Apprenticeships are key to the skills agenda in Wales
By Sarah John, National Training Federation for Wales chair.
Although much of the discussion in 2017 has been about leaving the European Union, there has been a similar amount of discussion about something returning – Apprenticeships. With the arrival of the UK Government’s Apprenticeship Levy in April, employers in Wales have never been so interested in engaging with the Apprenticeship Programme.
Both Brexit and the Apprenticeship Levy have happened at a time when work-based learning in Wales has reached a significant milestone in its development, most notably the professionalisation of the workforce.
With all these things in mind, our annual conference at the Cardiff City Stadium last month created an ideal opportunity for a discussion between employers, providers and the Welsh Government. More than 180 delegates attended the successful conference with the aim of working together for the benefit of individuals, employers and the wider Welsh economy.
Working together in partnership was the theme running through the positive speech delivered by Wales’ Minister for Skills and Science, Julie James. It was particularly pleasing that she and other speakers acknowledged the significant contribution that the NTfW is making to the Welsh Government’s skills agenda.
We chose ‘Apprenticeships in Wales – The foundation of a future economy’ as the thought-provoking conference theme because the Apprenticeship Levy has increased awareness of the wide-ranging programmes available in Wales, their relevance to work-focused activity and the professional nature of the knowledge elements they contain.
As learning providers, we support employers to review workforce planning, to identify employees who need upskilling in existing roles and to plan recruitment using the Apprenticeship Programme. The NTfW is taking the lead to provide impartial advice and guidance to employers.
Looking ahead, we must prepare for the future of post 16 education and training following the Hazelkorn Review, which seeks to ‘….build a world-class post-compulsory education system for Wales’. The work-based learning network will play a key role as we change provision and work more collaboratively to respond to the Welsh Government’s economic priorities for Apprenticeships and the findings of the three Regional Skills Partnerships.
There was a significant step towards recognising the important work of our sector back in April when work-based learning practitioners could register as professional educators with the Education Workforce Council for the first time.
The NTFW has come a long way in the past decade and anyone who attended our conference would have been left in no doubt about how important the network is to achieving the Welsh Government’s skills agenda.
We have presented a document titled ‘Creative Solutions’ to the Minister for Skills and Science, proposing ideas on how the network can create more Apprenticeship opportunities and career pathways in priority sectors, reflecting the future skills needs identified by the Regional Skills Partnerships.
We are totally focused on the target set by the Welsh Government to find a minimum of 100,000 high quality all-age apprentices during the current administration. That’s why we partnered with the CBI for the conference to expand our workshops to include opportunities for employers to gain more of an insight into the Apprenticeship policy.
As part of our ‘Creative Solution’ proposals, we are also now handling Apprenticeship enquiries from the Business Wales website. The NTFW is positioning itself as an honest broker, providing advice and guidance to employers and signposting opportunities to providers. Within two weeks of launching this service last month, we had received enquiries from more than 70 employers, which demonstrates the positive impact we are having.
We also organised a series of three regional information events – in Llandudno on July 11, Llandrindod Wells on July 18 and Cardiff on July 20 – on behalf of the Welsh Government to inform public sector bodies in Wales about the Apprenticeship Levy and how to engage with the Apprenticeships.
The NTFW also participated in the recent inquiry into Apprenticeships by the Economy Infrastructure and Skills Committee, which saw members visiting employers and apprentices to understand fully the benefits of the Apprenticeship Programme. This was a very positive exercise that reinforced the importance of Apprenticeships to the Welsh economy
We have also been instrumental in establishing a cross-party group for Apprenticeships and we are represented on the Wales Employment and Skills Board. As Regional Skills Partnerships continue to advise the Welsh Government on matching funding with regional employment and skills needs, it is important that we are involved at a strategic level.
To manage all this extra activity and take forward our future strategy, we have recently co-opted four new members to strengthen our board and are hoping to recruit five more staff soon. It’s a busy but exciting time to be involved in work-based learning in Wales.
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