Apprenticeship procurement pause announced by ESFA

The Education and Skills Funding Agency has announced that it will pause the apprenticeship procurement process. In response, David Hughes, Chief Executive at the Association of Colleges (AoC), said: "I am pleased that the pause on the apprenticeship procurement process has been announced by the Education and Skills Funding Agency. It is a sensible and helpful recognition of the scale and complexity of change which is happening at the moment. “This provides welcome stability to colleges and providers as well as to employers and apprentices through the coming months; this will give more time to get the procurement process right. We know that there are many new providers wanting to enter the apprenticeship market, but the Government needs to find a way to ensure that their introduction does not inadvertently undermine current high quality, trusted colleges and providers that have built strong employer relationships over many years and for which apprenticeships are a key opportunity for progression for their students."