Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill: explained

As part of its planned introduction of Skills England, last week the government started the legislative process which will underpin it’s ambition with the introduction of the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill to the House of Lords.

Here, Colin Huffen, Associate Director of Policy and Professional Services at CIMSPA explains what the Bill tells us and what the impact on the sport and physical activity sector might be.

We’ve known since July that as part of its plans to reform the skills agenda, the government intends to abolish the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE). The introduction of this Bill to the House of Lord starts that process.

What’s really interesting is how the Bill frames what happens to iFATE’s powers and responsibilities. The main highlights are,

• Skills England will not be a ‘like for like’ replacement of IfATE.
• IfATE had greater independence than Skills England will have, Skills England will be an executive function of the Department for Education.
• The Secretary of State for Education will have greater powers and responsibility.
• We expect significant changes to the way apprenticeships and technical qualifications are developed, reviewed and funded.

For more detail and explanation, please read on

In its election manifesto and post-election announcement, the government introduced us to a new body it is establishing, Skills England. We started to get indicators of where Skills England’s early priorities might be in its recent report, but this Bill and the accompanying documentation reveal more about the direction of travel.

Previous announcements had led us to think that Skills England would take over the responsibilities of IfATE and many had presumed that this would be as a body in the same capacity as the Institute. However, it appears from the Bill that Skills England, which is expected to be fully operational by Spring 2025, will not be a body with its own legal basis as IfATE is, but an executive agency within the Department for Education (DfE). In terms of what this means, it suggests that Skills England will not have the same level of ‘independence’ as IfATE.

IfATE is a non-departmental public body (NDPB), which allows some operational independence from the DfE. As Skills England will be an executive agency, it will be under the control of the DfE with a different governance system to IfATE.

It appears therefore, that Skills England will not have the independence that IfATE has. It means that the Secretary of State for Education will have full responsibility for the functions currently managed by IfATE, including the approval of apprenticeship standards, assessment plans and technical qualifications. Following the enactment of the Bill, the Secretary of State will be able to delegate those powers and responsibilities, presumably to Skills England.

The Bill also introduces another unexpected factor in making provision for new powers. This would allow the Secretary of State for Education to design and approve apprenticeship standards and assessments without the involvement of employer groups.

Under IfATE, employers play a central role in developing and approving apprenticeship standards and assessment plans. In our sector, this role is carried out by the Sport and Physical Activity Professional Development Board with CIMSPA managing the apprenticeship standards for the sector.
It is likely that the employer-led approach will continue as the government has committed to ongoing collaboration with employers. However, the new powers that are set out in the Bill will allow the Secretary of State to step in. It is thought that is likely only to be applied in situations where small changes need to be made, potentially due to legislative changes, and therefore the existing processes for reviewing with all stakeholders would likely lead to a delay in satisfying immediate needs. Essentially by allowing the Secretary of State the power to ‘sign-off’ changes, updated standards and assessment plans could be introduced quicker where necessary.

However, the Bill also includes provision which would allow the Secretary of State to circumvent arrangements for approving new apprenticeship standards and assessment plans which require external evaluation. This does pose a number of questions about how employers will input if these powers are utilised. The DfE has offered reassurances that use of these powers would be subject to a high level of rigour and continued consultation with stakeholders.

In a further change which would provide more powers to the Secretary of State, the Bill gives flexibility for her/him/them to decide when a review of technical qualifications should take place. At present, reviews are carried out on a regular basis, something which is enshrined in current legislation. It’s understood that this move aims to allow the DfE to make reviews that they believe will have the greatest impact, a priority. It will be interesting how this plays out in practice. With the local skills and place-based approach firmly at the heart of the government’s plans, differing local priorities may result in prioritisation challenges.

There’s one final point of note in relation to the regulatory framework. The Bill gives the power to the Secretary of State to allow Ofqual to accredit technical education qualifications where appropriate.

The transition of IfATE’s functions does present risk. It’s essential that activity and processes which allow employers to develop the skills that they need and learners to complete their apprenticeships aren’t jeopardised as the new models of working are developed and introduced. The DfE has carried out impact assessments which raise questions about potential delays to approvals of standards and technical education qualifications and what happens to end-point assessments during the period of transition. We’ll be working to get clarity on and to understand what additional measures will be implemented that may impact training providers that are delivering apprenticeships within our sector.

The Bill confirms the government’s intention to make significant changes to the way that apprenticeships are managed. The DfE are keen to highlight that the employer and sector led approach continues to be crucial to apprenticeship and technical education qualification development.

The Bill is due to be debated in the House of Lords on 22 October. Following that, it and any Lords amendments will be debated by MPs.

We’ll continue to monitor the Bills progress and provide input and insight from the sector.