Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for England
Following its introduction through the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning (ASCL) act, the Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for England (SASE) was published by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, Department for Education and the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) on 20 January 2011. The SASE can be found here along with the press release issued by the Minister.
The SASE sets out the minimum requirements to be included in a recognised English Apprenticeship framework and compliance with the SASE will be a statutory requirement of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning (ASCL) Act.
There are three key roles involved in ensuring that we have SASE compliant frameworks: proposer; developer and issuing authority:
Proposer - An organisation who has an idea for an Apprenticeship framework but who does not necessarily want to develop one, who is then encouraged to work with the relevant Sector Skills Council (SSC) to develop an appropriate framework
Framework Developer - The organisation who will develop the framework for submission to the Issuing Authority
Issuing Authority (SSC/UKCES commissioned body) - Organisations appointed by the Secretary of State in England to issue Apprenticeship frameworks for a particular sector. The Issuing Authority is responsible for ensuring that only those Apprenticeship frameworks which comply with the SASE are issued as recognised English Apprenticeship frameworks. There is only one Issuing Authority for each sector and they will support framework developers, if they wish to make sure that their frameworks comply with SASE requirements.
Issuing Authorities do not exist until the relevant provisions of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning (ASCL) Act 2009 come into effect. In England this will be on 6th April 2011. As an interim measure and until commencement of the ASCL Act, SSCs and UKCES commissioned bodies will publish frameworks which comply with SASE or SASW. References to the ‘Issuing Authority (SSC/UKCES commissioned body)’ acknowledge the non-statutory interim role of SSCs and UKCES commissioned bodies in publishing frameworks.
The Issuing Authority will issue their SASE compliant frameworks through the web portal managed by UKCES/Alliance of Sector Skills Councils. They are required to notify the Skills Funding Agency and submit a completed list of qualifications within the framework along with an activity cost model. The Agency will then assign the appropriate funding rate for each framework and publish on the Learning Aims Database (LAD).
NAS have agreed with UKCES and SSCs that the funding implementation date will be 4 weeks after the SASE compliant framework has been issued. This will allow the Agency to notify providers of the forthcoming framework and hence prepare for its implementation.
Consultation and Ongoing Communications on SASE to the Sector
Extensive consultation was undertaken by BIS in early 2009 on the SASE which was then subsequently published for information later in 2009. The final statutory version of the SASE was then published in January 2011.
Since the publication of SASE, ALP, AoC and providers themselves have raised a number of concerns. These are primarily related to:
· The immediacy of the introduction of SASE in April 2011
· The availability of SASE compliant frameworks and in some cases the availability of a qualification which forms part of the framework
· Technical guidance on the application of SASE such as evidence requirements and interpretation of off the job guided learning hours
The National Apprenticeship Service is working closely with UKCES, SSCs and other partners to address these issues.
To support effective implementation of the SASE, we will be developing a detailed Q&A tailored to the specific needs of colleges and training providers. We will also use the website to provide clarification on technical detail where this is available.
We will aim to update the Q&A on a weekly basis. If you would like to submit any questions please send e-mail us. Alternatively, contact your Skills Funding Agency Account Manager.
Providers and colleges may also find the Apprenticeship Frameworks Online website helpful. This site is managed by the Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies (SEMTA), on an interim basis, on behalf of the UKCES/Alliance of Sector Skills Councils. The site describes the roles of those responsible for implementing SASE, provides a glossary of terms, and will in time contain information on all SASE compliant frameworks.
The website is also the place where all new frameworks are developed. Organisations such as employers, training providers and awarding bodies who want to develop a new framework, will need to get in touch with the appropriate Issuing Authority for their sector.
In addition to the Q&A and the Apprenticeship Frameworks Online, there are opportunities for ALP and AoC to raise issues directly with Geoff Russell, David Way and David Hughes through the various stakeholder meetings that exist. This includes the Strategic Appraisal Panel which is chaired by David Hughes and has representatives from both ALP and AoC.
One of the main issues raised is a request for more information on the progress towards developing and issuing SASE compliant frameworks.
As described above SSCs and UKCES Commissioned bodies are responsible for developing SASE compliant frameworks. Once this work is complete, each SSC will post its frameworks on their website. From March 2011 the frameworks will begin to be issued and will be placed formally onto the web portal Apprenticeship Frameworks Online.
SSCs have been working closely with the UK Commission to ensure that frameworks fully meet the requirements of SASE. This has been a complex exercise and whilst early assessments showed good progress, they also indicated that there was further work to do.
Additional support has been provided to each SSC and a peer review group was established to share best practice and focus on developing high quality compliant frameworks. Moderation panels have also helped to ensure that high quality and consistent outcomes are achieved. The indications are that this is having a positive impact. UKCES and SSCs are confident that the majority of frameworks will be issued on time and that quality will not be compromised.
Once the framework is issued and submitted with the costing model, we will work the NAS to assign the appropriate funding rate and communicate the outcome to the sector. The framework will be available for new starts four weeks after the SASE compliant framework has been issued.
Together, the NAS and Skills Funding Agency are gearing up to ensure that we can assign framework rates as quickly and efficiently as possible, without compromising the quality of the decision.
We are working extensively with SSCs and UKCES to ensure that the transition to SASE compliant frameworks is effectively managed. Our primary interest is to ensure that there is no gap in the Apprenticeship offer to employers and apprentices.
We remain in close dialogue with ALP and AoC to ensure that these arrangements are robust and are workable for the sector.
