Changes to apprenticeship assessment, accreditation and professional qualifications “must preserve clear, accessible routes to professional registration”, states a report from the Construction Industry Council’s Education and Future Skills Committee.
Assessment reform in apprenticeships has been cautiously welcomed by built environment professional bodies.
Proposals have been put forward by the government to simplify assessments “without weakening the standards of competence on which quality, safety and public trust and confidence depend”. The plans revolve around allowing on-programme assessment, rather than solely at the end of the course, reducing duplication and enabling employers to verify certain requirements while training providers continue to oversee candidates’ progress.
It comes after major changes to the apprenticeship system were announced by the government in March, including defunding 16 courses such as Level 3 facilities management supervisor and Level 2 cleaning hygiene operatives and diverting £1 billion in funding towards employment-based training for 200,000 18-24-year-olds.
The Construction Industry Council’s (CIC) report sets out its support, calling for the professional and regulatory bodies to “collaborate and speak with a collective voice in shaping assessment reform”.
Recommendations
The CIC has made six recommendations around the proposed assessment reforms:
- The built environment professions (including regulatory bodies) should collaborate and communicate collectively with one voice, and support in finding solutions to assessment reform in partnership with government, employers and awarding organisations
- Skills England should work with CIC to ensure proposed solutions deliver sensible and workable outcomes, and to challenge policy changes where negative impacts are identified
- A call for stability and sufficient time to explore solutions in greater detail and to work through any unintended consequences
- The professions must actively engage employer and individual members, especially those in trailblazer groups, as well as peer review assessors and mentors, to gather input and shape assessment reform
- The professions must consider the impact that apprenticeship delivery and assessment will have on accreditation, including continued access and availability of professional development programmes, to retain clear links to professional qualifications
- The professions should consider revisions to professional qualifications, ensuring that changes do not add extra barriers for apprentices seeking routes to professional registration.
Current performance of built environment apprenticeships
At Levels 3 to 7 in the built environment sector, there have been more than 41,000 starts on apprenticeship programmes since August 2020, with numbers rapidly rising in the years 2017 to 2020 as occupational standards became available. The sector is now seeing a steady intake of around 6,500 apprentice starts each year
In the case of the 30 technical and professional occupations in the built environment sector, nearly 8,000 qualifications since the 2017/18 academic year have been recorded. In a typical year, around 2,500 per annum are qualifying – “a vast improvement in recent years”, according to the report.
However, it is important to note that while this may appear low compared with apprentice starts, these apprentices are typically on longer-duration programmes, of between three and six years, meaning qualifications will only be recorded in future years.
