Anyone hoping for a radical government response to Mark Farmer’s industry review will have been left disappointed today.

Nearly a fifth of apprentices at level two and level three are illegally paid less than the minimum wage, according to the government’s long-delayed apprenticeship pay survey.

If you have a suitable candidate(s), please submit your application(s) as soon as possible.

The recently announced partnership between the CCATF and City & Guilds continues to develop and offer organisations opportunities to discuss key skills issues facing the construction industry.

Pay for apprentices should be far more flexible, increasing in line with their experience and level of qualification, the all-party parliamentary group on apprenticeships has recommended.

Brexit could have a disastrous impact on the delivery of new homes and infrastructure unless transitional arrangements are put in place to allow the construction industry to easily draw on EU workers while it skills up a domestic workforce in greater numbers.

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has backed the government’s decision to support the continuation of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).

 Student Luke Nutland has just two weeks left working on Bath College’s new Construction Skills Centre as part of the site management team.

The construction industry will not be released from the “double whammy” of levy charges it currently pays, the new skills minister has revealed.

Former skills minister Robert Halfon has been handing out flyers to MPs, illustrated with his favourite ladder of opportunity, as he bids to chair the House of Commons Select Committee for education. 

Three Government Ministers have written to James Wates CBE to tell him they back CITB, but it must continue its programme of reform. 

She was initially named Interim Chief Executive in December 2016, following the resignation of Adrian Belton.

AELP and GetMyFirstJob have launched a survey to get a snapshot view of the recruitment market for apprentices following the levy’s introduction.

 The proposal is to cut the CITB levy rate from its present 0.5% to 0.35% PAYE, with the subcontractor NET CIS rate staying the same at 1.25%.

Milton would replace Robert Halfon who announced yesterday that he would not be reappointed to the job of apprenticeships and skills minister.  Anne Milton is to take on the brief as minister for apprentices and skills, Tes understands.

It is a change that will shock the FE sector.

The CCATF are delighted to announce it has successfully secured £10,000 of funding for its ‘Pathway to Construction’ (PtC) scheme from B&CE Charitable Trust.

The standards for two new apprenticeships in facilities management have secured government approval.

Parents also assume apprenticeships are more prevalent in 'male' sectors

Nearly two thirds of 16 to 18 year olds believe most apprenticeship opportunities are in sectors characterised by largely male workforces, according to research from Prudential.

The Conservatives’ long-awaited general election manifesto, called ‘Forward Together’, has just been launched, outlining its plans for FE and skills.

Householders are more likely to hire construction companies who train apprentices according to new research from the Federation of Master Builders.

Last month the government introduced the Apprenticeship Levy, which all employers operating in the UK will have to pay, charged at a rate of 0.5 per cent of companies’ annual pay bill. The government is committed to increasing the quantity and quality of apprenticeships and aims to create an additional 3 million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020; the levy will help to deliver these new apprenticeships and support quality training by putting employers at the centre of the system.

Findings indicate a surge in the popularity of apprenticeships around the UK. Indeed, a report published by the House of Commons Library last November found over 500,000 apprenticeships commenced in 2015/16 – a jump of almost 10,000 compared to the previous year. 

House builder Bloor Homes has taken on a team of carpentry apprentice masters to prepare its new recruits for a career in the construction industry. The privately-owned developer now has dedicated carpentry apprentice masters in each of its seven regions across the country, passing on their knowledge and experience to young apprentices on site.

The CCATF has reached agreement with the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) for a funding package in support of the CCATF’ ‘Pathway to Construction’ Scheme. 

 Britain’s beloved historic buildings are at risk, due to a restoration skills crisis that threatens the future of some of our best-known national treasures, warns a RICS and YouGov survey.

The development of a new Further Education construction course is now underway, with Pearson accrediting the qualification before its launch at seven colleges in September.

One of the most important apprenticeship funding rules from May is the requirement that every apprentice “spends at least 20% of their time on off-the-job training”.

When it comes to making vital decisions regarding building work, women are twice as likely to have the final say on the style and scope of the project, according to new research by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Construction apprenticeship starts are at a record high, according to figures released by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) during National Apprenticeship Week (6-10 March).

Half of school age children have never been given any information on possible jobs in construction by teachers or careers advisers.

 The Budget will invest new funding in FE from 2019 to pay for increasing the amount of training for 16 to 19-year-olds by more than 50 per cent to over 900 hours a year.

Small businesses from across England feature in the Get In Go Far campaign, highlighting the benefits of apprenticeships.

Get In Go Far - the government’s flagship campaign to promote apprenticeships - launched a new wave of activity today (23 February 2017), focused on promoting apprenticeships to employers.

 The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is embarking on the biggest consultation the organisation has ever undertaken, with all in-scope employers being asked to give their views on the Levy proposal for 2018.

Want to know more about how the up-coming Apprenticeship Levy funding package will work. follow our link - http://tinyurl.com/zmjbpxo

Colleges working closely with employers could help with the so-called 'image problem' of apprenticeships, writes one college executive. According to reports in the media, apprenticeships are great. They’re becoming more and more popular and have huge backing from the government, so it seems odd to read in a survey that more than 90 per cent of 18-24 year olds aren’t interested in starting one. So what’s going on?

 Public funds cannot be used to pay brokers’ fees, the Skills Funding Agency has officially ruled.

Apprenticeship training providers can personalise this letter and use it to welcome new apprentices as they start their new role.

The letter emphasises the benefits of apprenticeships and gives new apprentices the added confidence that they have made a great career choice.

http://tinyurl.com/zv6n7hh

Full details of how the Institute for Apprenticeships will operate have today (27 January 2017) been set out in an operational plan for consultation alongside the names of 8 members of the board appointed to run the institute.

The CITB has revealed plans to overhaul the way it pays grants to construction firms.

Interim chief executive of the training board Sarah Beale told Construction News its proposals would see the introduction of automated grant payments from April 2018 – with firms no longer having to apply to the CITB for the cash.

The skills shortage in the construction industry has got worse and has now spread beyond bricklayers and carpenters to other key trades, according to the latest research by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

The government has confirmed that at least 2.3 per cent of the workforce in public sector bodies in England will have to be apprentices, in a move requiring that 200,000 more will have to be recruited by 2020.

 CITB is to begin its consultation with industry on a new Levy offer which would see an across the board reduction in the Levy for all firms to fund a new more relevant offer for industry and a reformed grants scheme.

The UK government has distanced itself from a proposal made by a minister for a £1,000-a-year levy on each EU skilled worker recruited by British employers after Brexit.

 The new Construction Minister has been appointed at a crucial juncture in the industry’s history, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has said in response to the announcement that Lord Prior has taken over responsibility for the construction portfolio at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. 

The UK government is considering imposing a £1,000-a-year levy ($1,212) on each skilled European Union worker hired by British companies in the wake of Brexit, a move that would affect a construction industry strained by a skills shortage.

The AGE 16 to 24 grant for employers aims to support businesses, who would not otherwise be in a position to do so, to recruit individuals aged 16 to 24 into employment though the apprenticeship programme. click here to download factsheet.

70% of UK builders have seen an increase in material prices due to the depreciation of the pound, new research from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has revealed. 

The National Federation of Builders is delighted to announce Tessa Jowell as keynote speaker for their upcoming corporate social responsibility (CSR) roadshows to be held across England as part of their CITB funded programme, IMPACT.  

The benefits of the UK becoming a thriving environment for apprenticeships are nowhere more evident than in the construction and engineering sector. 

Global leaders in skills development City & Guilds and the Cross-Industry Construction Apprenticeship Task Force (CCATF) have joined forces to bring a new approach to apprenticeships in the UK construction industry, ensuring that it has the skilled people it needs both now and in the future.

If the programme is to be successful, apprenticeships need to be pitched at the right level, in the right sectors and aimed at the right age groups

Skills minister Robert Halfon has confirmed that the new Institute for Apprenticeships will have an apprentice panel made up of learners and students. The move comes after criticism from some corners that a lack of representation from those actually undertaking apprenticeships would undermine the IfA’s mission.

The training body, which is now subject to a Government review into its future role, revealed that Belton would formally exit at the end of the year.

Funding for WorldSkills Abu Dhabi ‘at tipping point’ despite record EuroSkills success

EuroSkills 2016 has been a competition to remember for Team UK, with its representatives returning from Gothenburg in Sweden with a record haul of medals. But the organisation behind the UK’s successful campaign has warned that a series of funding cuts have left it at a “tipping point”.

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is to treble the number of construction employers that are surveyed as part of its compulsory Levy Order Consensus process.

Martyn Price MBE Chair of Cross Industry Construction Apprenticeship Task Force speaks to Safaraz Ali at the Are you prepared for the apprenticeship levy conference in October 2016.

To see the video conversation click the following link http://tinyurl.com/jal2x2h

Months after the first reviews started, the first batch of official reports has been published
The first 13 reports from waves one and two were made public on the Department for Education website this afternoon.

Fresh concerns have been raised about apprenticeship funding in England, after predictions on what the levy would raise were revised down by £200 million. 

In the Phillip Hammond’s autumn statement on Wednesday, government forecasts suggested that the levy would raise a projected £2.8 billion in 2019/20.

The national minimum wage for apprentices will rise from £3.40 per hour to £3.50 – a bigger increase than rates for most other groups – following the autumn statement.

A UK tech apprentice was in Brussels this week to talk about young people and skills. 

Currently only 1% of Apprentices are on the new standards, and are thus being assessed formally at the end of their Apprenticeship. As the SFA tips the scales of funding in favour of the new standards, we all expect that number to climb in 2017.

 But what impact does End Point, rather than modular, assessment have on the apprenticeship experience? Why was the change introduced and what can we learn from similar moves across education? 

The strongest indication yet has been given that the Department for Education is planning to change its English and maths requirements for post-16 learners, by apprenticeships and skills minister Robert Halfon.

Robert Halfon, Minister of State for Apprenticeships and Skills, hailed the three-day event at Birmingham’s NEC as a crucial date in the UK calendar to help bridge a 'complex' skills shortage which had arisen over the last five years.

Bad news for the government’s plans to roll out the Apprentice Levy next year. Following the publication of budgets generated by the levy, members of two of the UK’s devolved assemblies have rejected the scheme, claiming it is unworkable and will deliver few benefits to companies and employees in their regions.

Another major report has been published focusing on the quality and delivery of apprenticeships in the UK. Today, the Policy Exchange has issued its latest white paper, “The Skills We Need, And Why We Don’t Have Them: How Apprenticeships should be reformed to make the UK compete on the global stage” and concluded that the standard of apprenticeships is still falling short, and that without significant change the government risks wasting up to half a billion pounds on sub-standard training.

CCATF are delighted to have been invited to attend this years “Celebrating Enterprise” event being hosted at the House of Lords by the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI).

The CCATF are delighted to announce that Head of Marketing, Communications and External Affairs, Christopher Selby had been invited to take part, for the second time, as a judge at the prestigious Builder & Engineer Awards taking place, this year, at Anfield, the home of Liverpool F.C.

The construction industry is facing a slowdown in growth in the aftermath of the EU referendum vote, according to the latest data from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).

A new digital tool to help employers across England find apprenticeship training has been launched by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA).

Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) boss Mark Dawe has challenged ministers to use the chancellor’s spending review to step up their investment in skills programmes essential to give a post-Brexit Britain the workforce it needs to remain competitive.

The apprenticeships and skills minister is “pretty sure” that no apprentices will get to the end of their course without an end-point assessment organisation in place.

Mixed feedback from British industry has begun to emerge following the Government’s announcement on Tuesday about how it plans to fund apprenticeships and make the levy work in practice.

The government has finally unveiled the detail behind its plans to fund apprenticeships and how it plans to make the levy work.

The ability for larger companies to transfer unspent apprenticeship funding to smaller firms is welcome and will help make the Apprenticeship Levy a success, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has said in response to the unveiling of the final details of the Apprenticeship Levy.

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The first parliamentary evidence session grilling for apprenticeships and skills minister Robert Halfon will take place on Wednesday (November 2).

The British Chambers of Commerce has laid out its hopes for the forthcoming Autumn Statement, which the chancellor Phillip Hammond will deliver next month.

The government has launched a new programme to tackle the shortage of end-point assessors in apprenticeships, after FE Week reported that almost 60 per cent of apprenticeship standards cleared so far don’t have an approved assessment organisation.

“Stand up and fight” to become the apprenticeship assessment watchdog – that was the call to Ofqual’s boss from new Federation of Awarding Bodies chair Paul Eeles at conference today.

The 17th Young Builder of the Year Awards celebrate the achievements of young people, who despite having to overcome a range of barriers have succeeded in training for and or gaining employment in the construction industry. The winners were announced at the Awards Ceremony, held at the House of Commons, on Wednesday 19th October 2016.

Government warned that HS2 could lose foreign workers after Brexit unless skills shortage is addressed as part of industrial strategy.

The Apprentice winner 2015, Joseph Valente is to meet with CCATF Chairman Martyn Price in November.

The construction industry faces “inexorable decline” unless radical steps are taken, according to an independent review that urges the government to support the building of rental properties and affordable housing.

Top skills mandarins have given the clearest public indication yet that they will reverse huge apprenticeship funding cuts exposed by FE Week for disadvantaged 16 to 18 year-olds, during a bruising encounter with the Public Accounts Committee.

Four outstanding young roofers from around the United Kingdom will be heading to Poland this coming October to take part in the bi-annual World Championship for Young Roofers, organised by the International Federation of Roofing Contractors (IFD). This year the competition is being hosted by the Polish Roofing Trade Association, Polskie Stowarzyszenie Dekarzy (PSD).

Controversial plans to slash apprenticeship funding rates for young people in deprived areas are set to be reconsidered by the government, in what would be a huge success for FE Week’s #SaveOurApprenticeshipscampaign.

More details are beginning to emerge about how the Apprentice Levy will be administered. The government issued guidance at the end of last week that gave some explanation of how the levy will work.

Some revealing statistics have been released as part of the government’s information drive on learning and apprenticeships. 

Applications are being sought for a new chair for the Institute of Apprenticeships. The Cabinet office has posted a job ad for the role, which outlines the key responsibilities of the role.

The UK’s very first Transport Planning Course was launched this week at Leeds College of Building, with the college welcoming 40 Transport Planning Technician (TPT) Apprentices to mark the start of what is one of the government’s first Trailblazers – a new form of apprenticeship. 

A firm commitment to “transform” technical education was made by education secretary Justine Greening, in a Conservative Party Conference speech that stressed the government’s Skills Plan will be a “big focus” for her.

Despite the repeated declarations of support, and the commitment to meet a target of three million apprenticeships by 2020, the UK is lagging behind many of its competitors when it comes to the number of young people entering vocational training schemes.

Conservative MP Alan Mak has spoken of his commitment to apprenticeships, adding his voice to that of Skills Minister Robert Halfon, who delivered a similar message earlier in the week. 

Speaking at the Conservative Party conference, Mr Javid said contractors had an “important [and] responsible role” to play in helping the government meet its target of building one million homes by 2020.

Skills minister Robert Halfon has reassured industry observers concerned that the new apprentice levy will be ‘gamed’ under the new rules.

Brexit means Brexit but it also means let’s get on with it and start talking about the other major issues facing our country such as housing and infrastructure.

The apprenticeships minister Robert Halfon has sought to play down fears in the business community that some companies will “game” the new apprenticeship levy system to subsidise their own in-house training.