New Apprenticeship Reforms
The Government’s Post‐16 Education and Skills White Paper aims for two‐thirds of young people to participate in higher‐level learning by the age of 25, including at least 10% pursuing higher technical education or apprenticeships. To help meet this target and prepare young people for work, further reforms to apprenticeships have been announced:
- The Department for Education (DfE) has published its Education Estates Strategy, a 10‐year plan to improve school and college buildings in England, which will require construction firms working on projects to show that they are providing apprenticeship opportunities.
- The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will pilot a university clearance‐style system for apprenticeships, in partnership with employers and the Mayoral Strategic Authorities, where ‘near miss’ applicants who do not secure their top choice apprenticeship will be re‐directed to similar opportunities in their area.
As part of reforming the Growth and Skills Levy, a faster process for updating apprenticeships will be introduced, reducing the time taken to approve updates to apprenticeship standards from 18 months to as little as three months through the use of occupational experts.
In response to the proposed reforms to apprenticeship assessments announced last year, Build UK hosted a roundtable with the DWP and Skills England for Trade Association members to share their concerns about the potential impact. Members highlighted the need for greater clarity and consistency on how the changes will be applied in practice, as well as the importance of early engagement with relevant trade bodies to ensure that any changes reflect industry views and do not have unintended consequences. Any members who would like to be involved in the discussions should contact Helen Hewitt at the British Woodworking Federation (BWF).
Do any of your employees drive a vehicle – yours OR theirs? Understand your responsibilities
The law says all companies must have policies and procedures to minimise risk – and that includes the recognised risks around driving.
So, where are your gaps?
It’s a question you may well have asked at some point within your company. Our online gap analysis tool means you can check at any time, as well as sign up for reminders to ensure your policies around work-related road risk are following our good practice guides.Like to know more? Start with these 10 key areas.
Do any of your employees drive a vehicle – yours OR theirs? Understand your responsibilities
It’s an area of safety and risk management that is often overlooked – managing the safety of those who drive for work within your business or organisation.
That includes employees who are employed as drivers – as well as those who drive a vehicle as part of their job – getting to and from meetings or appointments, for example.
It also includes those employees who use their own vehicles for business journeys, however infrequently.
So, what counts as a business journey?
A business journey is any journey that wouldn’t have been made, had that employee not worked for you.
This would include:
- site visits and client meetings
- making deliveries
- attending offsite training, seminars and exhibitions
- running errands
‘Commuting’ in the insurance sense, means driving to and from one main place of work. If your staff are officially classed as home-based, then even driving to the office could be classed as a business journey.
Our checklist ‘Understanding your responsibilities’ will ensure you are covering all the relevant areas when it comes to the safety of your employees.
Learn what should be included in your policies and share with your team
Infrastructure Pipeline
The Government is expected to publish the next iteration of the Infrastructure Pipeline in March, which will feature more projects and programmes including from Mayoral Strategic Authorities. Based on feedback provided by Build UK and its members, the updated version will also contain additional information on projects, including client details, type of work, and estimated start dates.