Training that will look at the equitability and suitability of funding provision, and has called on all relevant parties to submit evidence.

YMCA Training delivers a comprehensive range of Apprenticeship, Traineeship and Study Programme training provision, and has therefore drawn on the day-to-day experiences of our tutors and learners to urge policymakers to consider:

1. Launching a comprehensive review of pre-apprenticeship funding to examine whether current provision is fit for purpose

2. Developing an awareness campaign aimed at employers, to demonstrate the countless benefits of taking on a young person as part of a traineeship or supported internship

3. Incorporating work experience into the national school curriculum

4. Reviewing the unintentional barriers to apprenticeships created by the benefits system criteria

5. Implementing a guaranteed ring-fenced budget of £1bn to ensure that SMEs in all areas of the country can continue to offer apprenticeships under the new reform system

6. Undertaking an urgent review of apprenticeship framework and standard funding in relation to local and national skills gaps and growth, and ensuring that funding be transitioned effectively during the reform period to ensure stability of provision

7. Reviewing and amending the 20% off the job requirement under the apprenticeship reform system

YMCA Training is a prime contract holder with the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) that delivers programmes to almost 10,000 learners each year, and is also one of the only national training providers with charitable status. We are therefore in a unique position to respond to the inquiry’s call for evidence and are eager to ensure that the inquiry is able to put the interest of young people at the heart of its deliberations.

To learn more about our response to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee Inquiry into Higher Education, Further Education, and Vocational Training, please see our Transforming Further Education report, available below.